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  1. This is a discussion on Been nursing for half a century! in Success Stories in Nursing, part of Nursing Career Advice ... It's true! My very first day as a nurse was 1st September 1958! I trained at the Norfolk and...

    by Aug 28, '08
    It's true! My very first day as a nurse was 1st September 1958!

    I trained at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital in Norfolk, UK and upon finishing at the end of 1962, went into the orthopaedic theatre where the first surgeon ever to do hip replacements was working. I scrubbed for him regularly and only when I left did I discover that nowhere else was doing hip replacements! Whilst I was working there I also scrubbed for his first knee replacement which - so far as I have been able to discover, was the first done anywhere in the UK and possibly in the world!

    During my lifetime, I have worked in 20+ different hospitals and around 35 different operating theatres!

    When I started there was two types of bone plate to choose from, the Sherman and the Eggars plates, and just three sizes of screws, 5/32", 7/64" and 5/64". The Thompson and Austin Moore prostheses were available then (as now) for hemiarthroplasty for fractured necks of femur. For internal fixation of NOF was a variety of tri-fin nails or the McCloughlin four fin nails and accompanying plates. Intramedullary nailing was with a Kuntscher clovereafe shaped nail for femora and round bodied Rush nails for forearms. How things have changed!!

    This was me at the start of my training!



    Rejoice with me, my new friends! For I am STILL WORKING and I shall be 67 in 3 weeks time! Life has been fantastic and though the pay was usually pretty lousy, the other rewards have been indescribably wonderful!
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    http://allnurses.com/showthread.php?t=329448

    by Daisees Aug 28, '08 12:47 pm
    ©2013 allnurses.com INC. All Rights Reserved.
    Ayala, NursingDreamsS, NRSKarenRN, and 45 others like this.
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  3. 43 Comments so far...

  4. Aug 28, '08 by
    *whistle whistle* Look at that foxy young nurse!

    Congratulations on your achievement!!
    Daisees likes this.
  5. Aug 28, '08 by
    Congratulations!!! Thank you for all of your years of service and the impact you have made in your patient's lives!

    P.S. LOVE the picture!!! Thanks for sharing!!
    Daisees and herring_RN like this.
  6. Aug 28, '08 by
    Wow! Congrats on still going strong.
    Daisees likes this.
  7. Aug 28, '08 by
    Congrats that so awesome you have so much to look back on and to look forward to!!!
    Daisees likes this.
  8. Aug 28, '08 by
    And when I think of all the rest of us sitting around here griping and moaning......you've seen LOTS more over the years than most people in this business.
    Daisees likes this.
  9. Aug 28, '08 by
    May God bless and prosper you as you continue to help His children.
    Daisees likes this.
  10. Aug 28, '08 by
    Congratulations Daisees! That is amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your story- you are truly an inspiration!
    Daisees likes this.
  11. Aug 28, '08 by
    How awesome! Congratulations.

    I bet you're happy the days of the starched cap and uniform are over. :-)
    Daisees likes this.
  12. Guide
    Aug 28, '08 by

    I know only your years in nursing.
    You have lived a wonderful, productive, useful life.
    I know you will continue to be the wonderful person most nurses are!

    I was a candy striper, not yet a nurse in 1958.
    Daisees likes this.