Nurses attack 'shameful' training

They were saying the same thing when my aunt graduated in the 60s.

I figure it's the "In my day this would never happen" syndrome

I have been a nurse for 25 years...(OMG ) and I have seen a difference in the work ethic. The new grads don't have alot of initiative to do anything extra, there is no ownership of unit, team, group or assignment. And the commaraderie among peers is not as genuine as it way "in my day". I do miss the good ol' days for some things.

and to add insult to injury, the new nurses have absolutely no respect for the older, more seasoned nurses. no matter what, i always show (more) respect to those older than me, and that includes the nursing assts.! but yes, it's definitely not like the good old days...sad but true.

I have a question. My husband's aunt, age 79, became a nurse at 54. She said in the 60's you could not go to nursing school if you were over 35. Now that sounds strange to me.

Anyone have any perspective on becoming a nurse over 35 in the 60's?

steph

Okay - you are all right - it is an old old argument.

Hospital training did produce nurses with more practical skills and with very good organisational skills and a strong worl ethic - why? Because those that did not have thede things did not survive. I wasn't "trained" I underwent 3 years of bullying. The first night as a young 17 yo I met the "intake" just ahead of me - they had been there all of 8 weeks and what were we told?

"Thank God you are here - we are no longer the dirt on the floor we will only be the slime on the walls"

That was how we were treated - anyone that did not put up and shut up was fired.

Later I taught hospital based programs - the initial training was only 6 weeks and it was 8 hours a day. Ever tried to concentrate for 8 hours a day??? That was the 1200 hour curriculum. Roughly equivalent to 5 subjects at university. Think - would 5 subjects prepare you for nursing??

In a way it still did - because of the hidden curriculum - those students studied - they studied thier backsides off. So much so that at the end of 3 years of full time rotating roster shift work + study they were burnt out.

What we are missing these days and I for onr am soooo grateful for the change is the attitude of "I read an article once and it said so we should.........."

The change has been slow but there is more emphasis on evidence basing and more people understand the difference between opinion and research.

Nurses now understand not just what to do but WHY they are doing it. This is the essence of critical thinking.

Please do not get me wrong - I am not a complete advocate of university training.

I believe we should have made it a "sandwich" course - with nurses employed as at a student nurse capacity as part-time while they attended university. This would be the "best of both worlds".

It would also attract back those that we lost - the bright sparks who just could not afford to go straight to university. Most of those we did not hold for long - nursing was merely a stepping stone but they did well and they achieved something they would not otherwise have had an opportunity to do. For society this is a good thing and for nursing it was a good thing because they became our advocates.

Many programs back then also required the students to be single. If you were married, no one knew about it. You had to live in the nurse's quarters, no such thing as going home at night. You literally gave yourself to the hospital for the two or three year program that you were in.

My, how times have changed!

I just don't see a bunch of bad new nurses where I work. They need real orientation to the unit to be sure, but I think that's reasonable considering the difference in acuity between now and 1965. Nurses then may have been able to hit the floor running, but I guarantee they weren't expected to come out and be able to look after a 23 weeker on an oscillator with lines and 15 solutions and meds running. I used to work pp and so did my aunt. She said it was ROUTINE for women to spend a week in the hospital after a normal delivery. Today, we're lucky if they are in for more than 48 hours, so even though I wasn't looking after as many patients as she had on the same type of unit, mine were much more acute.

I also have to say, I don't see work ethic or teamwork being any better among the older or more experienced nurses I work with (quite the opposite at my current workplace unfortunately, though it varies between units). Oh, the stories I could tell....

Thanks Fergus - you reminded me. Way back when I was training I remember being as a 2nd year student sitting in the staff room listening to the Charge Nurse being asked "How many have you had faint this week??" They were referring to student nurses. The hospital would rotate student nurses up to the unit in thier first year. The poor kids would take one look at the ICU patients and pass out for fear.

It became a standing joke.

My introduction to ICU nursing was - here is the patient - everything you will need to know about the ventilator is written here on the cover of the machine - call if you need help. I was in second year.

Ask me if I think things have improved......................