1950s nursing

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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 attended a university as a nursing major from 1965-1969. I graduated with a BS degree in nursing and passed my state boards. I think university programs were just beginning to get popular at that time. There were still loads of hospital diploma programs which I almost attended. Looking back now, I wish I had attended a hospital based school and then gone on to receive my BSN after that.

In my opinion, I was not prepared to be a nurse when I graduated. We had clinicals twice a week, were given one patient, and the patient was not very sick. I never had a patient with an IV. Maybe all those patients were in ICU. I don't know. I never used a stethoscope, and I was never taught to do an assessment. I never withdrew blood, and of course I never started an IV, as I never had a patient with one, and the doctors did those things anyway. I had one patient, and all I remember doing was talking to the patient offering TLC, giving meds which were oral or by injection only( I only gave two injections in 4 years!), giving bedbaths, and making beds. We also checked vital signs. I never dressed a wound or did any kind of treatment. I never even did a cateritization or even saw one done. I never charted in any way or even looked at my patient's charts. In classes, I remember learning about different diseases but not how to assess in any way. The doctor did the assessing, and we followed his orders exactly unless we thought it was really an error on his or her part. ( Most doctors were HIS! lol) I remember taking 12 credits of chemistry including organic and biochemistry, but not one pharmacology course or math course.

Because I didn't feel confident enough to work in a hospital, I got a job as a school nurse teacher. I did that for two years, and when they cancelled school nurse teachers, and the wages went WAY down, I was hired as an elementary school teacher, got a quick MA in education and did that from 1972-2002 when I retired. At that time, I decided that I wanted to go back to nursing. I renewed my license and took a refresher course at a local college. WOW-was I in for a shock! In 6 weeks, I was taught to assess my patients, work with IV's as far as setting them up and administering meds through them, use a stethoscope, do finger pricks(which I also had never done), take care of patients with respirators, chart everything etc. etc. The first day, I cried and told my instructor I had no idea what to do and she would have to help me or I would have to quit. She did help me, and considering I did a very good job, and if the program had continued for another year, I may have been able to work as a nurse. I was just getting the idea when the program ended. I was not ready for it to end. I was just getting to feel a little competent. I did get a good recommendation .

I was offered a night job at the hospital where I did my clinicals for the refresher class. I turned it down. i still do not feel competent enough to work with people's lives.

I am now thinking of taking an accelerated nursing course for college graduates where I would retake all the nursing courses and hopefully they would accept all of my other college credis in the arts and sciences. Do you guys think I am crazy to do this???

-hope I am not too far off the topic but as a nursing student of the 60's, I need some advice from you. Thanks loads.

Krisssy_

No, I do NOT think you are crazy to do it. Go for it.

I know exactly how you feel.

I graduated LPN school in Jan 74. I worked in a hospital in CA for a year, and my hubby moved us around so much, I just applied for nursing home jobs after that.

Well, to make a long story short, we divorced, I applied for a job with the state in MR/DDS and I have been there 25 years the 28th of this month.

I have done some part time work at some of the local NH's, but I do know how you feel, about losing skills, and not being able to keep up with new advancements.

I feel we do a great job where I work, and the people we take care of are well served, but I know I could never make it in a hospital now.

I know there is alot that I would be lost on.

But if you want to get back into nursing, what better way to do it, than to go back to school? You could learn all the new stuff.

I even think about when I am eligible for retirement from my job in 3 more years, that I might like to go on to RN school....would that be crazy?

I would be 55 years old. Competition is so great for spots nowadays, I might not be able to get in.

But if I went after I retire, I wouldn't have to work, not much anyway, and could devote more time to studying.

What do you think about me doing it?

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No, I do NOT think you are crazy to do it. Go for it.

I know exactly how you feel.

I graduated LPN school in Jan 74. I worked in a hospital in CA for a year, and my hubby moved us around so much, I just applied for nursing home jobs after that.

Well, to make a long story short, we divorced, I applied for a job with the state in MR/DDS and I have been there 25 years the 28th of this month.

I have done some part time work at some of the local NH's, but I do know how you feel, about losing skills, and not being able to keep up with new advancements.

I feel we do a great job where I work, and the people we take care of are well served, but I know I could never make it in a hospital now.

I know there is alot that I would be lost on.

But if you want to get back into nursing, what better way to do it, than to go back to school? You could learn all the new stuff.

I even think about when I am eligible for retirement from my job in 3 more years, that I might like to go on to RN school....would that be crazy?

I would be 55 years old. Competition is so great for spots nowadays, I might not be able to get in.

But if I went after I retire, I wouldn't have to work, not much anyway, and could devote more time to studying.

What do you think about me doing it?

God willing, I will be 56 when I graduate from RN school. I say: GO FOR IT!!!

I already was admired by a school principle who took the same intensive Spanish class as I did--I was his model for lifelong learning!!! :)

NurseFirst

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There is a funny joke about that:

Retrieved from http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~abhu000/diabetes/tidbits.html

Tidbits

A joke from the late 1940's

It is recounted that at King's College in the Strand around the time of the war, the Chief of Services would inevitably begin the year's rounds by teaching "a singularly important principle of medicine." He asked a nurse to fetch him a sample of urine. He then talked at length about diabetes mellitus. "Diabetes," he said, "is a greek name; but the Romans noticed that the bees like the urine of diabetics, so they added the word mellitus which means sweet as honey. Well, as you know, you may find sugar in the urine of a diabetic..."

