Reminiscing

paulasusanok · Jun 23, 2006

After 39 years in Nursing, there's not much that's been mentioned that I don't remember..how 'bout the "Bird machines" for mechanical ventilation? NT suctioning 1st night post op if they wouldn't cough?? (Believe me, they coughed when you asked them to after that!!) Cardiac monitoring by sound, and call the Dr. for anything that looked different? Later, Lidocaine push by the bucketfuls, 50 mgm at a time? Riding the dumbwaiter and getting caught by the supervisor? Not able to use the elevator in the dorm unless one had luggage or guests (the 3rd floor was a long ways up). Study hours from 7-9pm, door open so dorm mother could check on you? Being sent back to the dorm if your shoes weren't polished? No jewelry until you graduated and then only plain wedding bands? No student EVER that was married (not that there weren't a few secret ones, but no one told on them)? Med cards in your pockets for all the meds you were scheduled to give that day? Crushing Morphine and Demerol pills in the glass syring to mix with NS and give IM? Metal 1 1/2" 18 gauge needles to give blood? ...not even Butterflys available then.

Called my first Code on a visitor that had fainted....the Dr. told the man that he had had an epidose of Vago-Vagal syncope and he should see his private Physician..don't think he even went to ER.

Thanks to whoever started this thread---lots of memories; and yes, I do remember the Wagensteen suctions... I work full time in ICU, and still put the open end of the pillow cases away from the door...

Cheyenne RN,BSHS · Jun 23, 2006

mixing your own drips in glass bottles for icu patients and having to calculate by hand the drug amounts, the dilutant, and the patients weight/kilogram amount in order to know the amount of drug/dilutant to even mix.

abdominal binders and montgomery straps. oh yeah.

sitz baths and heat lamps for the perineum after childbirth.(girdles after having babies to help your figure and nobody breast fed. you wrapped the breasts tightly if they became full.)

freely applying four point leather restraints rather than getting beat up with really confused and agitated patients. no fuss, no flow sheets, no jcoah rules.

hand written nurse's notes. (no thought that computers really existed anywhere except in conspiracy theories.)

trouble shooting the vent and doing respiratory treatments because there were no respiratory techs on at night in icu. drawing labs and stocking them for the lab techs to do when they came in the next day.

glass bottle suction pumps you hoped would work because the tubing was practically dry rotted or split.

having to cover the entire hospital as the only rn and work in the er, ob and nursery, icu, and the floors because you signed behind everyone. the nursing assistants actually sat in with the icu patients, the newborns, and the ob's and came and got you if there were any changes.

decubitis to the bone, sugar, mom, water pick treatments...just name it. been there did that.

cutting open procardia capsules to put under the tongue to get a hypertensive patients b/p down fast. (i think that was the drug)

using blood pressure cuffs and rotating them to help reduce blood flow on chf patients.

etc etc etc lol

rpv_rn · Jun 23, 2006

entered nursing school (3 yr diploma program) when i was 17 yrs old, first time away from home, lived at the school dorm.

students were all females and absolutely no one was allowed to marry. we were "probies" for 1st semester, until capping ceremony, which was held in a church - very solemn ceremony.

1st year - one vertical navy stripe. 2nd yr - gold stripe added. 3rd year - navy stripe again. then graduation - vertical stripes replaced with one horizontal black stripe at top edge of cap. didn't mind wearing my cap but sure hated it when my cap got caught in patient curtains.

our free weekends were based on our gpa grades. funny thing was the students with the highest grades never went on dates, etc. we had scheduled "frat" parties with the local colleges. we had to return to dorm by 11:00 p.m. on fridays/ saturdays. sundays, we all had to be in dorm by 8:00 p.m.

we had dorm 'moms." one telephone on each end of hall. four story dorm building with 1st yr students on 2nd floor, 2nd yr on 3rd floor and 3rd year on 4th floor (the penthouse??).

we had two rooms on 1st floor that we used for "guest" visits. dorm mom checked to make sure that the door was open at all times.

:nono:

still have my school pin, which is actual gold, and my school cape, made out heavy wool. when we walked from dorm to hospital, one side was flipped over our shoulder. looked sharp, navy on outside with gold wool lining. oooh, we were sooo cute back then.

:monkeydance:

medicare/ medicaid had not passed into law yet.

so patients were admitted for several days for gi studies (be, ivp, gb &ugi). first day, clear liquid diets, enemas at hs, then enemas until clear the morning of barium enema. second day, ivp. third day, ugi & gb. fourth day, patient was discharged.

had one patient who was in hospital for almost one year. i don't remember what her diagnosis was but her room was like her apartment. length of stay was not an issue then.

and most abdominal surgeries stayed about 2 - 3 weeks.

i worked in surgical icu after graduation. those same type of patients are now on med/surg units. hated those glass underwater seal chest tubes bottles! i was always afraid i was going to break them & cause the patient to die!

meals were served with real sterling silver teapots and cutlery. the best meal to be on was "soft" diet. those patients received filet mignon & other prime cuts of meats. the patients on regular diets got the tough cuts of meats.

