How long have you been a nurse

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. How many years have you been a nurse?

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I was thinking and realized that I'm coming up on my 30th year of nursing. When I started we still wore dresses, hats and stockings and carried a pinned fob watch. Everything was done on paper and patients still smoked in their rooms. A lot of years have gone by but I'm still here. How long have you been a nurse?

Specializes in Hematology-oncology.

I've been a nurse for 14 years. I don't remember anything nearly as interesting as some of the previous comments....but there was a smoking room for patients at one of the hospitals I had clinicals at. I also remember the rubber ports on IV tubing instead of luer lock connectors, and wound-vac machines were just starting to grow in popularity when I was a patient care tech around 2001.

Since right after The Flood.

I'm glad to see us oldsters ruling the roost! :specs:

Yes and no. Will there be enough replacements with adequate experience when we sail off into the big R?

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.
Damn you're old!!! ;)

The only people who don't age are dead, so......

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Too long.

Three years.

Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
41 years.

I remember when nurses were encouraged to jump up and give their chairs to doctors. (I remember when nurses had time to sit!)

I remember ash trays in the nurse's station so the cardiologists and pulmonologists could smoke, and when the break room was the last place you wanted to take a break because of the cloud of cigarette smoke that perpetually hung over the table.

I remember glass thermometers that contained mercury, and playing with the mercury after we broke a thermometer.

I remember testing urine before giving insulin.

I remember white polyester nursing uniforms, white hose and Nurse Mates. White, of course.

I actually wore my cap once. (To my pinning ceremony.)

A smoking pulmonologist?

I can't be the only one who sees the irony in that!

Specializes in Hospice.
Ah, memory lane. I can relate to all of these.

The urine was tested by adding a pill to a test tube of urine and watching for the color change. (Hot!)

And I wore my cap for almost a year. :nurse:

Me, too! And a supremely ridiculous cap it was! Along with the white Clinics and the (scandalous!) white polyester pantsuit.

46 years, here.

I have been an LPN for 37 years! I should have become an RN in there but I have had such a great career doing so many different things, that becoming an RN didn't seem important. But now that retirement is near I wish I had the RN salary! Good luck out there everyone! Nursing is a wonderful profession!

I remember those things too! Cigarettes everywhere! no one knew the dangers as well. I remember doing specific gravity with urine. I can't remember why thought...what we were looking for...probably dehydration. I remember having a doc throw a chart at me and I threw it back! Then we both burst out laughing because no one had ever dared do that to him!

Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

I've been licensed for 10 years this month, working for 9.

25 years and counting

Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

15 outta sight years!!!! :laugh: Was an aide for 4 years before that.

Plan on working at least 25 more.

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