VivaLasViejas ASN, RN

OK, we have an active thread about the types of patients and conditions we don't enjoy dealing with......now let's have one about the ones we DO like to take care of. As I said on the other thread, I love the grumpy old men.....once you get them tal...

I hear you! I was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment in February 2021. By that time I'd been "retired" for health reasons for over six years! The trouble with my STM loss and word-finding ability was it started around the time I was dx'd with b...

Hi there. I worked with arthritis throughout my 20-year nursing career, but I was older to start with (38) and I didn't plan well. I worked in LTC and in a hospital, plus I did management in between them when I was in too much pain to run the floors ...

😳 Well, shucks, I'm blushing even as I'm reading your message . Thank you SO much for your kind words, they mean the world to me. I haven't been here as much in the past year or so because I've been so busy dealing with one ailment/injury or another ...

Hi Silver Bells, I did indeed work in Assisted Living for about 6 years back in the early 2000s up to 2013. I was the only licensed nurse for three facilities. I did the delegations, made the schedules, served as a staff development coordinator, over...

HAHAHAHA!

If we've evolved from apes, why do we still have them? Why do we park in a driveway, and drive on a parkway? If the plural of 'mouse' is 'mice' and the plural of 'louse' is 'lice', why isn't the plural of 'house', 'hice'? Or 'blouse', ' bli...

I don't know if the process is different in your state, but where I live we can choose to put our license in either Inactive or Retired status when it's time to renew. I preferred to put mine in Retired status because a) I am indeed retired—I'm never...

I'm guilty of putting off health matters myself. Last year I fell and limped around on a fractured ankle for over a week before I gave in and went to the doctor, then followed it up with severe shortness of breath and wheezing which turned out to be...

In the way-back days when I was in nursing school, we had to wear all-white uniforms, shoes and socks. After we graduated, we had a party at one student’s house and literally burned our whites, that’s how odious they were. In those times health care ...

Yes, I felt it was an honor to be there when a patient breathed their last. It was usually a quiet, peaceful passage, but there was the occasional person who fought death to the bitter end for fear of what might be in store for them in the next world...

I like the term “transitioning” to describe the final journey into death. Especially for those who believe in an afterlife, it can be very comforting to hear that their loved one is soon to transition to a higher plane where they will be reunited wit...

How did that go?

BIG pro football fan here. I have a favorite team in each conference (AFC—Los Angeles Chargers, and NFC—Seattle Seahawks) but I’ll watch other games throughout the week too. That way I can root for other teams to knock off the ones I don’t like…I won...

I was honored to be called “Nurse”. I had worked long and hard to earn that title and it didn’t bother me at all when patients/families/doctors couldn’t remember my name. (Well, it did bug me a little when the hospitalists with whom I worked forgot t...

I used to warm up my blanket and comforter by tossing them in the dryer before I took my hot bath in the morning. Being cradled in warm bedding made falling asleep much easier. I turned off my phone and put a sign on my front door that said “Night sh...

On my ex-car’s bumper was a sticker that said “I Had a Life, But My Job Ate It.” Being responsible for others’ lives 24/7/365 really burned me out. I miss the facility but not the 50-60 hours a week I worked just to keep up with all my duties, to whi...

Not even close. As far as I’m concerned you are free and clear. Don’t worry!

I like the acronyms, like FOF (found on floor) and LOL (little old lady). PITA (pain in the arse). FOS (full of ‘stuff’)Syndrome. HHH enema—for the young nurses that’s High, Hot and Helluva Lot. CTD=circling the drain. There are zillions of others I ...

Yes, I have experience with Med/Surg nursing. I worked as a float to the postpartum unit and CCU as well. I only lasted as long as I did (not quite 3 years) because I was frequently pulled to those departments, which saved my sanity in the short term...

I’m a retired nurse with anxiety and bipolar I who ended up leaving the workforce at 55 because I just couldn’t take it anymore. The first 15 years or so were fine, and I thrived on the adrenaline rush. But my illness took over in my early to mid-50s...

What I want to know is, how on earth can anyone possibly think their political views need to be aired at work? I don’t care which side you’re on, it’s completely inappropriate to display a badge with a political theme while you’re on the clock. Shees...

Thank you. The Bill of Rights speaks of the right to LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That includes the unborn!

Of course I enjoy turning 600-pound patients. I wouldn’t get any exercise if it wasn’t for that. —said no nurse ever

I recently had an experience with PE myself. I had fallen and broken my right ankle, and of course it had to be casted and non-weight-bearing status ordered. A few weeks later, I noticed some peculiar symptoms like wheezing (which I attributed t...