The good ole days of nursing...share your stories!

Published

I'm am currently being precepted by a well seasoned nurse. She graduated from a diploma program in the mid 70s and has been a nurse ever since. I love the stories she shares about going to nursing school, sitting for nclex, and all the things she has seen and done over the years. There is such a big difference from when she started as a nurse to what nursing has become now. I am very interested in hearing stories from other nurses who have been in the field awhile as well as opinions on changes with schooling, work ethic, etc. Im interested in hearing comparisons of nursing now vs. back in the day. Any and all stories and opinions appreciated :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

We charted on paper- and each of the THREE shifts used a different color ink. Days black / Evenings green / Nights red.

The biggest difference is that back in the day- patients were allowed to stay in the hospital until they were completely well.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Geriatrics.

Back in the good old days, nursing homes were for the geriatric population. Now they are labeled "rehab centers" and we have 40 year olds mixed with the 90 year olds. Back in the day, nursing was caring for people not charting. The endless charting now takes time away from actually caring for patients. I miss the good old days of nursing..

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Gerontology.

Smoking lounges for the pts. Nurses and docs smoking at the nursing station.

Med cards. Huge bottles of meds in the med room.

Cholesectomy was a huge surgery! NPO for days. No fluids till gas was passed. I remember dragging pts up and down the halls telling them to fart so they could drink again!

The medical profession was much more respected before "dr google" came along.

Strict visiting hours.

Double bagging isolation linen and garbage.

2 days of testing to get your RN.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have been in Nursing for 46 years, I was an OB/GYN Nurse for the first 30 years and now I do Private Duty Nursing with Geriatric Patients. Nursing has been the love of my life!! I wanted to be a Nurse from the time I was 5 years old. I am so grateful that I went to school back in the day. There were patients on wards, people were in the hospital longer. We actually gave every patient a back rub during our HS care. We were a team, everyone worked together until all the work was done, we respected our elders and always asked questions if we were uncertain.I miss the white uniforms, the clinque shoes and the white starched caps, everyone knew we were Nurses. We were neat and clean. With the phase out of the 3 year program where you lived in a dorm next to the hospital the Nursing program has gone downhill. There is plenty of classroom hours but not enough Clinical time, many Nurses don't know how to do many procedures until they graduate and are thrown to the wolves on the units. And I must say that the Nurses in the workforce eat their young!! People have forgotten what it was like to be the new kid on the block!! I would love to be a motivational speaker at the Nursing Schools and maybe even the the workplace. I am proud to be a Nurse and will be until my dying day.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Back in the good old days, nursing homes were for the geriatric population.

Not necessarily. A lot of the (young) chronically mentally ill used to get dumped in nursing homes because there was nowhere else for them to go. If you didn't have family willing and able to have you live with them, you were just SOL. This was back when the only options for psychiatric treatment were inpatient hospitalization or 50 minutes once a week in someone's office, and there were no such things as group homes, residential programs, IOPs, day treatment programs, etc. They were not getting appropriate psychiatric treatment, and, when they decompensated (or just got frustrated and lost it), they could be dangerous to the frail older residents. My career has been in psychiatric nursing, and we used to see a lot of those individuals on inpatient psych units in the '70s and '80s. Eventually, there were class action lawsuits brought against various states around the country, and one of the outcomes was that the Federal government required states to develop some mechanism to make sure the chronically mentally ill had access to appropriate treatment and weren't getting warehoused in SNFs. Another outcome was the development of a wide range of treatment and living options for the chronically mentally ill. That's part of the "good old days of nursing" that I don't

miss. Younger people who are in "rehab centers" nowadays are actually there for rehab. They're not 25 year old male schizophrenics who are living in SNFs, with nothing to do all day but watch TV, smoke, and eat chips, expected to be in bed by 8 PM each night and stay there quietly until 8 the next morning, not getting any real treatment for their illness, and having nothing else to look forward to for the rest of their lives.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case Manager/Administrator.

I started in LTC when I was 14 years old...back then with no computers it was hard to check age. I remember tying posey vest on residents to the handrail for those who wandered and poesy vest on those who liked to rock back and forth...we were keeping them safe, you did not need to be certified to work as a nurses aide. I remember I did not make much money and I know it was not over $3.50 an hour.

I am so glad we evolve and change for the life of me I cannot even begin to think about tying someone down unless they are out of control and then I would do it chemically...with an injection.

Reading all your comments really make me belly laugh at some of them. Wow what a profession we work in!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in School Nursing, Pediatrics.

Taking the nursing board in July, over 2 days, by pencil and paper, and working at a GN (graduate nurse) until October when the results finally came by mail.

Mixing chemo drugs, potassium and any other meds at the med cart.

Not locking up most meds, only meds locked and counted by hand were true narc (morphine, dilaudid, codeine).

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

Not necessarily good ole days but back "in the day"......

We let patients smoke in bed with oxygen!

Most nurses wore white nursing uniforms (dresses) with a school cap, nursing school pin, white stockings and "clinic" shoes.

Only using gloves for the really dirty jobs not routinely.

Maximum of two visitors with very restricted hours.

Night nurses could sleep on the job.

Had to calculate all IVs by drip rate (no pumps).

One nurse carrying and keeping track of THE narcotic keys.

Hand crank beds that did not have a built-in call light or TV control.

This is fun, keep 'em coming!

ba0390a48d7b5fb0d24e0252b74f3e22.jpg

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Not necessarily good ole days but back "in the day"......

We let patients smoke in bed with oxygen!

Most nurses wore white nursing uniforms (dresses) with a school cap, nursing school pin, white stockings and "clinic" shoes.

Only using gloves for the really dirty jobs not routinely.

Maximum of two visitors with very restricted hours.

Night nurses could sleep on the job.

Had to calculate all IVs by drip rate (no pumps).

One nurse carrying and keeping track of THE narcotic keys.

Hand crank beds that did not have a built-in call light or TV control.

This is fun, keep 'em coming!

*flying tackle hug*

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 15 years in ICU, 22 years in PACU.

Speaking of good ole days. You looking good girl!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in retired LTC.

Does the "Welcome Wagon" still make rounds? Volunteers from the Gift Shoppe used to go room to room with a cart abundantly stocked with all kinds of sundries (that were also sold inside the Gift Shoppe) and snacks, etc.

I wore Clinics, too. Comfy at the time. Of course, I was younger and skinnier!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion