Way back when.........................

Trauma Columnist · Jul 14, 2009

Wow - thanks for the story. I'm a USN vet (enlisted, non medical) from the 70's. I can really identify with your statement about getting married. lol I was in the USN, dating a guy in the USAF and when we got married, the detailer (Navy person who makes decisions on where you are stationed) just laughed at me and said "good luck with that." Needless to say, when our oldest son was 4 months old, I was due to go to a ship while hubby and baby stayed in Japan. Uh, no.

Quiskeya · Jul 14, 2009

Thanks for the story. I am planning to join the Army when I finish my ADN in 3 months. I am so excited, I would love to be part of the Army nurse corps. There is prestige, excitment, courage, passion and ambision in this type of nursing. Do you have any tips for me before my application? Thanks.

Iworecords, RN · Jul 15, 2009

Thanks for the story. I am planning to join the Army when I finish my ADN in 3 months. I am so excited, I would love to be part of the Army nurse corps. There is prestige, excitment, courage, passion and ambision in this type of nursing. Do you have any tips for me before my application? Thanks.

A BSN is now required for commissioning in the Army Nurse Corps (and the Navy and the Air Force) but you do have several options once you pass your licensing exam.

1. You can transfer your credits into an accredited BSN program and then talk to a recuriter.

2. You can enlist in the Army as a RN with an Associates Degree -- E4 -- and complete your degree on your own or apply for their degree completion program (only so many slots so it is hard to get in). Then apply for commissioning. It is not a guarantee.

3. You can join the Army Reserves -- get commissioned -- and then complete your BSN. You are under a time crunch tho -- since you must complete your BSN by the time you go up for CPT. There are programs in the Army Reserves that offer $$$ to help you out with tuition.

Now there are some other requirements -- such as you must be a US citizen to be commissioned. You must be in good physical and mental health -- and within the age requirements. You must meet the height and weight standards. Some medications given for ADHD will disqualify you. When they do the criminal background check even a small blip can disqualify you.

The paperwork can be mind boggling -- and frustrating -- but all in all -- well worth it :yeah:

Iworecords, RN · Jul 15, 2009

I had to jump thru hoops to get married lolololol As soon as I got engaged I was put on nights with split days off. Pretty tough putting a wedding together when you can't even go shopping for a wedding gown!!! I decided to get married in my "Blues" -- and my parents put the wedding together back East.

The day before my leave was to start I was told it was canceled due to the needs of the Army. Grrrrrrrrrrr It wasn't like we were being deployed!! After I called my Mother crying -- she called my Uncle (the 2 star) -- who made some phone calls -- and my leave was back on.

After we got married, my schedule continued to be nights (1900 to 0700 -- 5 days per week) with split days off. My husband was a BCT Company Commander -- and on the trail -- so he left for work before I got home -- and he got home after I went to work.

Somehow I got pregnant -- and the nights continued. After I returned from Con Leave I got orders for Korea -- and he got orders for Germany. Yikes -- I had a 6 week old baby!!!! It all worked out tho -- he got the RIF and went to law school -- and my orders were changed to Devens -- which was an hour away from his school -- and his grandmother who took care of the baby. But guess what shift I worked lolololol Yep nights :yawn: I swear the Army thought I was a vampire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hopeful_army_NP · Jul 15, 2009

wow, when you have "free" time, please continue to post your story. It is much appreciated and enjoyed!

olderthandirt2 · Jul 15, 2009

so good!!! tell us more!

Iworecords, RN · Jul 16, 2009

As I drove across county in my little red VW Bug -- packed to the gills with my belongings (13 inch TV, stereo, clothes, uniforms, and iron of course lololol) I didn't know what I would find at the end of my trip. It was before the age of the Internet so researching Fort Lost in the Woods was difficult. When I mentioned my assignment at OBC, I got eye rolls and "oh dear..........." along with "who did you tick off?"

