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

    OCNRN63

    VivaLasViejas replied to Kyrshamarks's topic in General Nursing

    Oh no. I feel awful for her. She has been a valuable member for years and I, for one, will miss her. She was so comforting to me when I lost my husband to cancer in July 2016. I'll never forget her....
  2. VivaLasViejas

    The state of nursing now

    VivaLasViejas replied to missmollie's topic in General Nursing

    The same thing happened just recently at my son's LTC, where he works as an LPN. The nurses used to get nice bonuses on top of time-and-a-half for OT, but now the bonuses have gone away and there's no...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Lost my husband on Holiday Break

    VivaLasViejas replied to guest83140's topic in School

    I am so sorry for your loss. I know what it's like to lose a husband and it's just devastating. It feels like the world has ended and nothing will ever be the same again. I don't really have any words...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Should I accept a SNF position as a new grad even though this is not the field I want?

    VivaLasViejas replied to FishBones's topic in Nursing Career

    Yes, you should take it, and stay with it for at least 1-2 years. It will give you good experience and teach you a lot about prioritization as well as technical skills. By the way, $44/hour is...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Peplau and interpersonal relations

    VivaLasViejas replied to Realist_'s topic in General Students

    Watch the stereotyping. Patients on disability/Medicaid etc. are NOT all lazy, and they will sense your contempt for them. As for "who cares", as a future nurse you *should* care. I don't mean you...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    My apologies to the nursing profession

    VivaLasViejas replied to Jon12's topic in General Nursing

    Do you feel better
  7. VivaLasViejas

    To Suction or Not To Suction, End of Life & Hospice Patients

    VivaLasViejas replied to NickICU-RN's topic in General Nursing

    I am not in favor of suctioning. I think it's cruel in most cases. In working with the families of dying patients, I gently educated them on what to expect during the active dying process and they...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    We fail our old people and it's heartbreaking

    VivaLasViejas replied to JBMmom's topic in General Nursing

    Someone asked me once when I thought it would be a good time to die. I said, "Five seconds before my feet cross the nursing home threshold." Seriously, if I ever get to the point where I need to be...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    I disclosed my disability and now they won't answer my calls

    VivaLasViejas replied to LaneyD's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    What Wuzzie said. One thing to remember is that you NEVER want to disclose a disability before you get a job. Unless you need reasonable accommodations for yours, it's best to let that sleeping dog...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Are you discerning with your "likes"?

    VivaLasViejas replied to klone's topic in General Nursing

    I have to admit, I like my "likes". I don't live and die by them, but I always appreciate it when someone takes the time to "like" a post. I've noticed there are a number of folks who often "like" my...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    My Body Is Not My Resume: Exploring Nursing Dress Codes

    VivaLasViejas replied to Melissa Mills's topic in General Nursing

    I have two tattoos and am planning on getting more. They are on my forearms---one is a caduceus with the letters RN on either side, and the other is a semicolon for suicide prevention awareness. I got...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Keeping License Active?

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Retired Nurses

    Just out of curiosity.....how long after leaving nursing did you keep your license active? I'm asking because it's almost time to renew mine, and though I've been out of nursing for almost a year, I...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing with medical marijuana card...

    VivaLasViejas replied to youenjoymyself's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    As unfair as it is, ingesting cannabis of any kind is incompatible with holding a nursing license or maintaining employment as a nurse. At least that's how it is in my state, which has extremely...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    What's the shortest time you stayed at a job and why did you leave?

    VivaLasViejas replied to sweet sunshine's topic in General Nursing

    Three months. It was in an assisted living facility owned and operated by a well-known "senior living" company where profits, not health care, was the top priority. Even I was required to participate...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Facility hiring ALL positions....

    VivaLasViejas replied to Onelove1075's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Beware of ALFs. They are almost always run by so-called "senior living" companies which are interested only in making money off the residents while simultaneously cutting back on staff and paying...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Workaholics - Trouble Delegating

    VivaLasViejas replied to Joe V's topic in General Nursing

    I'm a terrible patient---want to control everything, including calculating my own I&Os and silencing my IV pump. I know how hard those nurses work and I don't want to be a bother. I'll also try to...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Do you think someone with panic disorder/ anxiety/ shyness could be a nurse?

    VivaLasViejas replied to caycayney's topic in Australia, New Zealand

    LPNs administer meds all the time here in the US. And depending on what state they work in, they may do IV insertions and meds, be charge nurses in a long-term care facility, and basically do most of...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    What HARD truth have you learned once you became a nurse and/or CNA?

    VivaLasViejas replied to DesiDani's topic in General Nursing

    Feces eventuates. And sometimes it eventuates all over the patient, the bed, and the nurse. Ignorance and stupidity are two completely different things. You can fix ignorance with education, but you...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Matt Lauer Fired due to Inappropriate Sexual Behavior. Has This Happened to You?

    VivaLasViejas replied to traumaRUs's topic in Nursing News

    I personally don't know many women who *haven't* been sexually harassed/assaulted. I certainly have been. It was almost a rite of passage, and we put up with it as a cost of living and working back...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Do you consider it helpful or not to be given a Pt’s attitude during a report?

    VivaLasViejas replied to DesiDani's topic in General Nursing

    I always appreciated knowing what I was up against with a certain patient or family. That way I knew I was going to visit that patient first (after making sure my other ones were breathing and not on...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Patients say the darndest things...

    VivaLasViejas replied to audreysmagic's topic in General Nursing

    I was doing a tube feeding for a patient one evening and knocked over a couple of cans of Jevity, which woke up the roommate, "Elaine". She called to me from behind the curtain: "Are you the cat?"...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    What do you think of 12 hour shifts

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNattie's topic in General Nursing

    I hated 12s with a pink and purple passion. I did OK for the first 8 or 9 hours, but then I'd hit a wall at around 10 hours and barely make it through the rest of the shift. I felt really unsafe and I...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Anxiety and Panic Attacks

    VivaLasViejas replied to Victoria1982's topic in Health, Stress Management

    The worst part of nursing school for me wasn't clinical, but skills check-offs. I was the kid who beat herself up teaching herself to ride a bike rather than let someone else watch (and criticize) the...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Anxiety and Panic Attacks

    VivaLasViejas replied to Victoria1982's topic in Health, Stress Management

    Hi there! Welcome to Allnurses, we're glad you're here. I share your difficulty with anxiety. I have it as a component of my bipolar disorder, and it really messes with me if I don't take my...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    My Journey from Nurse to a Freelance Writer

    VivaLasViejas replied to JanineKelbach's topic in Nurse Entrepreneurs, Innovators

    That's awesome! Your story is inspiring to me as a blogger and (very) part-time