colrainrn

I'm Sean a Vermont RN living in Massachusetts. I developed an opiate addiction which crossed into my workplace(ER). My addiction was discovered by my boss in August and I was terminated, charged, and suspended by the board. I have entered treatment and in a short time learned a great deal about myself, addiction and the effects my addiction had on my family and friends. Sometimes I've felt I am the only one going through this but his is a great website and I have learned so much from all of you and certainly can identify with the stories. Its comforting to know other nurses are going through the same fight. I'd love to chat with anyone who would like to.

Are there any members who worked in Psych units prior to 1980. Id love to here stories of how things have changed through the years.

This thread started last year and I would love to hear if any new members have and memories of nursingfrom the 40s, 50s,60s and 70s and comments on how things have changed. There were some really good responses and Id love to hear more..even if they are second hand experiences Sean Colrain, Ma

I would love to hear how a nurses day went in the 1940s,50s, early 60s. Any major differences between now and then...any good stories to share? I would especially like to know about how surgical patients and ER patients were dealt with.

Today we had a Ethics retreat day at our hospital...I guess I could post this anywhere but some of its relevant(and Im the original poster. One of our "seasoned nurses" as she likes to be called told of how MD and Nurse used to get along...How a chair would be given to the doc upon arrival, howMDs would send the nurse off the floor if her hat was crooked or if she had a run in her leggings. They said their was no direct communication to nurses but if a doc had a problem he followed the chain of command and reported you to the head nurse who reported it to the director who called you in to discuss the issue maybe a week later. there were two wards..male and female 10 patients each. No shipping patients out in our small community hospital..gunshots, heart probs all were dealt with. No first names were used to address docs or nurses. There was a heirarchy for sure. A doc responded by saying that some of that was good because now its hard to tell who is caring for patients because staff comes and goes...its hard to know if the nurse is accurate, trustworthy, and level headed or if he/she is an alarmist who makes poor decisions at times...and he states he must be a hard *** about stuff because its his practice on the line. Another doc says he always feels bad about approaching nurses for discussion because we always seem busy to the point of overwhelmed. We spoke some of how in the old days the patient wasnt told all that much..today they come in with internet knowledge, television knowledge etc. Lastly for now..one older nurse brought in this cool sign that said "Patient Rules...Keep your feet off the bed, make your bed if you are able, and two other things I didnt get a good look at. Replies are welcome

What is Clysis? How long did metal needle IVs last...they must have infiltrated fast? What is HDC? I cant believe they smoked in hospitals..or airplanes for that matter. I ran accross a chart of a woman who was in her 90s admitted with renal failure...She had an Appy. in 1949..it was so neat to read..she was there for 6 days, no pain management that I could see,bedside notes were two or three words but every activity was recorded. It seemed that her first steps were on post op day 4. keep replys coming folks..this is awesome to read Sean O'Connell, RN 36yrs old Colrain, Massachusetts Graduate 2004

Thanks for keeping the thread on track and thanks to all have posted so far. I love hearing how things have changed. I ran across a file yesterday of a 92 yr old patient who was first hospitalized in 1946 with an appendicitis. How things have changed!!! The MD orders were all apothocary like "iss ". The bedside notes were brief statements giving a minute by minute account of whats going on instead of shift summary in SOAP form. It was soooo interesting to see Sean

Anyone have any stories of being a student nurse in the 50s and 60s?

Thanks to those who replied.....lets keep the thread coming. I loved reading about the 1887 Nursing roles and the doctors office visit of the 1950s---how things have changed! Sean....new RN as of June 2004 Med/surg

I would love to hear how a nurses day went in the 1940s,50s, early 60s. Any major differences between now and then...any good stories to share?