Turning The Clock Back Nursing ?

Nurses General Nursing

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what has change in nursing since the 1960's to the year 2000? that includes r.n.'s l.vn.'s l.p.n's and c.n.a's ? were any of you nurses back than or between than?

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Specializes in Med surg, cardiac, case management.

I know someone who was a nurse in the 60's. She said nurses then couldn't even tell patients their blood pressure---the doctor did that.

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Specializes in Government.

I was a CNA throughout the 70's and an RN since the 80's. The biggest things I've seen in 37 years:

1. People who would have been dead in the 70's and 80's are living now with high acuity. Care complexity has skyrocketed. This is true on geriatric and pediatric sides of life.

2. Stuff that used to keep you in the hospital for 2 weeks is now done outpatient.

3. People don't retire to nursing homes any more. We saw that a lot in the 70's; perfectly healthy older people using a nursing home as their retirement plan.

4. It is much much harder to tell who is an RN in any facility than it used to be.

5. Pumps! Shiny beeping pumps! They revolutionized care.

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

when I trained middle 80's we had the staff to spend time talking to the patients where as now too busy chasing my backside to say more than hello

Everyone was called Dr... Nurse.... Sister.... Mr.... Mrs.... now more informal not sure if its a good thing or not

We tended to play more practical jokes on new staff/students, not these days (never infront of patients unless we knew patient would be ok with it and was in on the joke. There was the few regular patients that we knew would assist us :))

Regular skin care and toileting. Now staff seem to think it is acceptable to use incontinent pads etc instead of reg care.

Just my experience in the UK from training to present day

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Specializes in critical care, management, med surg, edu.

So many its hard to fathom. Here are a few, but I will probably think of more.

1. Nursing process

2. Nursing diagnosis

3. Using a stethescope for anything beyond BP

4. Doing ANYTHING without an order

5. Witnessing a physician tantrum on a daily basis (at least one)

6. Protocols for sliding scale insulin, heparin gtts

7. Anything electronic, including beds

8. White uniform, nylons, shoes, caps

9. Personal days

10. Retirement plans

11. Stainless steel wash basins and bedpans

12. Patient teaching without a specific physician order

13. Universal precautions ie changing ostomy appliances without gloves !

14. ACLS education for nurses.

15. Advanced education for nurses with employer reimbursement

16. My first job paid $5.67 an hour

17. 12 hour shifts -- not rotating 2 or 3 shifts in the same week

18. Beside glucose monitoring

19. Caring for 24 pts with 2 aids and no IV pumps (6 post ops)

20. Telemetry

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Worked as a "nurse aid" in the 70's, we did back rubs and offered HS food. We ran our tails off rolling beds up and down because they wern't electric. The nurses smoked at the nurses station. Nurses were sent home if their uniforms wern't clean and white. We wore "clinique" shoes. We let people die when they were ready, we didn't send them to the unit. The unit was really the unit. My hourly pay was 3.10 . That was good. WE DID'T HAVE PRES-GAINY !!!!! THANK GOODNESS !!!Pt's got good care. Now paper work gets the care.

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There was 'HS care'. At 8 pm everyone on the floor stopped what they were doing and went from room to room, passing out 'nourishments' and ice, changing drawsheets, rubbing backs with lotion, and tossing wastebasket bags out in the hall to be collected. Rooms were kept free of extra 'stuff' and were clean. Linens were all flat sheets, pulled taut so they had not one wrinkle (think military bedmaking).

All of that didn't take much time with the entire staff doing it, and added greatly to the patient's comfort. Sad that there isn't time anymore for these little touches!

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Tele, ER.

Interesting thread! :)

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WE DID'T HAVE PRES-GAINY !!!!! THANK GOODNESS !!!Pt's got good care. Now paper work gets the care.
Amen!

Strange that you should bring up HS care. I have been thinking about this recently, and there is no reason why it can't be done. I am taking care of FAR fewer patients these days. Yeah, they're sicker, but having 5 patients instead of 15 should make all things equal. I work 7p shift, and have gone in with the intention of providing pm care. As yet, I haven't succeeded. The big difference I see (beyond paperwork) is that I'm not only caring for the patient, but for all their relatives and friends, and their (often) ridiculous demands. If we ever got back to taking care of our patients, perhaps this kind of care would be possible again.

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We do HS care.

I've only been a nurse for 9 years but I read Echo Heron's first book about nursing school back in the 1970's right before entering nursing school myself and it scared the heck out of me!

steph

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

HS cares are done in our facility--the CNAs are the ones responsible, but I am not above giving a nice backrub when a pt needs it!

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