On my way. I stopped at Fort Knox to visit my sister and her husband. By doing so I went off the direct route and decided to cut cross county going west to save time. I pulled out the trusty Rand McNally map book and decided on a route -- crossing the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau. What I didn't anticipate was the heavens opening up and my windshield wipers running non-stop. Somehow I made a wrong turn and ended up going thru country where I thought Jed Clampett was going to saunter across the road. My last hour or so on the road, you couldn't see your hand in front of your face -- but eventually I saw a guard shack -- and a FLW sign. I rolled down my window and asked the MP how to get to main post. "Ma'am you just drove thru post." Ohhhhhhhhhhhh dear this is going to be fun lolololololol

I do not recommend reporting to your first assignment on the day before a holiday. I arrived on New Years Eve. I was given a key to a VOQ (Visiting Officers Quarters) room in a WWII wooden building. The room was spacious -- furniture was a bed, chair, and a wall locker. It did have a private bathroom but without a shower. The lighting was a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. I had the name and phone number of my sponsor -- so I called him. He was living with his wife at the BOQ temporarily so he gave me directions to it. We had a nice dinner -- some other Officers stopped in -- and eventually we moved to the Officer's Club Annex located in the Q's.

Life as a single Officer at FLW was very interesting to say the least. The majority of us lived in 4 of 5 buildings in a complex called Sturgis Heights. They were 2 story brick buildings with single rooms along the long halls. At the end of each hall were 2 one bedroom apartments for O4's and above. Each single room had a private bath and an closet that held an ancient refrigerator -- the type with the motor on top. There were no stoves or sinks -- so if you ate in your room you had to wash dishes in your bathtub. We had a pull out couch, dresser, chair, and book case. There was no central air but if you were lucky you could apply for a window air conditioner in the spring from housing. Those were first come first served. There was no cable for the TV but if you prayed hard enough and wrapped tin foil on the antenna you might pick up a station from Springfield.

The Officer's Club had an annex in one of the buildings and it became our gathering place after work and on weekends. Everyone knew each other -- everyone partied together -- and if someone decided to have a cookout -- which we did frequently in the parking lot -- no matter what the weather was -- there was an open invitation to everyone who lived in the complex. The guys were a tad crazy -- but almost all of them were fresh out of Viet Nam -- so they had a right to be crazy lololol For the most part we dated in mass -- driving up to the Lake of the Ozarks -- meeting at the official O Club on Friday nights for happy hour. It was actually safer to drink and party in mass -- especially at our little annex -- because if you ventured off post you might not come back in one piece.

In the summer, ground was broken for the new main O Club across the parking lot from our buildings. They also started to build new Q's just across the street. Our Q's were worn and torn -- and full of roaches :cry: . They were so bad that when they exterminated one building we'd watch them track over to the next on the sidewalk. And we were so crazy that we'd set up lawn chairs in the grass -- have 55 gallon drums filled with ice -- and beer of course -- and sit there and watch them -- with the guys calling out cadence lolololol

All good things must come to an end tho -- and it started the end of that summer. The first of 3 Reduction in Forces -- RIF's -- came down the pike. Viet Nam was drawing down and the Army didn't need as many Company Grade Combat Arms Officers as they had in the ranks. All the guys were on pins and needles waiting for the list to come out. What was sad -- there were guys who wanted out -- especially the helicopter pilots who had good paying jobs waiting for them in the civilian sector -- but volunteers were not called for. When the list finally was published we lost a good number of friends. The guys who were left breathed a sigh of relief -- not realizing that the next summer they would be hit again -- and the summer after that more would hit the dust.

By the end of the fall the whole atmosphere changed at the Q's. The new O Club was almost completed -- and it was going to be elegant. The annex was closed before the new club openned and the single Officers (and the young married ones) no longer had a place where we could let our hair down -- and show up in shorts and tee shirts. The new Q's were all apartments with full kitchens (including dishwashers) and cable TV -- so people didn't hang out together. The dual military couples that met and married at FLW were forced into married Officer housing. And of course the guys that got the RIF were gone and the ones left were sweating the next one.

Iworecords, RN · Jul 17, 2009

In the 50's and 60's, the Army pulled out the stops in upgrading hospitals across the US. Up until then the Army had what was called cantonment or cottage hospitals -- large 1 story wooden frame buildings that were made up of 20-30 bed open bay wards connected to each other by long ramps. The nursing supervisor of the hospital gained the nickname of "Ramp Tramp" due to having to walk all the ramps while making rounds and it was a term you heard right up until the 90's even in the newer hospitals.

