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

    Can I be a registered nurse if I have bipolar disorder?

    VivaLasViejas replied to MeAndArmini's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    No, it's still private health information that the BON has no access to unless/until you grant it to them through a Yes answer to the
  2. VivaLasViejas

    May Is Mental Health Awareness Month

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't get
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Day 5: 2016 Nurses Week Mashup Contest

    VivaLasViejas replied to allnurses's topic in General Nursing

    Man-o-pause: That time of life when males get restless and agitated, and they go out and buy red sports
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Day 4: 2016 Nurses Week Top 5 Things Contest

    VivaLasViejas replied to allnurses's topic in General Nursing

    1. When a patient tells you they're going to die soon---believe them. 2. There is no limit to human ingenuity. Especially when it comes to patients who can squiggle out of 4-points in a flash and hurl...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Day 2: 2016 Nurses Week Fill In The Blank Contest

    VivaLasViejas replied to allnurses's topic in General Nursing

    ...the patient's girlfriend on top of him in the
  6. VivaLasViejas

    To tell or not to tell....??

    VivaLasViejas replied to Flightless Bird's topic in Health, Stress Management

    Generally, it's best not to say anything at all, especially since you were prescribed the Effexor AFTER you turned your papers in. It's nobody's business anyway, even if you had been given the drug...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    LTC is Great

    VivaLasViejas replied to ShaneTeam's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Thank you for this post, ShaneTeam. You put a finger right on the pulse of LTC nursing and reminded me of why I enjoyed it so much. It truly is a labor of
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Ten Ways To Know You're Burning Out

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

    I can't say as I blame you there. I've been out of the profession exactly two years today, and as much as I wish I were in a position where I could work, I wouldn't go back to nursing. It's become so...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    SNF/ALF challenges with Hospice providers?

    VivaLasViejas replied to HazelnutCream's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I think a big challenge in LTC facilities is educating floor nurses to be less afraid of giving adequate amounts of comfort medications. I've seen (and followed) many nurses who were so nervous about...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Insight on Dilaudid?

    VivaLasViejas replied to LifeIsBeachy's topic in Patient Medications

    The one time I had morphine, I almost clawed my skin off---the itching was so severe. Fortunately it's now on my allergies list so I'm usually given Dilaudid. Honestly, though, I'd rather have Toradol...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Meaning of your username?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Flightless Bird's topic in General Nursing

    Mine is grammatically incorrect Spanish for "Long live old women!"
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Quiz Me. Test my Knowledge.

    VivaLasViejas replied to HeavenBound'17's topic in Nursing Student Assistance

    I think the most important question is, what do YOU think about stroke? For example, what do you feel might be the short- and long-term implications for the patient, e.g. physical disability,...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Nurses smoking weed?

    VivaLasViejas replied to bunnynurse's topic in General Nursing

    I didn't use MJ at all when I was a working nurse, even though it is legal in my state. It wasn't worth the risk. Now that I'm "retired", however, I occasionally smoke a bowl with my husband, who uses...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    "There's Nothing Else We Can Do": The Tale of a Nurse on the Other Side

    VivaLasViejas replied to Jacqueline.Damm's topic in General Nursing

    My heart goes out to you. I am going through a similar situation with my beloved husband, who is dying from pancreatic cancer. Even as nurses, we are never quite prepared for things like this. Our...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    What is your Nursing Kryptonite?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Lunah's topic in General Nursing

    Yes. This. Give me your trachs, your C. diff, your pressure sores yearning to be healed, but don't make me handle your feet. Or your grody dentures.
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Obese Nurse....I feel like a fraud

    VivaLasViejas replied to Suga Moore's topic in Health, Stress Management

    I never weighed less than 240# the entire time I was a nurse. I also never had trouble getting a job because of the weight. Granted, this was during a boom time for nursing employment, but I can say...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    04/09 WILTW: Confused LOLs

    VivaLasViejas replied to cracklingkraken's topic in General Nursing

    I learned that when three different people diagnose you with the same thing, you ought to start believing it. I learned that I miss nursing more than I thought I would. Having my husband's hospice RN...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    T-shirt Sayings

    VivaLasViejas replied to kidzcare's topic in School

    Nurses: Here To Save Your Ass, Not Kiss It The Zyprexa Made Me Eat It Sarcasm---Just Another Service I
  19. VivaLasViejas

    My thoughts. Literally. Catheter. Psych Pt. ED

    VivaLasViejas replied to Ronda89's topic in Emergency

    I'm so grateful that I wasn't put through that sort of thing when I went to the ER for suicidal ideation some time back. I was held for six hours in the "psych room", which was what we called it when...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    I'm not coming back to this gig!

    VivaLasViejas replied to vintagemother's topic in Nursing Humor

    Eeeewwww.
  21. VivaLasViejas

    He is Risen!

    VivaLasViejas replied to kakamegamama's topic in Spirituality, Religion

    Happy Resurrection Sunday!
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Would you consider working at a place where a relative lives?

    VivaLasViejas replied to purplegal's topic in General Nursing

    My sister was a resident in the nursing home I worked in. Fortunately, my workplace had a policy about family members taking care of their own relatives, and I was never assigned to her
  23. VivaLasViejas

    The worst job you had before becoming a Nurse?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Want2BeeRN's topic in General Nursing

    Telemarketer. I lasted four hours and went home in tears because of all the mean things people said to me on the phone. I couldn't blame them either, and I knew I shouldn't have taken it personally....
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Juvenile felon

    VivaLasViejas replied to JesseniaP67's topic in Licensure: Criminal History

    Hi Jessenia, and welcome to AN!! I have asked the moderators to move your post to our Nursing with a Criminal History forum for more targeted responses. This is more of a general nursing forum and...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    A Nurse's Hands

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Thank you. Psych nursing isn't as easy as it may seem on the surface; my experience was as a resident care manager for a young adult unit in an LTC. These folks had physical challenges as well as...