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

    New Year's Eve Plans

    VivaLasViejas replied to barefootlady's topic in General Nursing

    New Year's hasn't been quite the big deal it used to be back in my drinking days, which ended 13 years ago tonight. :) But we're still staying up till midnight, watching the ball drop and shooting off...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    can nurses remove a needle from mediport?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Ms.RN's topic in Michigan Nursing

    Nurses aren't allowed to D/C central lines where you are?? I guess nurse practice acts are different in each state........I take out CVCs all the time! I also access and de-access ports, and even...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Pulmonary Hypertension

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in General Nursing

    Well, the results of my sister's echocardiogram shows that she has moderate pulmonary hypertension instead of---or in addition to---congestive heart failure. Her ejection fraction is pretty good...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    My Sister Has CHF

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in General Nursing

    Well, as wonderful as my life is for the most part these days, there always has to be SOMETHING that's not quite right, and here it is: My 58-year-old sister has just been diagnosed with heart...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Nurse shot in Calif at LTC facility

    VivaLasViejas replied to Blackcat99's topic in General Nursing

    I just caught this as I was surfing the Net for the day's news. All I can say is, WOW.......This is the risk that everyone in health care faces, but nobody really likes to talk about. It's scary to...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    I don't like what my job has become...

    VivaLasViejas replied to StephMSeattle's topic in General Nursing

    Been there, done that, got the ulcers to prove it. Get out of that job while you still have a license!! Best of luck to you.
  7. VivaLasViejas

    suturing information required

    VivaLasViejas replied to barrabird's topic in Emergency

    Same here.......I imagine that someday we'll be taught (and licensed) to suture, but for now only advanced-practice nurses can do
  8. VivaLasViejas

    My Sister Has CHF

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    I just talked to her, and she's not even coming over for Christmas Eve......she's having increased trouble breathing, and I can't get her to leave her warm bed to go to the hospital, which is where...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    My Sister Has CHF

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Thank you........very informative! I'll definitely peruse the site more thoroughly after Christmas.
  10. VivaLasViejas

    My Sister Has CHF

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Thank you, everyone............They are going to do an adenosine myoview on the 5th, as she cannot tolerate the treadmill even under the best of circumstances (she's always been one of those "I hate...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Are you snowed in??

    VivaLasViejas replied to phn92's topic in Indiana Nursing

    We've actually had it pretty mild here in the Pacific Northwest so far this season.......nothing at all like last year when we got 10 inches of snow in half a day and then it snowed on & off for a...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Bossy CNA's in LTC(long)

    VivaLasViejas replied to jaimemds's topic in LPN, LVN Corner

    I remember the type.......but you know what, hospitals have them too! Just yesterday I had a run-in with one CNA who is actually a terrific patient advocate, but has a way of going beyond her scope of...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Coping mechanisms. What do you do???????

    VivaLasViejas replied to obillyboy's topic in General Nursing

    In a word: CHOCOLATE. :chuckle And when that doesn't work, I pray and/or come here to
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Do float nurses in your facility get paid more?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Sadie04's topic in General Nursing

    Never even heard of the idea before. I'm a float nurse (primary on Med/Surg, float to ICU and the Women's Center) and I can't imagine even asking for more pay based on that. I do, however, receive a...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    And Now.....What Do You LIKE to Do At Work?

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in General Nursing

    OK, we've weighed in on what we HATE to do at work........now, what do you actually LIKE to do? (Besides make money, of course...) One of my favorite tasks is, of all things, taking care of post-op...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Advice For The New Nurse Entering Med-Surg

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNPATL's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Aw, come on, lighten up......this is a JOKE. However, in my experience as a patient, knowing I'd have to be catheterized if I couldn't void was a powerful motivator to get up and make it work. When...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Alternative to artificial nails???

    VivaLasViejas replied to KrisRNwannabe's topic in General Nursing

    I hate that icky, grotty feeling my hands get after using alcohol gel all day......I'll wash with soap and water before and after my shift, plus sometimes in between, but usually all I have time for...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Diet in long term care

    VivaLasViejas replied to xmaxiex's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    And a big, resounding AMEN to that!! God help anyone who tries to impose some kind of diet on me if I make it to 80-90 years old.....I figure if I've lived that long, I've earned the right to eat...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Anxious, took exam this morning(75)

    VivaLasViejas replied to sunnygyrl's topic in NCLEX Exam, Programs

    The good news is, you very likely passed. I remember feeling the same way you do, though......like I wasn't done 'proving' myself!! I walked around for the next 10 days completely freaked out, but...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    How do you handle that "crazy" patient?

    VivaLasViejas replied to DutchgirlRN's topic in Medical-Surgical

    Psych consult, STAT!! :chuckle Just be sure to document every encounter with this patient, what she says and does, as well as your nursing care. And yes, if not already done, you'll want to ask her...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    suspended for signing an 8pm med on MAR at 5pm in error

    VivaLasViejas replied to VirginiaLPN97's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    This whole thing is VERY fishy.........I'm glad it's apparently been resolved to the OP's satisfaction, but in another sense I wish she'd fight it, through the courts and even in the public eye if...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    restraints

    VivaLasViejas replied to CapeCodMermaid's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Where I live, ANY side rail is considered a restraint, and you not only have to have a doctor's order, you have to be able to prove that it's being used as an assistive device for bed mobility and not...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Med-surg vs. LTC (new LPN needs advice!)

    VivaLasViejas replied to michelle-new-lpn's topic in LPN, LVN Corner

    Wow........I'm still shaking my head over those night-shift nurses who sleep on the job. Where I come from, that's a firing offense, not to mention against the Nurse Practice Act, no matter whether...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Controversial Proposals Phase II

    VivaLasViejas replied to VickyRN's topic in North Carolina Nursing

    I've weighed in on this subject before, but I'll put my two cents' worth in again: I am an ADN, and I work under NO ONE'S 'supervision'---I sat for the same boards as the BSN and the MSN, and I don't...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Phasing out LPN's.

    VivaLasViejas replied to BJ, LPN's topic in Patient Safety Issues

    I hear you, Vicky! When I was a DON in assisted living, I used to watch these gals with barely a high-school education giving medications like digoxin and Coumadin, and I'd think WOW, I went to school...