How long have you been a nurse

[Rocknurse]

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?

[Buckeye.nurse]

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.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Since right after The Flood.

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

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

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

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Damn you're old!!!

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

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

Too long.

Three years.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

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!

[heron, ASN, RN]

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.

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

46 years, here.

[arhyme100]

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!

[arhyme100]

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!

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

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

[LittleNurseOffutt]

25 years and counting

[NurseCard, ADN]

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

Plan on working at least 25 more.