By now, the nurse had returned with a sample of urine which the registrar promptly held up like a trophy. We stared at that straw colored fluid as if we had never seen such a thing before. The registrar then startled us. He dipped a finger boldly into the urine, then licked his finger with the tip of his tongue. As if tasting wine, he opened and closed his lips rapidly. Could he perhaps detect a faint taste of sugar? The sample was passed on to us for an opinion. We all dipped a finger into the fluid, all of us foolishly licked that finger.

"Now," said the Registrar grinning, "you have learned the first principle of diagnosis. I mean the power of observation."

We were baffled. We stood near the sluice room outside the ward, and in the distance, some anonymous patient was explosively coughing.

"You see," the registrar said continuing triumphantly, "I dipped my MIDDLE finger into the urine, but licked my INDEX finger, not like all you chaps."

There is more factual information here:

http://www.diabetesliving.com/basics/wiley.htm

Thought someone might be interested.

Don't laugh they actually pulled this on my husband Chriopratic class when he was going though school. My husband was the only one smart enough to watch the Doc (not to taste the urine) he went to school in the 1980 .in Los Angelus everyone in the class was caught but him .

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taste of urine, ewww.

BTW,

my Mom is a also nurse and she tells me of the old psych facilities where she took care of pts in the 1960's that had been in the hospital well over 10 years- and some as long as 30. Looking back now, I think can that be possible??? And judging by some of my patients-- maybe they need it???

hee hee!

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taste of urine, ewww.

BTW,

my Mom is a also nurse and she tells me of the old psych facilities where she took care of pts in the 1960's that had been in the hospital well over 10 years- and some as long as 30. Looking back now, I think can that be possible??? And judging by some of my patients-- maybe they need it???

hee hee!

My very first patient in nursing school had been in the VA system for over 50 years...since she'd been there that long, you might be able to guess what kind of treatments she had, having been diagnosed as schizophrenic.

I loved her, by the way, and came back to visit her at every chance I got during that rotation.

NurseFirst

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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

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Let's see how my memory banks are working

Nurses didn't routinely take blood pressures in the 40's and early 50's as that was considered part of the practise of medicine.

Patient assessmens, ie listening to lung and heart sounds ,didn't become widespread untill the 70's.

When ICU/CCU first came about nurses had to wait for the MD to come before giving antiarrhythmic drugs IV, in fact in many places RN couldn't give any drug IV. Unless of course you were a CRNA.

CRNA's gave virtually all of the anesthesia agents as anesthesia before te 1960's was considered a Nurses job and not an area a MD should do.

If an MD came onto the floor the nurse had to stand, give up her chair to the MD, open the door for MD, stop using the chart and give it to te MD.

You had to play the "nurse doctor game" to get an order changed or one you felt the patient neded.

There was no such thing as every other weekend off.

Nurses like children were to be seen and definetly not heard.

Metal bedpans and hoppers.

Bed rest for weeks after an MI or birth.

I'm sure there is more, keep them coming

Some of those were in the 70's too. Another poster talked about thermometers...red tops were rectal and blue top was for oral. We did the soak 'em alcohol thing when I was in nursing school.

Mom tells me that she had to sharpen IM needles. Syringes were made of glass. Does anybody remember REAL 3 bottle chest drainage systems? Or wagensteens?

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
Don't forget mixing your own IV meds! I HATED THAT!

Pain shots...no IV pain meds

So did I!

I HATED mixing Geocillin, which absolutely stunk!

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Our instructor recommended this film to see what it was like, even has an iron lung. The quality isn't great, but it's worth watching

http://www.son.washington.edu/about/h_mrs-reynolds.asp

Margaret

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Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
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

Among the most vivid of my memories was the frequent visits our Pediatrician made to our home in the middle of the night. I didn't understand why (until years later) my Dad had to take me from the bed I shared with my sister and carry me to the sofa in the living room. She had severe asthma and the doctor would come to our house and give her a shot of adrenalin. He would stay with her until she threw up and her airway would finally clear.

Those were the days....

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Specializes in Women's health & post-partum.
Some of those were in the 70's too. Another poster talked about thermometers...red tops were rectal and blue top was for oral. We did the soak 'em alcohol thing when I was in nursing school.

Mom tells me that she had to sharpen IM needles. Syringes were made of glass. Does anybody remember REAL 3 bottle chest drainage systems? Or wagensteens?

Wangensteen suction--yes indeed and God help you if you kicked one over (easy to do because it was beside the bed, one bottle hanging from the curtain gizmo, the other two on the floor and the bottles were glass!). The chest drainage bottles were also glass in a similar arrangement as I recall. I often thought that I'd be prepared to work in a 3rd world country with no electricity.

In addition to the syringes and needles as above, we also wrapped obstetrical instruments and drapes for sterilization, although central supply did the OR stuff. When I first started, we actually had rubber tubing for all IVs except blood administration. In addition, they used (and reused after sterilization) the same kind of rubber tubing for catheter drainage. Which drained into open glass (of course) bottles. I once referred to them as vinegar jugs and was promptly corrected. "These are made of a special glass."

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Specializes in NICU, Infection Control.
Our instructor recommended this film to see what it was like, even has an iron lung. The quality isn't great, but it's worth watching

http://www.son.washington.edu/about/h_mrs-reynolds.asp

Margaret

That was an excellent tape. The technology has changed, along w/the fashions, but the lesson is very much the same.

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