1950s nursing

NurseFirst · Apr 2, 2005

For a really wonderful look at student nurses in the 1930s and 40s, read the books about Sue Barton by Helen Dore Boylston. The author was a nurse herself.

Welcome to allnurses, Wendy79!!!

NurseFirst

RainbowSkye · Apr 2, 2005

When I was about nine years old my mom bought a huge box of Cherry Ames books at a yard sale. From that point on, I knew I wanted to be a nurse. And I wanted to go to a diploma nursing program just like Cherry.

Let's see: there were about fifty students in my class. All female, no men allowed. No one could be married. Everyone had to live in the nursing dorm which was attached to the hospital by a tunnel. We had two housemothers who lived on the first floor (by the exits) and we had very strict curfews (most of us complained it was worse than our parents' curfews at home). We could have visitors of the opposite sex only at certain times, and they were not allowed in the dorm rooms (as a matter of fact, bells were rung when the maintenance men needed to come up to the living areas for some reason and everyone would holler "Man on the Floor"). There was a nice little visiting area with a fireplace, couches and a tv right outside one of the housemother's room where you could meet with your sweetie.

Freshman year we all went to the local university for classes in the morning - anatomy, physiology, micro, psych... Afternoon classes were in the basement of the dorm. There were several classrooms down there, a nursing arts lab and an auditorium. The first semester we studied Nursing Arts I learning how to make beds (with the bottom sheet seam down and the top sheet seam up, and of course with the pillow case opening facing away from the door), how to give bed baths and backrubs. In Nursing Arts II we learned how to give po, sub-q and IM injections and other more complicated nursing procedures.

After successfully completing our first semester we had a capping ceremony in the dorm basement. All family and friends were invited (and actually came - this was a big deal). We got a plain white cap at this time. After finisihing our second semester we got a thin black velvet band for our cap (at our black banding ceremony).

For our Junior year (no Soph. because the program was three years) we divided into four groups and started clinicals. If I remember correctly we had Medical, Surgical, Operating Room and Psych. 12 weeks each. Four hours of class on Monday and Tuesday morning (afternoons to study) and then eight hours of clinical on Wed, Thurs and Fri. We had to go to the hospital Tuesday afternoon for our assignments so we could work on med cards and care plans. After this year we got a fat black band for our caps.

Finally Senior year. Same schedule as our Jr. year but now we did Peds, OB, Leadership and a course that was kind of a combination of out-patient and home health nursing/Intensive Care Nursing (six weeks of each as I recall). We were very lucky to have an Intensive Care class as most hospitals in the area didn't have dedicated ICUs at the time and ours did.

Even though this was about 35 years ago, I still feel grateful for my initial nursing education. My old school is no longer in operation. Time marches on.

Thanks for the opportunity to take a walk down memory lane.

LPNer · Apr 2, 2005

I can remember as a very young teen in the early 60's having surgery for an inquinal hernia repair and spent a week in the hospital. I was out of bed 2 days after and walked with my nose to the floor the entire time I was in the hospital. My youngest daughter had the same surgery in the same hospital in '78, they " glued" her together and sent her home the same day!
I remember disinfecting rectal tubes and sterilizing equipt. in the autoclave. No disposable needles. Metal bedpans ( we used them as planters in my facility for a long time after the disposable came out). I remember going to our DON to get permission to wear white uniform pants in the 70's. That had to be OK'ed by the administrator! My cap was always off to one side of my head because I was always climbing under beds to connect bed restraints!
Ah the memories!
I also remember prepouring meds in a med room with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth!
Wow, that was a short walk back in time!

I sure miss having my cigarettes while I chart!

pickledpepperRN · Apr 2, 2005

My grandmother became an LVN in Texas in 1917. Working nights the nurses peeled potatos for breakfast. They used hypodermoclysis a lot to hydrate kids with diarrhea.

When I was in LVN school in California (1960s) we were subject to an underwear check. Only white cotton was allowed. We wore blue dresses with a white pinafore over it. Clinical was three days in a row. I only had two uniforms so had to wash and iron after an eight hour shift followed by a post conference.

Hair above the collar, white stockings and clinic shoes. I had to remove the arch support because it hurt.

We only wore gloves to protect the patient. Even cleaned uo blood with our bare hands.

Clinitest - 5 gtt urine in the test tube, ten gtt H2O, fifteen seconds - compare the color. The test tube became very hot.

Working nights we had to do a clinitest on a double voided specimen. Wake up the patients at 4:00 am, walk them to the bathroom. Then at 6:00 am have them void again so the clinitest would be closer to the true blood sugar.

In the 1970's I too remember the A-line transducers with the dome. You had to be VERY careful not to get air in the system. If you did a hurried physician would watch and fume as you 'flicked' the transducer and tubing.

In 1980 every patient with a Swan Ganz was a 1:1 as was a titrated dopamine drip.

