So You Want To Become A Nurse?

[DoGoodThenGo]

No, not a modern nurse, but one of those white dress wearing cap on her head "Mr. Jones I'm here to take your temperature" types.

Grab a mug of coffee or tea and sit down for a good read about nursing 1960's style. You also might want to keep a box of tissues or roll of paper towels handy. The first is for those whom remember fondly the "old days", the later is for youngsters who just cannot imagine. Either way a tear or two might come to your eye.

DGTG

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How To Be A Perfect Patient - circa 1954

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[Jamesdotter]

Don't kill me for asking this but did they have Plastic back in 1960 or just rubber ? All old tv shows show glass and rubber . What where foley catheter bags made out of ? What if Somone could not use latex back then ? Was there silocone ?

We had plastic - in our hospital we used plastic for blood transfusions and rubber tubing for most other IVs. At County, where I was, foleys drained into a glass jug on the floor, Wangensteen (gastric) suction was an arrangement of rubber tubing and glass jugs, etc; There was a thread several years ago about all those old-timey things that we used 40 to 50 years ago.

I can't remember whether we had silicone, but there were some kind of gloves for people who couldn't use the regular ones. I'm guessing that latex allergy might not have been as prevalent because there wasn't as much latex equipment around to be exposed to.

[queenjulie, RN]

People tended to live within their means. The words "we can't afford it" wasn't seen as some mark of not doing well or social shame.

Keep in mind that wages have been stagnant for over twenty years. Inflation has caused prices of everything we buy to go up steadily, as it always does, but wages have not gone up to match it. I agree that many of us have too much stuff and live beyond our means, but because of flat wages, even people who live with what should be well within their means have a hard time, because wages have stayed the same while prices have risen.