Reminiscing

[knockandhello]

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?

[nursesarah]

some of this stuff isn't that old to. i'm a new grad. i had to learn how to time my IV drips (no IV pumps in same-day surgery), had to mix IV meds, do most of my charting on paper, and i know how to do manual BPs (we have the machines at my workplace, but there's also manual BP machines on the walls just in case.) and i took my CRNE on paper. it takes 10-12 weeks to get the results. guess Canada's just a bit behind on this stuff

can someone explain to me how clysis is effective. i'm not quite understanding how you can rehydrate someone by injecting normal saline s/c. perhaps i'm just not understanding the process.

thank goodness we don't have to stand for the doctors anymore. in fact, often on my floor the RNs will teach the medical students. there is talk about a new program where the first year medical students will actually get preceptored by all the disciplines. so they will spend time with an RN, with PT, with OT, RT, etc. that way they benefit from a wide range of knowledge and get to know what each discipline does. i think its a great idea. way different from the times when the RNs had to defer automatically to the docs

[krisssy]

1964

plain blue dress until you got capped-three months after probabion

then blue stripes with white apron and cap with no stripes

stripe added for each year you were there (3 years)

little tiny cap when graduated-no stripes

own room

using flashlight to study after lights out

I was supposed to go-got letter with rules--got scared-went to college for BSN and lived at home-got very little clinical experience, and my mother hated me going to nursing school! She once had the hospital send me home !

To this day I am sorry I didn't attend that first nursing school I was supposed to go to-my parents wanted me to go to college,and I was afraid of the hospital's rules-oy!

I still have things I am afraid of-but I always think about how I really should have gone to that hospital school at 17 years old, where I could have gotten great clinical experience-oh well-some mistakes cannot be changed- College at that time didn't provide enough experience like I hear is given now.

Then I changed careers-second big mistake

Now I am going baCK TO NURSING-NEED A GREAT REENTRY PROGRAM-CAN'T FIND ONE- I will keep trying.

At least I became a nurse! If people my age are just starting nursing school, I know I can learn what I need to learn to be a good nurse!

I still think there is something to be said about those old hospital schools. I think I would have loved it and never given up the career of my dreams.

Krissssy

Krisssy

[KMKRN]

I remember recapping my used syringes.

I also remember taping glass chest tube bottles to the floor next to the bed.

[nananurse2]

California still wants CNAs to learn manual BPs and glass thermometres for the state boards - ergo, I use manual sphygmomanometre.

We've been taught that the pillowcase must open away from the door... how to make mitred corners on the sheet... all kinds of things that people have mentioned.

And I wear a white dress

We are taught the same in LPN school. AND, we have to wear the cap to clinicals!

[moonchild20002000]

We used a fetoscope to listen to fetal heart rates. We had one fetal monitor

in our L/D.

Buccal pitocin for inductions,counting the gtts/min on pitocin drips.

We washed all of our instruments ,sterilized them mopped the delivery rooms.

We did not use gloves unless it was for vag exams.

All of the labor pts recieved a prep and SSenema ,we used to call the enema

"poor mans pitocin".

We timed ctx by having our hand on the pts fundus,we noted the frequency of

ctx and also the strength--"mild","moderate","strong".

Does anyone remember Penthrane masks?

[SilentfadesRPA]

In regard to clysis here is an article in the family practice journal that may be helpful -- however thank g*d I have not seen it used in many many years (NEVER MIND HOW MANY LOL )

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20011101/1575.html

Marc

[jillyk*rn]

i love this thread...

glass syringes, glass iv bottles, labeling bags with tape, piggybacking iv bags with a needle, carrying around bottles of kcl to make up our own bags, aminophylline drips, croup tents, wearing my cap. i had a md take my chair from me (and i was about 7 months pregnant). i remember when gloves started to be used. did rounds on "wards". took 2 day long boards with paper and pencil and had to wait 2 months for results (i was pregnant when i took them and had a newborn when i got results). days before hippa, and paperwork was hung on the door. i had an enema when i was having my oldest ds. i am sure that i am forgetting something, but i will post if i recall.

[santhony44, MSN, RN, NP]

Speaking of mitered corners and turning the open end of the pillowcase away from the door, does anyone else know what a toe pleat is??

I've tried explaining that to "younger" nurses and they look at me like I'm nuts.

[labor1]

I remember toe pleats,how about bed cradles,do they still use them? Does anyone remember pneumoencephalograms? They did alot of themwhen I was in school and I remember thinking someday they will be obsolete and now no one I talk to ,including doctors, know what I am talking about.

I worked hard for my cap and wore it proudly for many years along with white uniforms and stockings which always got runs in them when I was leaving for work.

[santhony44, MSN, RN, NP]

Does anyone remember pneumoencephalograms? They did alot of themwhen I was in school and I remember thinking someday they will be obsolete and now no one I talk to ,including doctors, know what I am talking about.

I remember learning about pneumoencephalograms, I don't recall seeing any done. We used to do tons of myelograms for back problems, we had to keep the patients flat for 24 hours. Some would "sneak" up to the bathroom and get a horrible headache; some people got the headache anyway. They're still done bur rarely; most everyone gets a CT or MRI or both. A recent patient had had the myelogram due to having some sort of metal somewhere precluding the MRI. It was done outpatient; we used to have those folks in for days!

[sanctuary, BSN, MSN, RN]

Anybody else remember wet packing an agitated patient? Sheets soaked in a big metal wash tub, ice included. Wrapped the patient in such a way that every body surface was covered with cold wet sheet. Finished with a woolen blanket, then plastic sheet over everything. Sounds awful, but it worked so well that we had patients ask to be packed so that they could rest.

[tvccrn, ASN, RN]

I once had a little girl who was so dehydrated that we couldn't even find a vein for cut-down (Are those still done anywhere?) so I spent 2 hours doing the sub-Q fluid thing to rehydrate. This was only about 4 years ago. It's a simple premise, it works by providing fluids for the body to absorb.

We still do ice water cardiac outputs in the cath lab here and they still the use the waters hood for O2 comsumption measurements. I think we have to be the only lab in the country that still even has one in working condition.

Adding KCL to the IV fluids for a D5Ns with 20 (or even 40) meq/KCL.

Never heard that the opening of the pillow case went away from the door, but the tag on the pillow always goes into the pillowcase first.

tvccrn