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

    History of Bipolar Disorder, can I do this?

    VivaLasViejas replied to got2bnc's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Certainly, there is a risk involved, but that's true of everyone: all nurses are capable of making mistakes. Just because one happens to have a mental illness does not mean that they will spin out of...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    Are my patients at risk?

    VivaLasViejas replied to apnurserock's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    There is no shame in having depression. You are not "crazy", you have a mental illness that many, many people have. It is treatable and manageable. Please be kind to yourself and get help; you owe...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    20 Things Nurses Wish They Never Had to Say

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in General Nursing

    Haha---I'd completely forgotten about this old thread. Thanks for resurrecting it!
  4. VivaLasViejas

    New Grad/Hate My Job/Life is Miserable!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Ruby Vee's topic in First Year After Licensure

    Oh, ye gawds, that first year.....an utterly miserable and nasty experience it was. I'd so looked forward to it in nursing school when I didn't know any better, and it dropped me on my head within the...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Unbearable heat

    VivaLasViejas replied to ocean.baby's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I don't know if it's a state-specific thing, but mine mandates that the thermostat in nursing facilities must be set between 72-76 degrees at all times. That's great in the winter, but in the summer...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    What to do when you don't know what else to do???

    VivaLasViejas replied to Mightymouse1212's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I think it would be a good idea to ask the hospice nurse to educate the family about EOL nutrition (or lack thereof) and the body's processes of shutting down. Families often need to hear it from...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    I am Staying strong with Bipolar disorder

    VivaLasViejas replied to Tesfanurse's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Hello there, I'm a fellow bipolar sufferer so I know a little bit about what you're going through. You are much tougher and braver than you give yourself credit for---kudos to you for sticking with it...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Has Anyone Here Worked in Assisted Living?

    VivaLasViejas replied to westieluv's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Yes, I worked in assisted living for about six years off and on. And I can tell you that many residents are nursing-home candidates---dementia, wandering, confused, combative, 2-person or Hoyer lift...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Mouthcare: glycerin and lemon mouthsticks

    VivaLasViejas replied to kay274's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I had to use them once when I was in the hospital, and they were awful---they actually made my mouth more dry. The "toothettes" dunked in cool water were much more refreshing to me. So whenever I had...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    LTC 101: What To Expect

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I hate to break it to you like this, but rehab/skilled nursing is MUCH more intense overall than LTC. In a skilled unit (SNF), you have a lot of really sick people who are basically sub-acute---fresh...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing Student w/ Anxiety

    VivaLasViejas replied to FriendlyCatLover's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Exactly....drugs like Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin and so on can be sedating, so they're not appropriate to use prior to or during a shift. Now I'm sure someone will come along to disagree with me on this...
  12. VivaLasViejas

    LTC 101: What To Expect

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Yep, sounds familiar! I finally burned out last year and got out of clinical nursing entirely, took a job as a state surveyor and fell flat on my face. I'm not even looking for nursing jobs...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Nursing Student w/ Anxiety

    VivaLasViejas replied to FriendlyCatLover's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    The first thing to do is remember that your record of getting through bad or frightening experiences, thus far, is 100%. The second thing is to NOT assume you're going to have a panic attack every...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Getting older...feeling forced out

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

    I remember this happening around my mid-40s. There were several of us "older" nurses on the Med/Surg unit, and we almost always got the worst assignments---heavy-care patients, fresh post-ops (with no...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Epic (Nursing) FAILS!

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nursing Humor

    HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Now that's a great story! Thanks for sharing.
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Totally Stressed

    VivaLasViejas replied to Hishands66's topic in Health, Stress Management

    It's hard to tell from the lack of details how severe the incident was. Did you grab her, shake her, curse at her? Or did you merely speak harshly and a little too loud? In a perfect world, we would...
  17. VivaLasViejas

    An Unapologetic Reasoning On Why You Don't Want To Be A Nurse.

    VivaLasViejas replied to Mr Midwife's topic in General Students

    Yep, that's exactly where I'm at now. All the nursing positions in my locale are either floor nursing jobs, which I can't do physically, or nursing management, which nearly earned me a stay in the...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    ADA Title I Sec. 12114 Section 104

    VivaLasViejas replied to newmommy26's topic in Nurses Recovery

    Major Depressive Disorder is indeed a disability. But it doesn't have to mean you're disabled. There is a big
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Employer resonsibility?

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

    At the last LTC I worked in, we had a male resident who was combative like that, and after he came back from a psych hospitalization we were given orders to swack him up with 5 mg. of Haldol IM...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    I Miss Nursing

    VivaLasViejas replied to Cricket183's topic in Retired Nurses

    Last year I retired from clinical nursing to become a state surveyor. That job didn't work out, and in late April I found myself unemployed again. Like many here, I have limitations which make it...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Heat and LTC facilities

    VivaLasViejas replied to motherof3sons's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I'll never forget working swing shift in LTC on the one and only 110-degree day our small city has ever seen. To say that it was a miserable experience would be the understatement of the year.....even...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    ADA Title I Sec. 12114 Section 104

    VivaLasViejas replied to newmommy26's topic in Nurses Recovery

    You know, there's never a good time for that announcement. If you say it during the interview, you more than likely won't be hired; if you wait until the job offer is in your hands, you run the risk...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    ADA Title I Sec. 12114 Section 104

    VivaLasViejas replied to newmommy26's topic in Nurses Recovery

    I hate to say this, but the ADA is pretty much toothless when it comes to matters of hiring/retaining workers with a disability. No, employers can't legally discriminate against us, but they can...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Depression and Anxiety

    VivaLasViejas replied to babykap's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I understand, OP. I have some of the same issues, and hope this thread will be full of good advice for you because working from home would be the ideal thing for me,
  25. VivaLasViejas

    History of Bipolar Disorder, can I do this?

    VivaLasViejas replied to got2bnc's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Hello, and Welcome to Allnurses! I'm a longtime member here who also happens to have rapid-cycling bipolar 1. I got through most of my career undiagnosed (didn't find out till a little over 2 years...