What was it like to be a nurse in the 1980s

[fatrabbit]

I'm writing a paper for one of my classes. I have to briefly discuss what the role of the nurse was in the 1970s/80s. The only sources I can find talk about events pertaining to nursing in the 1980s.

I really want to know the experience of being a nurse in the 80s. How much respect did nurses have? Where they able to question doctors? advocate for patients?

[Glycerine82, LPN]

I would love to hear from ED nurses of the 80s...

Yes, Yes!

I don't remember the 80s very well but the decade fascinates me!

[Sunflowerinsc, ADN, RN]

Where is the poster? He should have enough information for all the homework to be done! And we've had a good time talking about the "old days"

[Glycerine82, LPN]

That's interesting.

I had my first child in 1983 in Reno; normal lady partsl delivery but had the "big shave" and an enema:sarcastic:; 3 days in the hospital. Baby spent most of the time in the nursery.

22 months later, in a small town 3 hours from Reno, I had my second child. Same delivery but no shave or enema thank goodness!! Baby roomed-in and we went home in one day.

Amazing differences in the 80's.

OMG I just text my Mom, I have to know if that was her experience! This stuff is so interesting.

She was a lab tech in the 80s when HIV and AIDS was new, she remembers not wearing gloves, ever. She said if blood was known to be contaminated it would have a bio-hazard sticker on it and thats how they knew to be more cautious. Used to suck on pipettes to get the fluid moving.... Never could get used to wearing gloves and couldn't move fast enough in stat testing situations with them on, so she switched careers.

crazy!

Now I gotta know if they shaved her hoo hoo when she delivered me! My poor mom with the random questions I come up with.

[Glycerine82, LPN]

OH MY GOD---I did that too, in LPN school. We were horrified that we had to give each other bed baths, but we did it. No square inch went "unbathed", if you know what I mean. Can you imagine giving that kind of bed bath to a patient now? With warm water, a clean wash cloth and towel, soap and a basin of water? Now, they have glorified baby wipes that you pull out of a package and quickly swipe over a patient's face and hands.

Ahhh, the glory days. Didn't Bruce Springsteen write a song about that?

I give all my patients basins of water and wash cloths. I use the wipes for brief changes. I'm not switching until I can't get my hands on the equipment.

[lhflanurseNP, APRN]

Just remembered something. We had to mix our own Chemo under a hood on a medical floor!

Remember the wrap around "apron" and the black neoprene rubber gloves that went to your elbows? At least I did mixing chemo.

[joanna73, BSN, RN]

Did you have capes? Did you live in hospital accommodation to train? Was it AT ALL like Cherry Ames? (Sorry, I love hearing about how nursing used to be). I also apologise if these questions are relevant about 50 years before the 80's, Cherry is my only insight into American nursing history and I am aware she is fictional :).

My aunt still has my grandma's black nursing cape. Grandma was a nurse from 1921-1938. Not sure exactly the year nurses stopped wearing capes.

[bluebonnetrn, BSN, RN]

Patient satisfaction trumps common sense and honesty.

**THIS**

[Fleur deLirious]

I graduated in 1988, and worked as a nurse tech for a year prior to that. In those days, many people still smoked, and smoking was allowed in hospitals. Only doctors were allowed to smoke at the nurses' station or in public areas; nurses smoked in the break room/report room. The room was filled with smoke as we all listened to taped shift report, and nurses would go to the break room to smoke and chart. Patients were allowed to smoke as long as they weren't on oxygen. It's comical to think back on it.

Although we collaborated with physicians and felt comfortable with approaching most of them, nurses were still expected to give up their chair at the nurses station if a doctor approached. Some of the older MDs treated us like the hired help, expecting us to step'n'fetch for them. Unfortunately, some of the old-school MDs also would rather give up their license than take a suggestion from a nurse seriously; this really only hurt their patients in the end. We've come a long way, baby!

[NurseDiane]

I started my first "real" job out of college in the operating room at a major NYC hospital. These were the first days of the AIDS crisis in Manhattan, the largest concentrated area of AIDS cases in the country. I can remember a couple of surgeons that were totally out of control in the OR, and if things got gnarly during the case, or if the surgeon didn't like how things were going, they'd hurl instruments across the room. I remember being scrubbed in cases several times when a surgeon hurled a clamp or something across the room. One time, a nurse was scrubbed into a general surgery case, and after the surgeon made the initial skin incision, instead of putting the blade down on the magnetic mat & letting the scrub nurse pick it up like he was supposed to do, he hastily went to put it on the mayo stand. The scrub nurses hand was on the mayo stand, and the scalpel blade went practically all the way through her hand!!!! Now THAT was a huge uproar. The poor nurse was a nervous wreck, she took a leave of absence because she was getting anxiety attacks if she was scrubbed into a case, and it wasn't until she was past the infectious time that she was able to relax. But, guess what? Nothing happened to the surgeon. He may have lost his O.R. time for a couple of weeks or something, but since he was one of the MAJOR general surgeons in that major NYC hospital, and one of the most regarded surgeons in the entire city, he remained there for his entire career. He quit hurling instruments, and didn't stab anyone else, but his lousy attitude never changed.

