I was admitting a patient the other night into the PICU, and the parents were VERY anxious. Rightfully so. Our attending, in an effort to make them more at ease, said, "Meanmaryjean has been a nurse for over thirty years and is our most experienced nurse!"
As is sometimes the case, I discovered that I have been a nurse longer than the parents have been alive. But it got me thinking, so I offer up this thread for you 'more experienced' nurses (and those who aren't if you want).
I'll start off by saying:
I've been a nurse since before there was an internet. Before AIDS. Before Elvis died.
This November marks my 40th year in nursing. Two thirds of my life. I remember being so thrilled when we were allowed to no longer wear uniform dresses but pantsuits.....yes double knit pantsuits with a flared pointed collar. And when the pantsuits were allowed we could also wear "nurses clogs"' scrubs were worn only in OR and L & D and were either 10 sizes too big or so damn tight one couldn't sit without fear of splitting the seam of your pants. It wasn't until years later that I realized some of the nursing aides on night shift went through the laundry delivery and hid away all the popular sizes and pants. I wore those hideous potato sack scrub dresses during my 5 months in L & D because my sizes were hidden in someones' locker. {shrug}
I remember getting down on my knees to measure the drainage in the chest tube bottle (yes glass bottle) because we didn't dare raise it too high lest the contents flow back into the chest cavity; we had those killer heavy metal frames on the ortho beds and having to push those Stonehenge-sized things up and down the old ramp style hospital during nursing school. I remember in the Recovery Room (as PACU was called back in the dimness of time) cleaning the patient stretchers on night shift, mopping the floors and ensuring all the metal bed pans, emesis basins, wash basins etc. went through the sterilizer hopper and were lovingly placed into a paper cover and racked up in the clean utility room ready for use.
While I have utmost respect for most nurses that have been doing this for decades, I have to politely interject that time in the field does not necessarily mean you have earned patient trust or respect. I say this because I have seen a few (not many) older nurses who just simply are not good nurses. Poor judgement, poor assessment skills, bad habits, bad reports, sloppy, apathetic, etc. MOST of the older nurses I know are awesome, and deserve all the respect in the world, just saying, time in a field does not mean you are proficient at the job. This could apply to pretty much any job really. On the other hand, I know nurses under 5 years who are incredible nurses......attentive, aware, compassionate, critically sharp thinkers, thorough, etc.
As for me, I was a late blooming nurse. Born in '80, been an RN since '11. I don't at all regret having waited until my late 20's to go into nursing. I feel like my life experiences up until then were preparing me for this and I'm a better nurse for it. In fact, I sometimes feel a little sorry for nurses I see come in fresh, having never worked a real job or handled many real world problems. But hey, every choice has its pros and cons.........we all have something to offer.
Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
Hmm, been in the healthcare profession (CNA) since nude panty hose and white uniforms were mandatory, and chest tubes set ups were glass bottles and Milk of Mag along with a heat lamp was used to heal decubes (1981).
I became an LPN around the time when gas was a 1.10 a gallon (1984), and Demerol was the pain med of choice for post op pt's, along with Phenergan for nausea.
I obtained my RN a month after George Bush SR was inaugurated into office and documentation was done in charts using the SOAP method. My hospital used black ink for days, green for evenings and red for nights (1989).
Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
While I have utmost respect for most nurses that have been doing this for decades, I have to politely interject that time in the field does not necessarily mean you have earned patient trust or respect. I say this because I have seen a few (not many) older nurses who just simply are not good nurses. Poor judgement, poor assessment skills, bad habits, bad reports, sloppy, apathetic, etc. MOST of the older nurses I know are awesome, and deserve all the respect in the world, just saying, time in a field does not mean you are proficient at the job. This could apply to pretty much any job really. On the other hand, I know nurses under 5 years who are incredible nurses......attentive, aware, compassionate, critically sharp thinkers, thorough, etc.
As for me, I was a late blooming nurse. Born in '80, been an RN since '11. I don't at all regret having waited until my late 20's to go into nursing. I feel like my life experiences up until then were preparing me for this and I'm a better nurse for it. In fact, I sometimes feel a little sorry for nurses I see come in fresh, having never worked a real job or handled many real world problems. But hey, every choice has its pros and cons.........we all have something to offer.
I have worked with older nurses who are not the strongest nurses and I do think they are not kept up do date on best practice, and have a difficult time being progressive in their skills. Many use the same thought process that they learned back when they graduated school. While all of this isn't bad, there are new ways to do things that are evidenced based. With that being said, many older nurses (like me, lol) know many tips and tricks to make the job easier.
Both older and younger nurses could learn a lot from each other if they accepted each other.
Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
This November marks my 40th year in nursing. Two thirds of my life. I remember being so thrilled when we were allowed to no longer wear uniform dresses but pantsuits.....yes double knit pantsuits with a flared pointed collar. And when the pantsuits were allowed we could also wear "nurses clogs"' scrubs were worn only in OR and L & D and were either 10 sizes too big or so damn tight one couldn't sit without fear of splitting the seam of your pants. It wasn't until years later that I realized some of the nursing aides on night shift went through the laundry delivery and hid away all the popular sizes and pants. I wore those hideous potato sack scrub dresses during my 5 months in L & D because my sizes were hidden in someones' locker. {shrug}
I remember getting down on my knees to measure the drainage in the chest tube bottle (yes glass bottle) because we didn't dare raise it too high lest the contents flow back into the chest cavity; we had those killer heavy metal frames on the ortho beds and having to push those Stonehenge-sized things up and down the old ramp style hospital during nursing school. I remember in the Recovery Room (as PACU was called back in the dimness of time) cleaning the patient stretchers on night shift, mopping the floors and ensuring all the metal bed pans, emesis basins, wash basins etc. went through the sterilizer hopper and were lovingly placed into a paper cover and racked up in the clean utility room ready for use.
