You know you're Old School when... - Page 7

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  1. Mar 2, '10 by
    Harris flush and a rotating enema

    Buck's Traction

    open wards - some rooms with up to 12 beds - bathrooms where in the main hallway

    When visiting hours were over - Visitors HAD to leave (no if's, and's, or but's)

    MD order for immediate family to stay with dying patient - friend's or significant others were NOT allowed

    Mrs/Ms/Mr/Dr/Student - NO first names ever or get a nasty talking to

    Patient TV's could be turned off and removed if the patient did not follow room rules (Yes, there was a time when patients actually had to follow the rules!).

    Using sugar on pressure ulcers

    Melting the soap bars that other patients had used during a bath to later be used for orthopedic patients needing SSE (soap suds enema's)

    In the days before accuchecks, the MD would taste the urine to see if a patient was hyperglycemic
    DeLanaHarvickWannabe, sevensonnets, and scoochy like this.
  2. Mar 2, '10 by
    Quote from abbaking
    In the days before accuchecks, the MD would taste the urine to see if a patient was hyperglycemic
    There is a very funny scene about this in the movie Young Doctors in Love, which, BTW, was filmed in the early 1980s during the heyday of General Hospital.

    I remember the old enema cans. Ah, 'twas better to give than receive....
    DeLanaHarvickWannabe, sharpeimom, CoffeeGeekRN, and 3 others like this.
  3. Mar 2, '10 by
    When visiting hours were over - Visitors HAD to leave (no if's, and's, or but's)
    I miss this. I already got flamed once for saying this but - our unit was on outbreak precautions for 1 1/2 weeks. No visitors permitted (except for 2 very sick pts) and it was heaven. The pts rang less and we could actually get work done without having to work around visitors.
    sevensonnets, CoffeeGeekRN, scoochy, and 8 others like this.
  4. Mar 2, '10 by
    Quote from Pepper The Cat
    Determining glucose levels by testing the urine. We would put the urine in a test tube then add a pill. Urine would change colour and you would determine glucose level by mathing the colour of the urine to a chart. I remember standing there desperately trying to match the colours up.

    Croup tents

    Humdified O2.

    Huge pillows placed between the legs of pts with hip replacements. Kept their legs spread far apart. You needed 2 nurses to turn because the pillows were so big.

    Smoking in the nursing station. Pts smoking in their rooms. I remember one pt was a quad and had some special apparatus to hold his cigarette - as a student I would have to put the cigaette in and light it. The first time I could not get the lighter to light - the next day my two smoking friends spent their break teaching me how to light a lighter!
    Do they not do this anymore? I know we humidify the O2 a lot and do the pillows to keep from adduction.
    DeLanaHarvickWannabe likes this.
  5. Mar 2, '10 by
    Humdified O2.

    Huge pillows placed between the legs of pts with hip replacements. Kept their legs spread far apart. You needed 2 nurses to turn because the pillows were so big.

    Smoking in the nursing station. Pts smoking in their rooms. I remember one pt was a quad and had some special apparatus to hold his cigarette - as a student I would have to put the cigaette in and light it. The first time I could not get the lighter to light - the next day my two smoking friends spent their break teaching me how to light a lighter!Do they not do this anymore? I know we humidify the O2 a lot and do the pillows to keep from adduction.

    We stopped using Humdified O2 after SARS. An occaisionaly pt will have, but most don't.

    We do use regular pillows- but these were enourmous abductor pillows. Basically, the pt's legs were kept completely spread apart. Think spreak Eagle width. They were very uncomfortable.
  6. Mar 3, '10 by
    Quote from Pepper The Cat



    We stopped using Humdified O2 after SARS. An occaisionaly pt will have, but most don't.

    We do use regular pillows- but these were enourmous abductor pillows. Basically, the pt's legs were kept completely spread apart. Think spreak Eagle width. They were very uncomfortable.
    Oh I see. Thanks for explaining.
  7. Guide
    Mar 3, '10 by
    Quote from Pepper The Cat



    We stopped using Humdified O2 after SARS. An occaisionaly pt will have, but most don't.

    We do use regular pillows- but these were enourmous abductor pillows. Basically, the pt's legs were kept completely spread apart. Think spreak Eagle width. They were very uncomfortable.
    Ah yes, Charnley pillows. Remember them and the CPM (continuous passive movement) machine for post op TKRs.
    sevensonnets likes this.
  8. Mar 3, '10 by
    Quote from canoehead
    The baby bus that came rolling down from the nursery to the postpartum unit , with room for 10 babies all wailing to be fed on schedule. Moms were made to do 10am, 2pm and 8pm care, otherwise they could leave the babies with the nurses because they needed their rest.

    Working an isolation unit without disposable gloves. Having immune suppressed patients and contagious rooms side by side and with the same nurse. We handwashed religiously after coming out of every room, every time. And had the lowest infection rate in the hospital.
    hear ye, hear ye
    canoehead likes this.
  9. Mar 3, '10 by
    Quote from midwest4me
    how totally sad(and unkind)that had to have been. glad i didn't work peds back then; never could've done that.

    anyone remember using granulex spray on decubs? gosh, i sure do. it had an oddly reassuring smell....wonder if it's even made anymore....

    we used "bag balm"(came in a green square tin originally intended for cow teets) on most all incontinent pts--worked great-as long as the nurses and aides were faithfully applying it! the urine just ran right off the butts with that stuff on it---like water that beads up on a freshly waxed car!

    i also recall the "painting" (i.e.,use of milk of magnesia then applying the heat lamp after taping the buttocks either to the side rail or up on to itself)--in fact, i recall how aghast i was when i watched the rn i worked with train me to do that treatment. it worked though!
    we use granulex at my facility! it's now known as trypsin balcast and the little green spray can says tbc on it. it works!
  10. Mar 3, '10 by
    Wow these shared memories make me feel like a spring chicken!..I do remember metal bedpans though..yikes!.. I read somewhere,something about nurses duties in the 18th century I believe, when they had to shovel coal light the furnaces,mop floors etc..before they even started their shift! If I ever run across the article again I will share it here..and the pay was nearly nothing!