Only Crusty Old Bats will remember..

Nurses General Nursing

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So, I really need a fun thread right now. We've done similar things before and it's always fun.

so, things Crusty Old Bats(COB) remember that new nurses today will not.

1. The clunk your uniform makes when you drop it in the laundry hamper and you realize you came home with the narcotic keys.

2. The splat the over full paper chart makes when you drop it on the floor. Papers everywhere. 15 mins getting everything back together.

3. The smell of the smoking lounge .

4. Nurse and Docs smoking at the Nsg Station.

5. Trying to match the colour of the urine in the test tube to determine the sugar level.

+1? +2? Which one?

OK my fellow COBs. Jump in!

Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

Ahhh, giving Demerol. And giving Phenergan IV. We really don't do either anymore. (Occasional Demerol for postop shivering but nothing else.)

When I was a baby nurse 15 years ago I was on a general surgery unit and we gave 100 Demerol/25-50 Phenergan in the same syringe, man...we gave that out like it was water! And the only time we ever used an IV pump was for blood. Everything else? Time tape.

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If you miss paper charts and MARS, counting scheduled meds, kardex being king and using crank beds, just go work in psych. I love my job, but those are daily realities--we even reconcile our MARs by hand every week, checking back and forth with the chart for the handwritten orders. Like a piece of history, I tell ya.

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Specializes in GENERAL.

Sorry working conditions. Threats of job loss. Stagnant wages. Exposure to incurable diseases. Oh, the bad old days...seems like only yesterday.

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Ahhh, giving Demerol. And giving Phenergan IV. We really don't do either anymore. (Occasional Demerol for postop shivering but nothing else.)

Yes, Demerol PCA's.

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??

I just had one 3 years ago.

I think she means that they were admitted the night before instead of the day of.

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LOVE this thread. We have no pyxis on our ten bed unit and I could still take narc keys home and still have to count narcotics.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Giving Demerol and Phenergan (together) IM. Glass Procalamine and lipids bottles. Using needles for IV pushes. Metal bedpans. Paper MARS/TARS. Being able to sit down and chart instead of standing at a computer. No wound vacs. Catheters and rectal tubes for incontinent patients. Calculating drip rates. Punching a time clock.

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.
Yes, Demerol PCA's.

I had a Demerol PCA after a hysterectomy in 2001. Horrible, did nothing for pain but scrambled my brain so I couldn't get the staff to understand. Had horrible dry heaves (adding to the pain) and Inapsine seemed like a godsend.

If my memory serves, when post-op pain control was IM, patients were happy to switch to po Tylenol #3.

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Specializes in ER, ICU/CCU, Open Heart OR Recovery, Etc.

Being told that except for surgical procedures wearing gloves was personal preference.

Wearing caps.

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Specializes in ER, ICU/CCU, Open Heart OR Recovery, Etc.

Glass chest tube systems.

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Another thing.. The CNAs were motherly types who ran a tight ship.

And the seasoned nurses could scold a young nurse and all could still be right in the world.

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Gomoco suction, two nurses had listen in on telephone order, slooow codes, sitzs baths, baby bottle sterilization classes.

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