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

    Ashamed of Disability

    VivaLasViejas replied to BeOne77's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    How are you doing today?
  2. VivaLasViejas

    anxiety

    VivaLasViejas replied to generalRN2008's topic in Health, Stress Management

    If you work out, don't do it within 3-4 hours of going to bed; it revs up your system and makes it harder to wind down. Also, you can try a nice warm (not hot) shower or bath about 90 minutes before...
  3. VivaLasViejas

    Mental Illness and No rn experience since grad

    VivaLasViejas replied to mrm8's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Hello, and welcome to Allnurses! I think you'll find us a friendly and helpful bunch. There are a number of us bipolar nurses, and I hope some of the others will weigh in too. I myself am bipolar 1...
  4. VivaLasViejas

    Nurses with Mental Illness: Share Your Self-Care Strategies

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

    More on sleep: It's now been over two months since my psychiatrist imposed my "curfew", and it's got to be more than coincidence that I've been stable despite all the excitement with the new job. The...
  5. VivaLasViejas

    Nurses with Mental Illness: Share Your Self-Care Strategies

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Health, Stress Management

    As we are all undoubtedly aware, our nursing jobs can leave even the hardiest of us tired, burned out, anxious, and depressed. Most of us will experience it at least once during the course of our...
  6. VivaLasViejas

    When will I learn? Right back where I started

    VivaLasViejas replied to Marshall1's topic in Health, Stress Management

    I think you have to get to a place where you accept the fact that you need some form of assistance over the long term in order to live your BEST life. You were feeling better on the Pristiq because it...
  7. VivaLasViejas

    Career Change PLEASE!

    VivaLasViejas replied to Riverratfromohio's topic in LPN, LVN Corner

    Try coming over to the "dark side" and become a surveyor yourself. :) It's far more complicated than it looks on the surface---I've been in for a week and my head is spinning!---but you seem like a...
  8. VivaLasViejas

    Ashamed of Disability

    VivaLasViejas replied to BeOne77's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    FWIW, I think it's utterly ridiculous that you have to do that at all. Why (I wonder for the 900th time) are these programs structured only for nurses with addictions? It's a crime to use/divert...
  9. VivaLasViejas

    Hanging It Up

    VivaLasViejas posted a topic in Retired Nurses

    It seems almost unreal: in six days, I will don my scrubs, put my name badge on, and go to work at the nursing home like I have almost every weekend since last July. I will pass meds, listen to hearts...
  10. VivaLasViejas

    Ashamed of Disability

    VivaLasViejas replied to BeOne77's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    Here's what I can piece together out of that long post that disappeared into cyberspace. Basically what I said was, I had to retire from active nursing because I could no longer handle it physically...
  11. VivaLasViejas

    The Top 10 Things I Loved About Nursing

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Nurses Rock

    Many thanks to all of you who have commented. I'm so glad when something I write about touches a
  12. VivaLasViejas

    Ashamed of Disability

    VivaLasViejas replied to BeOne77's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I had a nice long post written and my iPhone decided to take a nap, so I'll get back to you later when I'm off work. Meanwhile, here's some (((HUGS))) for you from a fellow BP 1.
  13. VivaLasViejas

    Nurses with Mental Illness: Share Your Self-Care Strategies

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

    Have you looked into your city or county health department? These facilities usually offer some mental health services, and fees are often based on a sliding scale according to income. My husband and...
  14. VivaLasViejas

    Working with bipolar

    VivaLasViejas replied to Sezzie0000's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    OK. I'm home now and can give you a little more in-depth about how I personally have coped with BP on the job. I was diagnosed only a couple of years ago, at age 53. I am bipolar 1 and have had a...
  15. VivaLasViejas

    Working with bipolar

    VivaLasViejas replied to Sezzie0000's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I am at work right now and will respond more later. You are NOT alone. There are several of us here at Allnurses who battle bipolar and we are here to help. Hang in
  16. VivaLasViejas

    It's official.

    VivaLasViejas replied to SaraStrong's topic in Job Search, Interview, Resume

    Waiting for the results of your husband's CT to find out if his chemotherapy is working to shrink his pancreatic and liver
  17. VivaLasViejas

    How could a DON not know?

    VivaLasViejas replied to Kitty Hawk's topic in LTC: Directors, Assistant

    I've been through several of these things, and what you've described isn't a bit unusual. New job applications, people getting tossed out of their jobs, restructuring of the jobs that were left,...
  18. VivaLasViejas

    Hanging It Up

    VivaLasViejas replied to VivaLasViejas's topic in Retired Nurses

    Thank you. Believe me, it's come at a high cost.....but then, nothing that's worth doing is ever easy, is
  19. VivaLasViejas

    thinking about quitting night shift in LTC

    VivaLasViejas replied to The Bell Jar's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    Please take some time off, STAT. You need a little distance from the job to get perspective and figure out what you should do next. It doesn't have to be long---a week is often sufficient---and you...
  20. VivaLasViejas

    3-11 Admits

    VivaLasViejas replied to SleeepyRN's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I'm surprised you don't have an admissions nurse. That's what I did for the last six months, and believe me it was needed. Our admissions forms were over 15 pages between the physical and psychosocial...
  21. VivaLasViejas

    Injured worker trying to return to nursing

    VivaLasViejas replied to bellcollector's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    That's a good question. I know you have to be an RN in order to be a surveyor in my state, but others may differ. Discharge planning/UR jobs usually require a BSN. Geriatric case managers are...
  22. VivaLasViejas

    Injured worker trying to return to nursing

    VivaLasViejas replied to bellcollector's topic in Nurse Disabilities

    I echo what Esme said. Bedside nursing really should be off the table given your condition; not only are you in chronic pain, but it would be all too easy to injure yourself again. There are other...
  23. VivaLasViejas

    thinking about quitting night shift in LTC

    VivaLasViejas replied to The Bell Jar's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    I vote for sanity too. I remember getting the same way toward the end of my own night-shift years, and it just wasn't worth it. Working nights tends to exacerbate any underlying mental health...
  24. VivaLasViejas

    Resident nurse ratio question

    VivaLasViejas replied to LH...RN's topic in Geriatric, LTC

    That is patently ridiculous. It's not only too much for one nurse alone, but flat-out dangerous for the residents. If I ever run into this sort of scenario as a surveyor, I will take that facility...
  25. VivaLasViejas

    Med error or not?

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

    It doesn't matter whether the doctors "like" to be called in the early mornings---that's why they get paid the big bucks to be on-call. I'm a little surprised that your facility doesn't have a policy...