When the Army started building they did something very smart! Other than the major medical centers (Fitz, Walter Wonderful, Tripler -- hum could have sworn there was a 4th -- oh well..) they used 2 floor plans. One was an "I" building (FLW, Devens, West Point, Huachucca, Gordon, Madigan, Lee, Campbell, Polk, Hood, Eustis and Stewart) and the other was a "L" building (Dix, the old Womack, Monmouth, Benning, Knox, Irwin -- and some others I am sure I missed). Where the buildings might have had a different number of floors -- all the major areas were the same in each floor plan -- such as the ER -- the OR's -- the clinics -- the elevators -- the mess hall -- the PX -- offices -- etc. Also the wards were set up the same in each building of the same floor plan. That meant you could hit the ground running when you were assigned to a hospital that had the same floor plan of a previous assignment. And since the Army used uniform paperwork -- once you learned the paperwork there was no need to learn new paperwork at your next assignment. Literally you could sign in on one day and work your shift on the next.

I happened to like the old Army paperwork -- many others did not. Your TPR sheet, nurses' notes, and doctor's orders were all together in a flip chart holding all the paperwork for all your patients organized by room and bed number. The only time you had a problem was when the doctors were making rounds and monopolized the flip chart to write orders. But once they left you didn't have to pull individual charts to take off orders or to write nurse's notes -- you just flipped thru the flip chart. The doctor's orders were written on a sheet where you could sign off for each shift for 7 days. Night shift on the 7th day would recopy the current orders -- and you'd start again.

Pouring meds was interesting. You had these little white cards with the patient's name, the drug, and the administration time on it. Before you started to pour your meds you'd match them against the doctor's orders in the flip chart. Then you'd go into this tiny med room -- only 1 person could fit at a time -- and pour your meds from massive multi dose bottles. Then you'd push this little chrome cart down the hall going from room to room. After you gave your meds, you'd go back to the flip chart and sign off -- using the white cards as reference.

For IV's we had glass 1,000 cc bottles. We adjusted the flow and used tape to mark the time progression on the bottle because I don't think pumps had not been invented yet. We eventually got the bags. Believe it or not -- in Saudi -- up in the desert during Desert Storm -- we had to teach the newer nurses how to administer an IV via gravity because they were so used to using pumps. And we had nurses freak out in ICU because we didn't have all the bells and whistles. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

athena55, BSN, RN · Jul 17, 2009

Iworecords:

Ha, you brought back a lot of memories for me. Graduated in 1975 but the Vietnam war was "winding down" so hundreds of nurses and physicians were being seperated and I was "turned away" from the ANC, at that time

I sure remember glass IV bottles. Do you remember glass syringes and having to sharpen your needles? Using your wrist watch to calculate drops per minute (as you stated pumps weren't in vogue, then). Nightmare when your patient was on multiple pressors such as levophed, dopamine, lidocaine and you went from bottle to bottle watching those "microdrops" and timing them.

Arterial lines weren't being used...yet and neither were swan ganz catheters. Not (at least in my civilian hospital) until late 70's. And to float a swan took around 2-4 hours as you needed to have a fluorscopy machine!

Thank you for your memories.

Are you a member of the ANCA (Army Nurse Corps Association)?

athena

Iworecords, RN · Jul 17, 2009

Ah yes -- the glass syringes lololololol Used them in school but that was one thing the Army seemed to have modernized. We had boxes and boxes of disposables at our beck and call. The only time we used them was when we drew a blood gas -- or should I say the doctors drew the blood gas and we ran it down to the lab in an ice bath.

The Army bought their medications in bulk -- multi dose bottles -- from pills to injectables. Even our narcotics came in multi dose bottles. As you can imagine -- narcotics count was a bear!!!! I remember when we started to get Demoral in tubex's and how happy we were.

We mixed all our IV's -- from soup to nuts. And remember when it was announced that we couldn't do it any longer because we needed a hood. We were hesitant about that because we didn't trust the pharmacy to get the right medication into the bottle -- or get it to us fast enought -- but we got over that lolololol

I think back to our medication passes -- and the number of patients we had. Nurses now would absolutely cringe!!!!! Was reading a post from a nurse on the Travel Nurses board -- about how the USVI was 3rd world because she had 6-7 patients on the med surg floor. Could only laugh because at FLW on the 5th floor we had 2 rooms with 6 patients in each. We covered those rooms along with all the semi privates and privates on the floor. On a good day, we had 2 nurses to cover 30-40 patients with the head nurse taking the desk. Of course we had corpsmen -- our Bravo's and Charlies -- but we passed meds -- changed dressings -- put in foleys -- started IV's (with Medicuts no less) -- helped with procedures -- drew blood -- passed trays -- etc. And on nights we only had 2 nurses total for the floor. And we gave good care!!!!!!!! Heck -- we even gave bed baths and back rubs lololololol