OMG, those heavy ortho frames with the end pieces that stuck out just enough to jab one in the side of the leg when rushing by. I always had bruises on my hips. OUCH!
My LPN boards were 8 hours of pencil paper testing, divided into two 4 hour sessions. RN boards were the same except they had two days of 8 hour testing. We got our results about 6-8 weeks later.
No good pop-ups! Ha ha
I sat for NCLEX ( I'm not sure that was even what it was called then) in 1987. I had just had a baby two weeks after graduation. I was exhausted. It was a two day paper and pencil exam. People were throwing up in the trash can out of anxiety. I sat on a donut and pumped breasts in the car at lunch time. It was surreal.
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.
I've been a nurse since before Daisy my cat was born. I've been a nurse since before my favorite team went to the Final Four in '05. I've been a nurse since before smart phones. Before Obama was elected. Before Michael Jackson died. Before most places went to computer charting.
I've been a nurse since June 2003. I was 30 years old. Been in healthcare since 1999.
While I have utmost respect for most nurses that have been doing this for decades, I have to politely interject that time in the field does not necessarily mean you have earned patient trust or respect. I say this because I have seen a few (not many) older nurses who just simply are not good nurses. Poor judgement, poor assessment skills, bad habits, bad reports, sloppy, apathetic, etc. MOST of the older nurses I know are awesome, and deserve all the respect in the world, just saying, time in a field does not mean you are proficient at the job. This could apply to pretty much any job really. On the other hand, I know nurses under 5 years who are incredible nurses......attentive, aware, compassionate, critically sharp thinkers, thorough, etc.
As for me, I was a late blooming nurse. Born in '80, been an RN since '11. I don't at all regret having waited until my late 20's to go into nursing. I feel like my life experiences up until then were preparing me for this and I'm a better nurse for it. In fact, I sometimes feel a little sorry for nurses I see come in fresh, having never worked a real job or handled many real world problems. But hey, every choice has its pros and cons.........we all have something to offer.
Why did you feel the need to interject that tired topic? This thread is not about whether older nurses who are sloppy, bad habits etc. Nor is it about new nurses inexperience. I don't understand why you felt the need to bring that up.
I've been a nurse since 2006, we had kardex careplans and all paper charting , MARs, and orders then, I've worked in med surg, LTC , home health, pre admission, and surgical, I've enjoyed most of my patients, coworkers, and positions, I'm proud to be an RN:nurse:
Why did you feel the need to interject that tired topic? This thread is not about whether older nurses who are sloppy, bad habits etc. Nor is it about new nurses inexperience. I don't understand why you felt the need to bring that up.
Because I disagree with the social stigma that age and experience automatically earns respect. How you use that age and experience earns respect. I mean, I'll show anyone respect until they prove they don't deserve it, but I never assume someone is wise and respectable just because they're old and experienced. Sorry if that offended you. Just stating my opinion, which was relevant to the thread.
I did intentionally reiterate that most older and experienced nurses are wise and very respectable. I've just known people (in other walks of life as well) that automatically think you have to respect them because they're your seniors, even though they never earned it.
Because I disagree with the social stigma that age and experience automatically earns respect. How you use that age and experience earns respect. I mean, I'll show anyone respect until they prove they don't deserve it, but I never assume someone is wise and respectable just because they're old and experienced. Sorry if that offended you. Just stating my opinion, which was relevant to the thread
I did intentionally reiterate that most older and experienced nurses are wise and very respectable. I've just known people (in other walks of life as well) that automatically think you have to respect them because they're your seniors, even though they never earned it.
Actually no, it isn't relevant. This wasn't a thread about who was "better", simply a fun thread about how many changes we've seen. No need to come in and pee on it.
And I've been a nurse since beds had cranks - my shins still remember!
3)Bill Wyman (bass player) announced he was leaving The Rolling Stones.
4) The Prince and Princess of Wales (Charles and Diana) announced their separation.
5)It took six weeks to get results after BON exams.
6)We had pagers (or "beepers") we carried if we were on call, and then if you weren't home you had to find a pay phone to call in. But there were a lot more pay phones in those days!
txredheadnurse, BSN, RN
349 Posts
This November marks my 40th year in nursing. Two thirds of my life. I remember being so thrilled when we were allowed to no longer wear uniform dresses but pantsuits.....yes double knit pantsuits with a flared pointed collar. And when the pantsuits were allowed we could also wear "nurses clogs"' scrubs were worn only in OR and L & D and were either 10 sizes too big or so damn tight one couldn't sit without fear of splitting the seam of your pants. It wasn't until years later that I realized some of the nursing aides on night shift went through the laundry delivery and hid away all the popular sizes and pants. I wore those hideous potato sack scrub dresses during my 5 months in L & D because my sizes were hidden in someones' locker. {shrug}
I remember getting down on my knees to measure the drainage in the chest tube bottle (yes glass bottle) because we didn't dare raise it too high lest the contents flow back into the chest cavity; we had those killer heavy metal frames on the ortho beds and having to push those Stonehenge-sized things up and down the old ramp style hospital during nursing school. I remember in the Recovery Room (as PACU was called back in the dimness of time) cleaning the patient stretchers on night shift, mopping the floors and ensuring all the metal bed pans, emesis basins, wash basins etc. went through the sterilizer hopper and were lovingly placed into a paper cover and racked up in the clean utility room ready for use.