:lol2:

HappyNurse2005, RN · Jun 24, 2006

I do see glass IV bottles-Amio and Integrilin are in glass bottles :)

though, by golly, i love my iv pumps. i could count the drips manually if need be, but i'm on a floor with a ton of pumps available!

being a 2005 grad, its interesting to think of what we have now that will be considered old fashioned in 20 years

LydiaNN · Jun 24, 2006

Yes, I remember split shifts, although they were on their way out by the time I started nursing. What we did, all the time, that doesn't seem to happen much anymore, is have to rotate shifts. For us, it was by month. The first week-week and a half of every month your sleep cycles were screwed up b/c until your body figured out if it was coming or going. I hated that, but some people loved the flexibility.

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2006

Well....I quess I looked stupid. Is this actually taught to laypersons today? does it have medical validity? How would you get the syringe and needle in your first aid kit on a boat without a scrip? what about getting in trouble for having the needle in certain countries it isnt allowed?

During the early years (late 1980's) of the AIDs epidemic, some MDs would teach laypersons to restart IVs. If a home AIDs patient lost IV access in off hours, it would be very difficult to get anyone to restart the IV until the MDs office opened in the AM. Missing doses of home IV antibiotics in the era before HAARTs and newer antiviral therapy could be fatal/seriously debilitating. Companions (friends/loved ones) were taught how to resite the IV. I believe that the IV supplies were provided by the MD.

Ann RN · Jun 24, 2006

What about:

:) Having families cook & bring in real food, putting it through the blender, then giving it to patients via their feeding tubes at regular meal times - never had the diarrhea we have now!

:) Glass syringes for ABG's and having to heparinize them ourselves

:) Warm soaks q 20 minutes for DVT

:) Pre op meds - demerol,vistaril & atropine (or scopalamine). Hated scope - the pt. woke up crazy!

:) Z track

:) Liking interns & residents - even partying with them!

:) Looking forward to going to work

:) Metal IV catheters

:) Having to make up your own central line redress kit

:) Rubber sheets

:) Getting out on time!

DG5 · Jul 3, 2006

Haven't read all these posts but some of my memories are:

1. getting my hair measured by the "matron" to make sure it was so many inches above the collar

2. passing a "flatus" tube per rectum to relieve gas

3. keeping cabbage leaves in the fridge to relieve breast engorgement for nursing mothers

4. ng tubes for tube feeds

5. wearing starched uniforms, black stockings (in hot weather), nurses cap, and woollen cape in winter as part of the uniform.

6. Stainless steel bedpans

7. Doing a "back" round - rubbing every patient's backs and pressure areas twice a shift

8. Split shifts

So much more, but can't remember all the details.

rpv_rn · Jul 3, 2006

2. passing a "flatus" tube per rectum to relieve gas

4. ng tubes for tube feeds

had to recently pass a rectal tube in hospitalized paraplegic patient so still being done.

same with using ng tubes for tube feeds.

zudy · Jul 3, 2006

This brings back so many memories!

I had forgotten about flatus tubes!

I remember when ALL the IV's were in glass bottles, did anyone else ever break a big bottle of Dextrose?

I remember when the med students and residents wanted to talk to me so they could ask me out, they still want to talk to me, coz they figure by now I will know everything!

Pepper The Cat, BSN, RN · Jul 3, 2006

Does any else remember charting in three colours - blue for days, green for evenings, red for nights?

Narcotic cupboards were double locked and God help you if you tried to take a short cut and only lock the outer door!

Visiting hours were observed! Families left when you asked them to! Families were polite!!!!

We still do clysis all the time on our elderly pts! We run N/S or 2/3 & 1/3 at 50 cc/hr s/c overnight. Works great - rehydrates them, don't have to do mutliple sticks in frail veins, and if they pull them out, no bruising or bleeding.

katfishLPN · Jul 3, 2006

Quote from weeziebat:

Do they still insist you have an enema before childbirth? There you are in labor getting an enema. Yuck!

No they don't do that anymore Thankfully!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been a nurse for 17 years and was an aide for 3 years before that. I also worked in a nursing home when I was 16. I remember not using gloves. I remember the first day we were told to wear gloves the residents at the nursing home were insulted and asked why I had gloves on. When I was an aide we gave the enemas and did the colostomy care (without gloves). Now the nurses do the colostomy care and enemas. I remember siderails for every patient. I remember brushing dentures without gloves on ~ Yuck!!