Iworecords, RN · Jul 18, 2009

tomorrow i have a contractor coming to give me an estimate on some work around the house. he must be able to move around in the attic so i've been cleaning it out. amazing what accumulates over the years. among all the boxes and wardrobes i came across a wardrobe and trunk packed solid with uniforms. since i kicked the ex out after i returned from saudi -- and had gathered up his stuff already -- all the uniforms were mine lololololol

as i went thru them, the memories just washed over me. i even came across my cords!!!!!!!!!!! ask any of the older female army vets and they will all agree that the cords were the best uniform we ever had. if you go to www.history.army.mil/books/wac/chapter9.htm and scroll down you will see pictures of them. they were a lightweight seersucker -- 2 piece -- short sleeved blouse and skirt cut in the princess style. no matter what your shape -- thin as a rail -- full busted -- large hips -- they were flattering. they were cool in warm weather -- but they were our summer uniform lolololol they were easy to care for -- remove the buttons -- wash -- dry -- hang -- replace the buttons (they were removable) -- wear. no fuss -- no muss -- no hassle. they were considered a working uniform so you did not have to iron them -- but if you did -- they ironed like a handkerchief they didn't really wrinkle -- even if you sat in them for hours at a time -- like on an airplane trip. you wore a matching overseas cap with them.

around 1974 -- maybe it was '75 -- the cords were deemed outdated :cry: and we had to buy these terrible polyester uniforms in neon green (the army called it mint green). it was a dress and jacket with ascot. if you had a bust -- or hips -- or even a minor midriff bulge -- you looked terrible. and they were hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!! plus the hat worn with it looked like an australian bush hat -- in neon green :down: they cost a bundle -- about $75 not counting the hat -- and altho they were touted as being easy to care for -- ya right lolololol the army said it was optional -- but you know the army lolololol everything had to be uniform -- so if the senior officer bought it -- and wore it to formation -- you bought it to wear at the next formation.

around '78, the army said we could wear pants with our greens. yippee!!!!!!!!!!! but -- the pants sold did not match the material of our greens -- so that meant you had to buy a new jacket :crying2: but -- the army came out with a longer box pleat jacket to go with the pants. so you wore the your old greens with the skirt and the new greens with the pants. a hassle when you had to pack to attend a conference. at first we didn't wear a black stripe on our pants -- but eventually the army said -- wait a minute -- you are officers -- you need to wear a black stripe!!! only problem -- even clothing sales didn't know which stripe to sell us lololol the male stripe was too broad -- the black stripe we wore on our jacket cuff was too narrow. most of us wore the male stripe until a female stripe was manufactured -- which took several years. but occasionally you'd run across someone who was maybe a size 2 or 3 lololol wearing the cuff stripe down the side of her pants. oh the pants had a back zipper and no pockets -- and were also flared at the ankle. it was also around this time that the army did away with our khaki under blouse with the built in tie (rounded collar). we were allowed to wear our white blouse that went with our blues.

a few years down the pike the army changed the female uniform again!!!!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr they decided we should wear our brass like the men. originally we wore the us on our right lapel (which was rounded) and our corps on the left lapel. the lower lapels were narrow and could not handle wearing our corps on them. so the uniform was changed to larger pointed lapels. caching caching -- the kids need new shoes? forget it -- i need a new uniform!!!! they also came out with the green over the hips blouse with removable pointed tie. of course the material in the new greens did not match the pants that went with the box pleated jacket -- so it meant buying the whole 9 yards :crying2:

soon after desert storm -- guess what happened again lololololol new pants with a belt. okkkkkkkkkkkk -- jacket material doesn't match :uhoh3: new uniform again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and this time -- due to my rank -- and what i was doing -- and menopause changing my shape -- it meant buying a uniform jacket that would fit me thru the bust -- but was then too big in the shoulders, waist and hips. i had to go to a tailor that totally pulled it apart and remade it -- including putting fishing weights in the back pleat and front closure so the jacket hung properly -- to the tune of $250 :madface: i could have flown to korea and had a custom uniform made cheaper lolololol

guess how many class a uniforms my ex bought during his 6 yrs active and 14 yrs national guard? 2!!!!!!!!!!! and that was only because he couldn't fit into his rotc class a's as he matured lololololol