VivaLasViejas ASN, RN

LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych

Once a nurse, always a nurse!

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide

All Content by VivaLasViejas

  1. VivaLasViejas

    What kind of patient would you make????!!!

    VivaLasViejas replied to zumalong's topic in General Nursing

    I just got home from the hospital after a 3-day stay for chest pain, and I think I was pretty decent as a patient.......but the whole experience was surreal. I am SO not used to being a patient!!...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    As If You Needed Another Reason To Put Down That Krispy Kreme......

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in General Nursing

    I was just perusing the Spanish-language version of MSN News that I occasionally check out when I'm bored, and there was an article citing a study that makes a definite connection between obesity and...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Stirrups? WHY???

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNLaborNurse4U's topic in Ob/Gyn

    Oh, darlin', you just haven't lived until you've had a liter of soapsuds squirted up your hiney while coping with contractions three minutes apart......and then they want you to HOLD IT!!!!! BTW,...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    i have just recieved a dui in california,,am i in big trouble with licensing?

    VivaLasViejas replied to terry1's topic in General Nursing

    You'll have to own up to it when you renew your nursing license, if not before. The thing is to be absolutely honest about it, and show that you're working toward the goal of not ever allowing this to...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Stirrups? WHY???

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNLaborNurse4U's topic in Ob/Gyn

    This thread takes me back to the 'bad old days' of childbearing, when they still gave enemas and pubic shaves to laboring women, did episiotomies whether we needed one or not, and strapped us into...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Name that part. Words patients use for their own anatomy.

    VivaLasViejas replied to JEHORAPHA's topic in General Nursing

    That reminds me of a former patient of mine who used to say, "I'm going to wash down as far as possible, then up as far as possible, and then I'm going to wash the possible!"
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Teaching personal hygiene skills to teens

    VivaLasViejas replied to hmcna's topic in General Nursing

    Wow.......I never realized how good I had it, all four of my children were, and are, clean freaks! Getting the older boy to wipe his butt after a BM was a challenge for a couple of years, but...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    encouragement for first clinical

    VivaLasViejas replied to loriangel14's topic in International Nursing

    Oh, how well I remember that first clinical day.......It was late October, and as I put on my student uniform for the very first time, I felt like the world's biggest fraud!! Here I was, thirty-six...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    how to avoid " throwing in the towel"?at work ....

    VivaLasViejas replied to Purple Princess's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Have you thought about being a CNA or patient care tech in a hospital? The money is usually better, the workload isn't as hard physically OR mentally, and in a lot of hospitals the aides get to do a...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Should nurses return to wearing uniforms?

    VivaLasViejas replied to hellerd2003's topic in General Nursing

    1) Eight years 2) Med/surg 3) Pacific Northwest 4) ADN, Certified Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse (CMS-RN) 5) & 6): NO WAY!! I think it's the housekeeping and other ancillary staff that should...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Funny things you have said but wish you didn't

    VivaLasViejas replied to FranEMTnurse's topic in Nursing Humor

    I managed to humiliate myself twice in one sitting---literally!---yesterday at work. I was admitting a patient who had several family members occupying all the chairs in the room, so I had to go get a...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    What is your biggest nursing pet peeve?

    VivaLasViejas replied to ferfer's topic in General Nursing

    Isn't THAT the truth....... :angryfire I just hate it when my family members ask for advice, then ignore it and do whatever the hell they want to, and then when they get sick anyway and have to go to...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Staffing: What's your method?

    VivaLasViejas replied to UM Review RN's topic in General Nursing

    We all take turns doing staffing for the next shift, which sometimes gets complicated even on our small (38-bed) med/surg floor. I think most of us try hard to be fair and to consider continuity of...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Some Excellent Home Remedies That Work

    VivaLasViejas replied to FranEMTnurse's topic in General Nursing

    Number 7 reminds me of the time back in college when my dh was about to give a speech in front of some 250 people. It was the first time in all his life that he'd done so, and to say he was nervous...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    ? about asthma and RR ctxt

    VivaLasViejas replied to tnstudentnurse's topic in Nursing Student Assistance

    Normal respiratory rate for teenagers and adults is 16-20, whether asthmatic or not. If an attack is imminent, the RR will often increase slightly, but in a full-blown episode it can be very rapid,...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing Educational Levels - Op/Ed Piece

    VivaLasViejas replied to Q.'s topic in General Nursing

    I'm with you, llg. I work with a few nurses who have been practicing since God was a boy, yet they're forever behind in their work and never think beyond the end of their noses! I also know a few who...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    When to report a classmaste to your clinical instructor.

    VivaLasViejas replied to markbeast's topic in Patient Safety Issues

    Technically, insulin syringes are measured in units , not cc's (or fractions thereof)...I've always used TB syringes for heparin,
  18. VivaLasViejas

    When to report a classmaste to your clinical instructor.

    VivaLasViejas replied to markbeast's topic in Patient Safety Issues

    I agree wholeheartedly. I also do not understand how this student---or any student for that matter---is even being allowed to do IV skills without an instructor present. When I was in school, we had...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Just following the Dr's orders?

    VivaLasViejas replied to DutchgirlRN's topic in Medical-Surgical

    I agree, peroxide actually contributes to skin breakdown, particularly at the edges of the wound where it's most fragile. I don't think I've seen H202 used since the late '90s........I'd definitely...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    verbal order not carried out

    VivaLasViejas replied to avolensky's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Don't be so hard on yourself........that's one mistake you will probably never make again! You will, however, make others, and that's what makes us all human and not God. We all have to take a few...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    How do the doctors treat you?

    VivaLasViejas replied to DutchgirlRN's topic in General Nursing

    I too work in a small community hospital, and I think it does make a difference when everybody knows they'll all be living and practicing in the same town long after a thorny medical/ethical issue is...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    "Some Dude" sure gets around!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Ruby Vee's topic in General Nursing

    Around here, "some dude" is ALWAYS forcing people to do meth, and pretty soon the "crazy *****" takes all the money and the car, and runs off with.....you guessed it....."some
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Name that part. Words patients use for their own anatomy.

    VivaLasViejas replied to JEHORAPHA's topic in General Nursing

    Years ago when I was working nights in LTC, one of my residents, Silda, came up to me as I was passing meds and said "Hello, dear". She was quite the sweet Southern lady who, in her pre-dementia days,...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    5 things a new RN must have...

    VivaLasViejas replied to SpecFuz's topic in General Nursing

    1) A really, really good stethoscope you can actually hear with.......cost is not necessarily a factor. 2) A terrific fake smile you can plaster on your face when your back and your feet are killing...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    hourly RN pay vs. salaried?

    VivaLasViejas replied to SpecFuz's topic in General Nursing

    I used to complain about being an hourly 'wage slave'........it was hard for me to feel like a professional under a system that treated me no differently than someone working at a McJob. Then I went...