Specializes in Neuro/NSGY, critical care, med/stroke/tele.
When I was in nursing school 12-13 years ago, we were taught how to do that, even though everyone was using electronic pumps. I wonder if that skill is still being taught in nursing school now?
I just retired, but when I first started in nursing, we were still wearing white dresses and nurse caps. I surely did not miss them when they were gone. During my first year as a nurse, the hospital where I was working made the decision that nurses could choose whether to wear their caps or not. Most of us chose not to wear them. One morning many doctors were gathered around what we used to call the nurses' desk, getting ready for rounds. A doctor, whom I did not recognize, (he was a surgeon doing a consult on one of our patients) called out that he needed an RN to come look over the orders he had just written. I was right there, so I walked over to him and asked what I could help with. He looked at me and proceeded to yell at me for not wearing my cap, asking how was he possibly to know if I was an RN or not, that he made all the nurses in his office wear caps, and on and on. I was totally embarrassed and everyone standing around was very uncomfortable with what was happening. He finally settled down and started to explain things to me, none of which I heard. I just felt so humiliated. I wish I had had the courage at that time to say, "How do I know you are a doctor? I don't know you and you are not carrying your little black bag." But I am sure I would have been fired on the spot. I vowed to never let a doctor treat me like that again, and I haven't. Well, I do not miss those caps!
I can remember having to put sand bags on each side of the head for those having cataract surgery. They had to stay like that for two weeks so they could heal correctly. Now cataract surgery is an out patient procedure and takes such a short time to perform and to recover.
I still have to adjust flow rates by looking and counting as we do not have IV pumps at the clinic I work at. Fun times! We do have fluids in plastic bags. We have to be Thankful for the small things!
Thanks to everyone who has posted and shared memories! I love it. I also love the title. As a 60 year Old Crusty Bat! Could not be more proud to hear the stamina and dedication to a profession of wonderful women and men! Nurses are the Best!
Crusty Old Bats! LOL! I am really enjoying these comments. I graduated from nursing school in 1979 so I remember all of these things and more. And I guess that makes me a COB too!
The cardiologists used to leave coffee cups and lit cigarettes on the wooden railing outside of the patients rooms. All of them smoked. We had a cart full of charts that the head nurse pushed around when the docs made rounds in the morning. After rounds we had to sort through the charts that were left piled up at the nursing station and take off orders. Remember the folded page of orders and trying to read the hand written orders? I remember asking a physician about an order he had written that I could not read. After looking at it for a while he said "Hell, I don't know either!" and scratched it out.
Patients were admitted to the hospital for 3 or 4 days to have a full diagnostic work up which included a colonoscopy prep with "enemas until clear" the evening prior to the procedure.
Stainless steel water pitchers with lids at the bedside that were re-filled with ice water every shift. Speaking of shifts, there were three shifts and no mandatory call or overtime.
Remember the supply charge stickers that we had stuck all over our (white) uniforms? I would find them everywhere. I wonder how many lost charges resulted?
Working in the NICU and washing isolettes every three days. Mercury, glass thermometer that got broken frequently (like several a shift) and then chasing down the mercury with paper and bare hands. Sending isolettes between patients to be sterilized. Setting up Baby Birds, including I:E ratios by hand, using stop watch, and without a respiratory therapist.
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Lining up all the piggy back bags on the counter to be ready when all the antibiotics were reconstituted.
Adding potassium to IV bags. (GASP)
Using white cloth adhesive tap to Mark IV bags with the times to see at a glance if your IV was running on time.
Calculating BSA with a cardboard slide card before calculating chemotherapy doses.
Everyone wearing white. You could see everyone was clean.
White support hose with a white uniform dress.
Being so proud of my first uniform.
The "older" nurses with their navy blue and red capes and nurses caps.