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

    I finally took the sick role.

    VivaLasViejas replied to hazyblue's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    What the.....??! I've never heard of firing someone and then keeping them on till the end of the month. Either you're fired, or you're not---there's no middle ground. I'd tell 'em to go chase a cat if...
  2. VivaLasViejas

    I'm stuck w/ a LTC patient who has Munchausen's

    VivaLasViejas replied to AnonymousDeleted's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    My sister is the same way. I love her to death but she just drains me. Thank God she's in an assisted living facility, although I feel sorry for the staff! To her, everything is an ordeal---they make...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    I'm stuck w/ a LTC patient who has Munchausen's

    VivaLasViejas replied to AnonymousDeleted's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    First thing, slow down and take a nice deeeeeep breath. This lady is indeed a lot to handle, and I'm sorry but there's at least one in every LTC. Second, she more than likely does NOT have...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    I finally took the sick role.

    VivaLasViejas replied to hazyblue's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Please don't throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water. Quitting a job outright because you need sick leave and are afraid someone will judge you is like killing a spider with a flamethrower....
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Need to vent!

    VivaLasViejas replied to NurseQT's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Sounds like a really unsafe situation to me. Any LTC nurse worthy of the name knows that any unanticipated change in planes = fall. And someone needs to teach your co-workers what, where, why, when,...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    New Nurse Having Panic Attacks!

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

    You have received some excellent advice here. I'm another nurse who suffers from sometimes-crippling anxiety, which comes with my bipolar disorder. One of the most important life lessons I've gained...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    You gotta love them!

    VivaLasViejas replied to CapeCodMermaid's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Wine was my first thought too, and I don't even drink!
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Have you been ever gotten sick from working as a nurse?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Aly529's topic in Health, Stress Management

    Back in 2005 I got MRSA cellulitis---once on my face, the other two times on my right leg. Then I got C. diff after being on Clindamycin for six weeks. And THEN my gallbladder conked out! (Can't blame...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Yahoo article....wrong again....there is no shortage

    VivaLasViejas replied to CapeCodMermaid's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    There will be a shortage when all of us Baby Boomers are finally out of the workforce and needing care ourselves. The youngest of us are turning 50 this year, and the oldest will be pushing 70 soon....
  10. VivaLasViejas

    State Surveyors

    VivaLasViejas replied to jessicaRN32's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    You mean the surveyors actually conducted the survey with Noro in the building??! A couple of months ago, my team entered a facility and left an hour later.....half their residents and staff were...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    State Surveyors

    VivaLasViejas replied to jessicaRN32's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Can't blame you
  12. VivaLasViejas

    State Surveyors

    VivaLasViejas replied to jessicaRN32's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    What CCM said ^^. Another "must" is a cooperative attitude. Never argue with a surveyor, even if you disagree with what they're saying or doing. We expect you to stand your ground if you know your...
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Impossible Family Member

    VivaLasViejas replied to bluegeegoo2's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    These are the kind of family members we wish would take the resident home with them, if they think they can take such better care of him/her. And they need the Ativan far worse than the resident. No...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Misunderstood

    VivaLasViejas replied to EnergyHeals's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I echo what the previous poster said about legal advice; you really do need to find an attorney who knows something about the laws governing nursing practice in your state. A lot of nurses make the...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Important development

    VivaLasViejas replied to BeOne77's topic in Psychiatric

    I've checked out all the links provided in this thread, but I'm not buying it. Perhaps it's because I'm too close to the situation, being a patient and all, or perhaps because I honestly don't care...
  16. VivaLasViejas

    Yikes! Violence?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Rnrpnwannabe's topic in Psychiatric

    He never got that far. Another nurse came out to the nurse's station and we kept him distracted long enough for the muscle to get there. The patients didn't see or hear a thing till it was all over....
  17. VivaLasViejas

    Would you give it to them?

    VivaLasViejas replied to ProudMom511's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Happens all the time. I remember when I was new, aides would come up to me at the med cart and ask for some Tylenol, and I'd ask them if they had any allergies before I'd give them anything. I just...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Yikes! Violence?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Rnrpnwannabe's topic in Psychiatric

    I was working OB one night when a fellow who had a restraining order preventing him from seeing his wife and newborn baby (domestic violence) came up to the floor with a gun in his hand and threatened...
  19. VivaLasViejas

    Non-diapering nursing home patients

    VivaLasViejas replied to ASSEDO's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    No human's bottom was meant to be encased in plastic 24 hours a day. Leaving the area open to air while the resident is in bed is usually better for their skin, as long as they are checked for...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    Quit my first nursing home after 1 day!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Trixyp's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    That place sounds like a nightmare from Hell, OP. I hope you'll consider making a phone call to the state agency that regulates LTCs and put in a report. Those poor residents don't deserve the kind of...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Interventions for Auditory Hallucinations

    VivaLasViejas replied to Isastorm's topic in Psychiatric

    I have seen the show, and in fact I wrote a review on it in the Break Room. This last episode was better than the first two IMHO, and I do sort of empathize with Catherine on missing her mania. Well,...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Interventions for Auditory Hallucinations

    VivaLasViejas replied to Isastorm's topic in Psychiatric

    That's interesting! Before it happened to me, I barely knew people even had auditory hallucinations. The thing with me is, my hearing is excellent and the hallucinations happened only during manic or...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    Important development

    VivaLasViejas replied to BeOne77's topic in Psychiatric

    Well said, JustKeepDriving. And you're right about taking meds. Even my psychiatrist says, and I quote, "Taking meds sucks!" I don't know a single person who WANTS to take psych meds, not with all...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    recovered from physical disability

    VivaLasViejas replied to peaq's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I'm with you there. I don't know how anyone who lives with mental illness can get through life without a sense of humor! And no, we did not lose 50 points off our IQ when we got our...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    recovered from physical disability

    VivaLasViejas replied to peaq's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Unless you are asked point-blank for a med list and/or a health history, you really shouldn't disclose this information. It is none of the school's business. If you are asked for it, find out what the...