Reminiscing

MA Nurse · Jun 12, 2006

Talking the other day at work about how much things have changed since our training days in the 60s and 70s.The young ones couldnt believe that there were designated areas for different years of training in the meal rooms.We werent allowed to enter a lift before our senior nurses or doctors.I can remember that if someone died on your shift you were responsible for that person till they had been removed to the morgue.Had to stay back once 2 hours after my shift ended at 11pmbecause of that and still had to start at 6 in the morning.Split shifts were normal.The opening of pillow cases had to face away from the doorway.(still do that out of habit).Testing urine using a bunsen burner.What do others remember?

Yikes. A bunsen burner for testing urine? Could you elaborate on that one?

:uhoh3:

TazziRN, RN · Jun 12, 2006

Not long ago I had to crush a pill for a kid that doesn't come in liquid form (or at least, we don't carry the liquid). I went to med surg looking for a mortar and pestle and couldn't find one. I went to the desk to ask, and new nurse (out about a year) showed me this metal contraption in the med room that I had seen but hadn't recognized!

Had a young nurse ask me a while back what Gardner-Wells tongs were used for. Same nurse had never heard of a belly tap for traumas to diagnose abdominal bleeding.

knockandhello · Jun 12, 2006

Yikes. A bunsen burner for testing urine? Could you elaborate on that one?

I can remember having to add a clinitest tablet to so many drops of urine to a tube add so much water. hold the tube over a bunsen burner boil it and then wait so long to see the colour of the urine.If it turned blue it was negative for sugar then there was brown and green.It depended on the colour as to how much sugar was in the urine.Also had to boil urine and add drops of some acidic (I think) solution when testing for protein.I was forever burning my fingers.The invention of multistix was a gift from heaven.Also remember being taught that if urine smelt like new mown grass that ketones were present in urine.Also when I started sputum mugs had no disposable inserts.I used to be either gagging or vomiting when I had to clean those out.Especially if they had dried a little.

shock-me-sane · Jun 12, 2006

I am in nursing school now. You know what amazes me? Thinking about doing this without computers/internet. I mean how easy it is for me to pull up my school's website to get journal articles, or how easy it is to edit on a computer. I remember in 5th grade typing a report with a typewriter and hoe long it took. It would take me years to get anything done without this technology.

TazziRN, RN · Jun 12, 2006

I am in nursing school now. You know what amazes me? Thinking about doing this without computers/internet. I mean how easy it is for me to pull up my school's website to get journal articles, or how easy it is to edit on a computer. I remember in 5th grade typing a report with a typewriter and hoe long it took. It would take me years to get anything done without this technology.

Now I really feel old........

shock-me-sane · Jun 12, 2006

Now I really feel old........

I don't think you should feel old. I think it is just a peek at how much harder it had to be to do nursing school before the internet revolution. I think it is a more of a cheer to those that did it without having almost everything at their fingertips.

besides, I feel stupid now that I spelled how, hoe. And it was quoted.

Que sera

JessicRN · Jun 12, 2006

I can remember having to add a clinitest tablet to so many drops of urine to a tube add so much water. hold the tube over a bunsen burner boil it and then wait so long to see the colour of the urine.If it turned blue it was negative for sugar then there was brown and green.It depended on the colour as to how much sugar was in the urine.Also had to boil urine and add drops of some acidic (I think) solution when testing for protein.I was forever burning my fingers.The invention of multistix was a gift from heaven.Also remember being taught that if urine smelt like new mown grass that ketones were present in urine.Also when I started sputum mugs had no disposable inserts.I used to be either gagging or vomiting when I had to clean those out.Especially if they had dried a little.

Oh my god you brought back memories. Before you explained I was thinking what the heck is that. After reading the explanation it dawned on me I DID THAT.

How about testing for specific gravity in urine

-I also remember sharpening needles and sterilizing everything including needles. Nothing was disposible then.

-How about no gloves, even when changing colostomies as you did not want to hurt the patients dignity.

-three bottles for chest tube drainage. Milking chest tubes.

-histamine insertion into the stomach to diagnose stomach cancer.

-rinsing out sheet if stool on them before sending then to laundry

-no central monitors.

-having to attach metal rings to gauze pads in the OR before surgery, then after surgery counting rings.

-iced gavage for all GI bleeds

-we cleaned our own rooms transfered our own patients on the units.

-cpr for drowning victims by lifting arms

zenman · Jun 12, 2006

-iced gavage for all GI bleeds

I did this all night once. My hands were cr*p afterwards! I still hate 50-60cc syringes!

snowfreeze, BSN, RN · Jun 12, 2006

I remember glass dome transducers for CVP and arterial lines. Had to put them together, they were not disposable so they went to central supply to be steralized after each patient use. Also had to be re-leveled and zeroed every two hours after adding a few drops of saline to the glass dome.

indigo girl · Jun 12, 2006

I remember when gallbladder removal was a major surgery, and those patients were really sick. The memory is kind of dim, as I saw this while still a student. Didn't they have NG tubes draining bile? Now they have 3 bandaids, and recover at home.

I remember having several patients receiving tube feedings via NG tube, and they were always pulling them out in the nursing homes. I could re-insert them with my eyes closed, because I had to do this so often (even if they were combative). Now, they've gone the way of the dinosaur in LTC, thank goodness.

I remember glass IV bottles.

I remember wearing a nurse's cap!!

gr8rnpjt, RN · Jun 12, 2006

How about heat lamps for decubitus care? I remember positioning pt on their side, and holding the skin folds up and out of the way with tape attached to the side rails, and painting the decubitus ulcer with MOM.