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

    9/11 20th Anniversary- Where Were You When Our Country was Attacked, the Twin Towers Fell and America was Changed Forever?

    VivaLasViejas replied to tnbutterfly - Mary's topic in General Nursing

    It was my second day of work as an MDS nurse for a local nursing home. My sister, who lived with me at the time, had awakened me yelling “Come out and watch this, the World Trade Center’s on fire,...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Anyone taken a pay cut for sanity?

    VivaLasViejas replied to LibraNurse27's topic in General Nursing

    I had to learn this truth the hard way. All the money in the world isn’t worth sacrificing your health. If I’d just stayed at my nurse-friendly LTC part-time (which was all I could handle), I’d...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    New to mental health

    VivaLasViejas replied to RNBoyMom's topic in General Nursing

    You’d like our Psychiatric Nursing forum. It’s a treasure trove of threads devoted to new psych nurses as well as their more experienced colleagues. It’s under Nursing Specialties. Visit...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Hoping They're Not the Last Words

    VivaLasViejas replied to JBMmom's topic in Disaster Preparation

    What a beautifully written post. Your compassion shines through in every word. I hope if I ever get Covid and need a nurse, I’ll have one exactly like you. God bless you.
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Calling in sick on last day?

    VivaLasViejas replied to amz93's topic in General Nursing

    I once worked my last night shift and went directly to my first day shift at another facility. I was dead in the water by the time I got home, but it was the right thing to
  6. VivaLasViejas

    Explaining Absence During Colleague's Vacation

    VivaLasViejas replied to SilverBells's topic in General Nursing

    Bwaaahahahahaha!!
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Syringe Disaster

    VivaLasViejas replied to LibraNurse27's topic in General Nursing

    Please don’t think of your leaving your job as a “consequence”. That word implies you’ve done something wrong, and you haven’t. You’ve been ill, that’s all, and now you’re on the road...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    My job is stressing me out

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

    Please get help. You don’t deserve to feel suicidal, especially not over a job. It’s not worth your life. There are excellent organizations that can give you a good start, such as the hotline at...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Feel Awful after 1st COVID Vaccination

    VivaLasViejas replied to Glam03's topic in Disaster Preparation

    After reading these posts, I wonder if my vaccinations “took”. I had absolutely NO reaction to either one, other than mild soreness in my arm like you get after a flu shot. Then again, a couple of...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Syringe Disaster

    VivaLasViejas replied to LibraNurse27's topic in General Nursing

    Yes, sometimes mental illness gets in the way of accomplishing our goals. It’s sad, but the only way out of the accompanying guilt and disappointment is to accept what is and prepare to change...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Syringe Disaster

    VivaLasViejas replied to LibraNurse27's topic in General Nursing

    You have my sympathies, Libra. I have Bipolar I as well and it stole my life’s work from me at an age (55) when retirement shouldn’t have been on the agenda for another 11 years. I was on my last...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Munchausen By Internet: Lies and Deception for Special Attention

    VivaLasViejas replied to J.Adderton's topic in General Nursing

    Ah, yes. I’ll never forget that member, and I’m sure those who like me showered him/her with love and support won’t either. We got suckered in, and I personally felt incredibly foolish because...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Can you choose DRN and full treatment in the POLST?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Leonardo Del Toro's topic in General Nursing

    My POLST is very clear: if I’m not breathing and have no pulse, I don’t want CPR. If however I still have a pulse and am breathing, I will allow some limited treatment unless/until it becomes...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    What would you do?

    VivaLasViejas replied to EDNURSE20's topic in General Nursing

    Best of luck to you. I hope you get the job. Please keep us posted as you’re able.
  15. VivaLasViejas

    A Fracture from a Fall: What's Going on Here?

    VivaLasViejas replied to SafetyNurse1968's topic in General Nursing

    I noted that her blood glucose was a little low, which could have contributed to the fall. I'm also concerned about the possibility of neglect or abuse due to the condition of her clothing, probable...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Anyone here who loves bedside nursing?

    VivaLasViejas replied to LibraNurse27's topic in General Nursing

    Med/Surg was a great job…until it wasn’t. Chronic short-staffing combined with micro-management became the order of the day when a new corporation bought out my hospital, and conditions...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Share Policies That Have Not Saved One Life

    VivaLasViejas replied to Emergent's topic in General Nursing

    No clocking in till 7 minutes before the start of a shift. Not 5 minutes, not 10 minutes, but 7.
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Will suspended nursing license show up on background check

    VivaLasViejas replied to sb_peds_er_rn's topic in General Nursing

    Same to you!
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Will suspended nursing license show up on background check

    VivaLasViejas replied to sb_peds_er_rn's topic in General Nursing

    The only real concern I can see is if you tried to get another professional license. It is difficult if not impossible to obtain licensure in any field with a suspension/revocation on record....
  20. VivaLasViejas

    OOPS, WHOOPS, & POOPS | Share Your OOPS Moments of the Week

    VivaLasViejas replied to allnurses's topic in General Nursing

    Here’s an “oops” story for you: One morning I was giving a patient her bolus tube feeding and we got to talking. I don’t remember exactly what we discussed, but as I was removing the...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Who may witness medication waste

    VivaLasViejas replied to ERRNDubai's topic in Patient Medications

    When I worked in assisted living, I was the only nurse in the building, so I wasted controlled substances with the Executive Director. There was nothing in our policy and procedures that forbade it,...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    I just lost it!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Joe V's topic in General Nursing

    I had a meltdown at work when the assistant department manager called me into her office and started in on me about some small infraction of the rules (I don’t remember which one—she made them up...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Journey Through Menopause

    VivaLasViejas replied to Dr Georgianna Donadio's topic in General Nursing

    I was never so glad to be done with anything like I was with my reproductive years. I’d always had horrendous periods, but in my early 40s I began to have ones that were so long and heavy I almost...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Suicidal Ideation and Muscle Twitches | Case Study

    VivaLasViejas replied to SafetyNurse1968's topic in General Nursing

    Huntington’s is tragic. I’ve only had two Huntington’s patients in my career, both males in their 40s who were residents of the nursing home where I worked, and watching them deteriorate right...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Anxiety, depression and job hopping

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

    You are definitely NOT alone in fighting mental illness. There are a number of nurses on this website who live with brain-based disorders (I have bipolar I and anxiety) and I hope they’ll weigh in...