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

    Heart Murmers...

    VivaLasViejas replied to nursecheryl81's topic in NICU, Neonatal

    I learned to hear murmurs on myself, of all people........I have a fairly distinctive one that makes a sort of "lubSWOOSHdub" sound, like a washing machine, as one poster said above. Now I can pick...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Highest BAC levels in patients

    VivaLasViejas replied to exnursie's topic in General Nursing

    We health care providers ARE a strange breed, aren't we? At my hospital, we recently had someone in the ICU with a white count of 43,000.......another with a blood sugar of 1200......a med-surg pt....
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Highest BAC levels in patients

    VivaLasViejas replied to exnursie's topic in General Nursing

    Usually anything over .40 induces coma, and quite possibly death, in the average person. However, some folks have VERY high tolerances.....like one of our frequent flyers, who came in a couple of...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Decadron given in the deltoid muscle

    VivaLasViejas replied to RnAngl's topic in General Nursing

    There are a lot of variables here: the medication's viscosity (thickness), the solution itself (some drugs, such as Demerol and Vistaril, are VERY hard on tissue), the volume to be given, the amount...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Post total hip/knee pain management

    VivaLasViejas replied to sharann's topic in Orthopedic

    Where I work, the surgeons usually order PCA morphine and Toradol for the first day or two post-op, which provide good pain control for the most part. A couple like to use epidurals, which are usually...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    What do you HATE to do at work?

    VivaLasViejas replied to mickeymouse1205's topic in General Nursing

    Oh, I hear you! I hate that part of the job too......guess I just don't much care for waitressing in addition to all the OTHER stuff I have to do during the course of a shift. My other big dislike is...
  7. VivaLasViejas

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

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    I'm finding out I really enjoy ICU nursing........all that one-on-one time with the patients, the titratable drips (I've got insulin gtts down to a science now), and even that adrenaline rush when...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Lowest Blood pH

    VivaLasViejas replied to EricTAMUCC-BSN's topic in MICU, SICU

    6.9. This patient did get through the initial crisis, but never made it out of the
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Most Common Med/Surg Drugs, Including New Drugs

    VivaLasViejas replied to Town & Country's topic in General Nursing

    Protonix, Levaquin, and
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Ultrascope or Littman?

    VivaLasViejas replied to aegirl's topic in General Nursing

    I can't hear doodly squat with even the most expensive Littman, but I can hear the slightest murmur with my Ultrascope! I paid $90 for it about 4 years ago, and it was the best $90 I ever spent on...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    How many hours in your shift?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Haunted's topic in General Nursing

    Me too! I hated 12's, felt like I had no life whatsoever when I was on and it took two of my four days off to recuperate. Maybe if I'd been younger when I started out......I sometimes wish 12's were...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Random onel liners

    VivaLasViejas replied to Farkinott's topic in Nursing Humor

    ~wiping Diet Coke off the computer again~ Too funny!! :rotfl: Or, as somebody already said, I accidentally spilled some spot remover on my dog Spot, and now I can't find
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Old Ladies Having Babies

    VivaLasViejas replied to alphafe's topic in Ob/Gyn

    You said it, Steph.........My mother was also very critical and hurtful, and I'm sorry to say that if she were still here, I might never have learned how to like myself or had the guts to go to...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Old Ladies Having Babies

    VivaLasViejas replied to alphafe's topic in Ob/Gyn

    That's pretty much where I was coming from.......I had older parents and lost them both by the time I was 30. Then I had my last 2 kids in my 30s, and even though I was a better mother to them than to...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Old Ladies Having Babies

    VivaLasViejas replied to alphafe's topic in Ob/Gyn

    I can't even imagine being pregnant at my age, let alone if I had another decade on me!! And why ever would anyone even want to be?? I'm ready for grandchildren.....my poor old body would NOT do well...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Funny experiences in nursing?

    VivaLasViejas replied to nursegoodlove's topic in General Nursing

    Years ago when I was an aide at the hospital where I currently work as a staff nurse, we had this confused elderly gentleman who hollered half the night, keeping patients in neighboring rooms awake...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Missed Period On Pill

    VivaLasViejas replied to alphafe's topic in Ob/Gyn

    Like I said, Steph can tell you all about it.....she had her preschooler in the midst of what she thought was perimenopause at 43! I myself had a 'scare' a few months after my ablation......and my DH...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Missed Period On Pill

    VivaLasViejas replied to alphafe's topic in Ob/Gyn

    It's very possible that you could be in the early perimenopausal stage. It's also not unheard-of to be pregnant (just ask Steph :) ), even on the Pill. (My last child was a Pill baby.......actually,...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    BSN requirement for all RNs

    VivaLasViejas replied to cindylousmith's topic in General Nursing

    Oh, gawd.......not THIS argument again. :angryfire I've been an ADN for 7 1/2 years. I graduated at age 38, and it took four years to get that two-year degree. I have absolutely NO desire to go back...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Offended by Prayer

    VivaLasViejas replied to CCU NRS's topic in General Nursing

    The answer, I think, is all of the above. I've been away from the Church for a lot of years, but I almost always make the sign of the Cross and say a silent prayer before taking care of the body of a...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    A reminder to ALWAYS listen to your patients.

    VivaLasViejas replied to VizslaMom's topic in General Nursing

    I agree with you........whenever a patient tells me "something's wrong", I jump right on it, because otherwise it's likely to bite both of us in the butt at some point, usually sooner rather than...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Jet Fuel Cocktail

    VivaLasViejas replied to FranEMTnurse's topic in Nursing Humor

    BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Reminds me of my father's stories about being aboard a destroyer during WWII......he said they used to drink an evil concoction made from torpedo juice and Coke, and it really...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    ER the TV show

    VivaLasViejas replied to aruray's topic in General Nursing

    I thought Thursday's episode was unusually affecting and well-acted. Yes, there were a number of procedural errors, but in the unfolding of Ray Liotta's character's life story, there was an...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Piercings in the nursing field

    VivaLasViejas replied to jamieSN's topic in General Students

    I wouldn't wear any piercing (other than ears, of course) during job interviews, even though yours sounds like it's in perfectly good taste........the rule is, the more conservative your dress, the...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Ever feel like the med/surg unit is the hospital dumping ground?

    VivaLasViejas replied to deespoohbear's topic in Medical-Surgical

    At least your doctors call it plain ol' 'constipation' instead of dressing it up in the term OBSTIPATION so it sounds better to the insurance company!!