Does anyone remember the controlled drugs that came in plastic boxes with slide lids that had little compartments for individual pills? I remember one of my nurses calling me in a panic when the box had opened and the Seconal capsules had fallen out and were in the melting in the radiator. Most vials were mult-dose, so you had to be accurate with you draws and especially the controlled vials. Does anyone remember Brompton's Mixture? That would send the DEA over the edge today. Can't totally remember the composition. Was it cocaine, morphine, ? Something else in an alcohol base. Used for chronic pain in terminally ill patients.
Does anyone remember the controlled drugs that came in plastic boxes with slide lids that had little compartments for individual pills? I remember one of my nurses calling me in a panic when the box had opened and the Seconal capsules had fallen out and were in the melting in the radiator. Most vials were mult-dose, so you had to be accurate with you draws and especially the controlled vials. Does anyone remember Brompton's Mixture? That would send the DEA over the edge today. Can't totally remember the composition. Was it cocaine, morphine, ? Something else in an alcohol base. Used for chronic pain in terminally ill patients.
I just Googled Brompton's cocktail. It was cocaine, heroine, & alcohol.
OH yes. I remember the nursing boards. Two days worth with the individual subjects. Sweated my butt off in a large hall in Hartford CT. Also different states had differ t passing scores. The hardest were CA Hawaii and FL. Three levels took boards together. BSN. ADN and diploma. Waited 2 months for my results.
I just Googled Brompton's cocktail. It was cocaine, heroine, & alcohol.
Knowing what we know today, dangerous as heck; but sounds so good! *LOL*
BROMPTON'S COCKTAILBrompton's Cocktail is now obsolete and should not be used. It was introduced in the 1920s at the Brompton Hospital in London for post-thoracotomy pain, and was in widespread use by the 1930s. The active ingredient was morphine. The cocktail†latterly consisted of morphine, cocaine, chlorpromazine, 90% alcohol and flavored syrup.
Cocaine was added as a stimulant to reduce drowsiness. It is not an analgesic and can cause agitation and confusion. Chlorpromazine causes too much sedation for routine use. 90% alcohol causes an unpleasant stinging in patients with a sore mouth, and causes confusion in the elderly.
"Some specifications for variants of Brompton Mixture call for methadone, hydromorphone, diamorphine (heroin), or other strong opioids in the place of morphine; diphenhydramine or tincture of cannabis in place of the chlorpromazine; and/or methamphetamine, amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, co-phenylcaine, methylphenidate or other stimulants in the place of cocaine. The original recipe for Brompton Mixture also calls for chloroform, cherry syrup to help mask the bitter taste of some of the components, and distilled water in some quantity as a dilutant for the chloroform (hence, chloroform water) and/or to add volume to allow for more precise titration of doses."
The smell of warming milk & molasses enemas Also in LPN school we were told not to wear gloves during pt care because the pt may take it to mean we thought they were dirty. By RN AIDS had come along. Finding sheets to make bed with large cigarette burn in it.
We would read or do Sudoku or even play cards with each other if it was really slow.
Nice for some people! *LOL*
Recall when it was slow the supervisors came up with "busy work" for the nurses and UAPs. Things like cleaning, organizing or whatever the nurses station, linen closets, stock room, med room, etc...
If the slowdown was not universal then staff was subject to being floated to where hands were needed. Haven't been in L&D since your clinical rotation? No worry, you are being floated there anyway.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Hyperstat for hypertensive crisis
ACLS: When you were lost for a intervention you could always "Give an amp of bicarb"
Sublingual Procardia-cut or pierce the capsule and squeeze it under pt. tongue
OH BTW: you had patients instead of customers/clients
The Bedpan versus Bedside commode for acute MI pts
This may have been local, but a bottle of Jolt Cola for nightshift.
IBVP resp treatments ? the units look like ET on wheels
Them little green "Bird" Ventilators?
The first time we converted to "Baylor Shifts" or what they call working 12hrs
Treating PVC'S with lidocaine drip for > 20/min
I worked a small community hospital and we had no ER doctors at nights, the ER was covered by the local MD regardless if they were the General surgeon or the orthopedic, and they were on call. So if you worked the first floor you worked the medical unit and ER, if you worked 2nd floor you worked surg and Ob-Gyn. Being a male RN I only worked the first floor. I will have to say that many of my assessment skills from them old no MD days followed me through my entire career. OH BTW lawyers were more busy with Divorces than mal-practice in them days..
I remember unstable patients and going through a case of bicarbonate at a time. Good times!
Remember the patients who would "DFO" after the SL Procardia? (Done fall out).
I miss the days of patients vs. clients, but I don't miss the days of trying to convince a dermatologist that chest pain radiating down the left arm, diaphoresis and ECG changes ("this is an S-T segment. You see how THIS one is two of the little boxes above the baseline, and THIS one is 8 little boxes?") were indications for morphine, oxygen, nitroglycerin and aspirin and perhaps you want to call Man's Best Hospital in the Big City for a Cath Lab slot and a CCU bed while I call the ambulance to arrange for a stat pickup.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
The black and white laxative
draw sheets
straight bottom sheets
We used to tie knots in our bottom sheets to make them fit around the mattress, which I SWEAR was thinner than the CampRest mattress I used the last time I went camping. Still use draw sheets.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Does anyone remember the controlled drugs that came in plastic boxes with slide lids that had little compartments for individual pills? I remember one of my nurses calling me in a panic when the box had opened and the Seconal capsules had fallen out and were in the melting in the radiator. Most vials were mult-dose, so you had to be accurate with you draws and especially the controlled vials. Does anyone remember Brompton's Mixture? That would send the DEA over the edge today. Can't totally remember the composition. Was it cocaine, morphine, ? Something else in an alcohol base. Used for chronic pain in terminally ill patients.
We called in Brompton's Cocktail and they wrote for it in cc's, not milligrams of drug. It packed a powerful punch, I'll give it that. I remember a controversy because in the UK they added heroin, and we weren't allowed to have heroin in ours so it wasn't as strong.
Remember Mannitol in the 60cc ampule that came with a little saw blade taped to it? It came in a crystal form. You put it in a pan of water and heated it on the electric stove that all nursing units seemed to have at that time (or at least a couple of burners -- one had a tea kettle on it all of the time so you could warm up the bath water for your patients since it seemed that the taps never warmed up enough). When the mannitol was warm enough, it would go into solution. Then you'd saw the top off and draw it up in a syringe.
OHNBJL
59 Posts
Does anyone remember the controlled drugs that came in plastic boxes with slide lids that had little compartments for individual pills? I remember one of my nurses calling me in a panic when the box had opened and the Seconal capsules had fallen out and were in the melting in the radiator. Most vials were mult-dose, so you had to be accurate with you draws and especially the controlled vials. Does anyone remember Brompton's Mixture? That would send the DEA over the edge today. Can't totally remember the composition. Was it cocaine, morphine, ? Something else in an alcohol base. Used for chronic pain in terminally ill patients.