Remember patients in for tests having a doctors order to go out to dinner with family?

germain · Apr 2, 2005

Oh yes, we were taught that none of the sheet could have the seams touching the pt, nor could it have WRINKLES, we had to make sure that the sheets and blankets were completely flat because that will irritate the skin, we also had to make special "foot folds" that the sheet and the blanket had to be in a perfect about 4 inch fold at the bottom of the bed, so they wouldn't bother the toes. We were also taught to fold back the sheet, and there were ways to do it, multiple folds, different folds for weither they were coming back from surgery...
What a waste of time, I wish we had spent more time on learning usefull stuff. But if then if I deside to change careers I can always make beds for a living/

I trained as an aide with a retired nursing instructor and remember making beds OVER and OVER until they were FLAT. She was a great instructor, a real view into the past, and her voice is still with me when I make a bed or wash a foot.

KRVRN, BSN, RN · Apr 2, 2005

Ok, a question... how the heck did nurses and doctors take a blood pressure before velcro was invented?

NYERNURSE · Apr 2, 2005

This isn't the 1950's but things have changed a lot since the 70's.

In 1972 I went to my family doctor with abdominal pain. I was 10. The doc was a chain smoker and I remember him blowing smoke in my mother's face as he said "I can tell by how she's walking that she has appendicitis." Mom practically carried me across the street to the hospital. I sat in the ER for 7 hours in excruciating pain. I finally went to the OR to take care of a burst appendix. I was hospitalized for 10 days. The surgeon placed my NGT and IV's. The residents and interns changed my IV fluid bottles and antibiotics. Nurses didn't touch it. The docs gave me a bag of orange IV fluid. I think they said it was protein but I thought it was orange crush soda.

By day 3 I felt much better and very much enjoyed the wheelchair races with the other kids down the long hallways. I received a backrub every morning and evening without fail from the nice nurse. A hippy young resident came into my room POD # 3 and gave me a bottle of a weird yellow-green drink..."new on the market" he exclaimed.."It does a great job of rehydrating pts" he told my mom. It was gatorade. The surgeon told me it was made from Louisiana gator and I believed him. The drink was written as an order in my chart. He also told me that if I got well enough to go home that he would buy me a pizza. He kept his promise.

I remember that a kid across the hall died. The docs and nurses all stayed with the family for hours while they cried and hollered. It was heartbreaking. I can't imagine doctors doing that today.

After insurance the bill my father received was 25 bucks...it covered everything.

pickledpepperRN · Apr 2, 2005

Ok, a question... how the heck did nurses and doctors take a blood pressure before velcro was invented?

The BP cuffs had flat hooks and button holes. We got the closest fit we could.

colrainrn · Apr 2, 2005

Today we had a Ethics retreat day at our hospital...I guess I could post this anywhere but some of its relevant(and Im the original poster.

One of our "seasoned nurses" as she likes to be called told of how MD and Nurse used to get along...How a chair would be given to the doc upon arrival, howMDs would send the nurse off the floor if her hat was crooked or if she had a run in her leggings. They said their was no direct communication to nurses but if a doc had a problem he followed the chain of command and reported you to the head nurse who reported it to the director who called you in to discuss the issue maybe a week later.

there were two wards..male and female 10 patients each. No shipping patients out in our small community hospital..gunshots, heart probs all were dealt with. No first names were used to address docs or nurses. There was a heirarchy for sure.

A doc responded by saying that some of that was good because now its hard to tell who is caring for patients because staff comes and goes...its hard to know if the nurse is accurate, trustworthy, and level headed or if he/she is an alarmist who makes poor decisions at times...and he states he must be a hard *** about stuff because its his practice on the line. Another doc says he always feels bad about approaching nurses for discussion because we always seem busy to the point of overwhelmed.

We spoke some of how in the old days the patient wasnt told all that much..today they come in with internet knowledge, television knowledge etc. Lastly for now..one older nurse brought in this cool sign that said "Patient Rules...Keep your feet off the bed, make your bed if you are able, and two other things I didnt get a good look at. Replies are welcome

Jamesdotter · Apr 3, 2005

Re: the BP cuffs before velcro. Ours were long tapered sleeves that we wrapped around the extremity like a bandage and tucked in the end.

rach_nc_03 · Apr 3, 2005

I miss the smell of tincture of benzoin!

the nurses on my unit use tincture of benzoin swabs a lot to anchor rectal bags. the smell of it makes me sick!!:stone

LPNer · Apr 3, 2005

Ok, a question... how the heck did nurses and doctors take a blood pressure before velcro was invented?

Been there done that!

The cuff was quite long and it wrapped around until it wasa several layers thick around the arm, then inflate and take blood pressure as you do now with a stethescope. The whole thing did not inflate, I suppose being wrapped so many times around the arm didn't allow for inflation at the far end of the cuff.