Crusty Old Bats

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Share your ancient memories. One of mine is Kardexes.  We used them in report.  Updated them with pencil and eraser ! 

Specializes in Emergency Department.

I know it's been a couple of weeks but I just thought of this;

Patients in bed for weeks at a time and the "Bowel Book". 

Sister would walk around the ward daily and ask if a patients bowels had moved that day. If they had - fine but...

If it was only one day missed no problem, 2 or 3 days missed meant an aperient, 4 days missed meant a suppository and 5 days meant an enema- the old "high, hot and a h*ll of a lot".

In extreme cases a manual evacuation was ordered (by the Sister) and the poor patient was put through what was basically torture to remove the hard stool.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.
GrumpyRN said:

I know it's been a couple of weeks but I just thought of this;

Patients in bed for weeks at a time and the "Bowel Book". 

Sister would walk around the ward daily and ask if a patients bowels had moved that day. If they had - fine but...

If it was only one day missed no problem, 2 or 3 days missed meant an aperient, 4 days missed meant a suppository and 5 days meant an enema- the old "high, hot and a h*ll of a lot".

In extreme cases a manual evacuation was ordered (by the Sister) and the poor patient was put through what was basically torture to remove the hard stool.

Before computers when I worked at the VA, they had something similar.  When a patient had a BM it was marked in the "stool book".  I manually disimpacted a patient the other week that was digging his own impaction out.  He didn't like it but felt better afterwards.  ?. 

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
Pepper The Cat said:

What was the med we gave sublingual for high BP? Adalat? You'd pierce then end of the capsule and squeeze the contents under the tongue.

Back in the mid 1980's they were just bringing in the ACE inhibitors and we would admit the patient for a few days to start them on their medication. Check their BP and if it was OK then give a quarter of the 50mg tablet and observe BP every 15 minutes for 1-2 hours. Slowly increase the dose and hopefully home a week or so after admission. These patients were bored out of their skulls because there was nothing wrong with them except hypertension. 

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Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.
GrumpyRN said:

I know it's been a couple of weeks but I just thought of this;

Patients in bed for weeks at a time and the "Bowel Book". 

Sister would walk around the ward daily and ask if a patients bowels had moved that day. If they had - fine but...

If it was only one day missed no problem, 2 or 3 days missed meant an aperient, 4 days missed meant a suppository and 5 days meant an enema- the old "high, hot and a h*ll of a lot".

In extreme cases a manual evacuation was ordered (by the Sister) and the poor patient was put through what was basically torture to remove the hard stool.

I did my first manual evacuation on my very first placement (geriatrics) in my first week. Unsupervised - just told what to do by an SEN (LVN) in a quick 30 second explanation and off you go. Mentorship????

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Specializes in Emergency Department.
DavidFR said:

I did my first manual evacuation on my very first placement (geriatrics) in my first week. Unsupervised - just told what to do by an SEN (LVN) in a quick 30 second explanation and off you go. Mentorship????

That sounds horrific, mine was also first placement but it was an acute medical ward. I was taught by a 3rd year nursing student - see one, do one, teach one.

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GrumpyRN said:

I know it's been a couple of weeks but I just thought of this;

Patients in bed for weeks at a time and the "Bowel Book". 

Sister would walk around the ward daily and ask if a patients bowels had moved that day. If they had - fine but...

If it was only one day missed no problem, 2 or 3 days missed meant an aperient, 4 days missed meant a suppository and 5 days meant an enema- the old "high, hot and a h*ll of a lot".

In extreme cases a manual evacuation was ordered (by the Sister) and the poor patient was put through what was basically torture to remove the hard stool.

That bowel book was a good idea.

 

 

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Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.
GrumpyRN said:

Back in the mid 1980's they were just bringing in the ACE inhibitors and we would admit the patient for a few days to start them on their medication. Check their BP and if it was OK then give a quarter of the 50mg tablet and observe BP every 15 minutes for 1-2 hours. Slowly increase the dose and hopefully home a week or so after admission. These patients were bored out of their skulls because there was nothing wrong with them except hypertension. 

Do remember this too!

This also reminds me of the patients who stayed hospitalised for ages just to be stabilised on Warfarin (Coumadin). INR every morning, variable dose Warfarin in the evening until you got the right dose to stabilise the INR. Imagine being hospitalised today just for that??!!

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Specializes in NICU, PICU, Transport, L&D, Hospice.

Our health outcomes would be better but profits would be down. 

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
DavidFR said:

Do remember this too!

This also reminds me of the patients who stayed hospitalised for ages just to be stabilised on Warfarin (Coumadin). INR every morning, variable dose Warfarin in the evening until you got the right dose to stabilise the INR. Imagine being hospitalised today just for that??!!

Men hospitalized for executive physicals.

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Specializes in oncology.
DavidFR said:

 How many 1st degree burns did we cause?

We did our own respiratory treatments at the VA (not RTs then) and not knowing where to grab = yow wee!

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Specializes in Oncology, ID, Hepatology, Occy Health.
Pepper The Cat said:

Charting in 3 colours.

 

I do remember having to write the Kardex in red on night shift while day shift was in black.

I remember my first night shift as a second year student on an acute medical ward. Did an admission and was so proud of the extensive novel I'd written to admit the patient, only to have it ripped up by staff nurse because it wasn't in red.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

Off topic but...

Happy Christmas, Happy Festivus, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hannukah, Happy Seasons Greetings to all the crusty old bats. (If I've missed anyone out, my apologies).

Hope to hear more from you all next year.

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