[bell1962]

I think we had the gloves, no apron though. Fortunately I only had to mix it a couple of times.

Remember the wrap around "apron" and the black neoprene rubber gloves that went to your elbows? At least I did mixing chemo.

[Slipping CMA]

In 1986 I was 18 and my dad was very sick. He came home with a chest port and I had to hook him up to the IV every morning then take him off when the drug was done. I still remember that old IV machine it was blue and I believe nurses back then would have to put in a drip rate instead of the fancy IV's they have now.

[Jensmom7, BSN, RN]

Started out at a hospital affiliated with an Ivy: working conditions were intellectually stimulating and the least physically stressful that I've ever encountered. I remember the young male medical students calling their PAs-in-training "Turkeys" (this was in the mid-1970s and the program was new). That has always bothered me; I was too intimidated to call them out for this poor behavior. All of us newly graduated nurses had our BSNs; many of the doctors were actually interested in dating/marrying the nurses back then. We nurses wore white shoes, hose, uniforms and nursing caps (caps were always falling off our heads when we did pt. care). Went into Peace Corps from there; was assigned a 40 bed hospital as Nursing Director and also was responsible for a number of local public health nurses. I was called "Doctora" simply because anyone with a four year college degree (and up) was called this out of respect. Had a visiting doctor each week; otherwise, we nurses were on our own. One doctor from a neighboring South American country borrowed my nsg books to study (I even knew more than him [disconcerting]). I remember coming into the hospital after having had the weekend off and seeing a male patient stitched up literally all over his body (had been in a machinery accident); he was puffed out like the Pillsbury Doughboy and was on his feet walking around with arms outstretched in mortal agony; had gangrene everywhere -- that ignorant doctor had been on duty. Also remember seeing one young well educated and earnest doctor on his knees crying one night (he had sent for me to come in) ... he had lost a four-year-old pt. ... he stated that he could not locate a pediatric cuff which was vital for the treatment that he had needed to do. Our one peds cuff had "walked away." Many, many more dramatic and interesting stories than these ... these two are always intermittently in my mind, however. Two attempts were made on my life by wild children from the capital city located by rickety bus three hours away; these children would be dumped into local pueblos periodically. Both attempts were made simply to secure food (which I would have given them). When I first arrived at this assignment, it was late at night and there was no electricity (it was sporadic). Upon entering the hospital, I was guided by the sound of moaning (no screaming [nor any family members present) ... to the hospital's labor and delivery room (which also had several beds for new mothers). The girls were around 11-12 y/o and both were on the same bare narrow mattress -- each had the other's feet at her head. Both were crowning at the same time. Here I am, the new DON, barely speaking Spanish -- what did I do? I went looking for an enfermera (!!) -- who ultimately slowly came in and competently delivered the babies. Her training? No formal education past middle school or high school ... but a lot of hands on. FARC came into my pueblo the second year; I was trapped in the hospital for two months -- psychological hell but I was not physically harmed. My last moments with any of them consisted of being walked to the back of the hospital -- where there was a local dump for organic/inorganic materials -- the "soldier" and I were positioned right at the edge of the cliff. I looked off into the distance at this incredibly beautiful sunset and just started rambling on about it -- blowing at least one verb tense; the "soldier," who had been playing around with something in her pocket (the only female in the bunch), stared at me long and hard -- ultimately smiled (only smile that I ever saw from any of them), turned around, and said "Let's go." Within the hour the entire bunch had pulled out of the pueblo and moved on. (PC had not known of the event until I informed them.) It was not until many years later that I finally let the realization of what she had been twirling in her pocket, psychologically "out of the bag" -- it had been a small pistol, I am sure. I elected to remain at that hospital until the end of my assignment. Next nsg job situation -- I became a soldier in the military (this was still in the 70s -- extending into the 80s). Worked all three shifts in the week and many, many hours; did not get a real vacation until the end of my time there; however, was compensated with a nice chunk of money for this (base was outside the US). We nurses did have one nice conference in the middle of our tour (at a very nice hotel). Nurses were in the military very professional and competent; the doctors treated us with a good deal of respect (never did socialize ... was always too tired)! Did have a problem with non medical males saluting me. Made Captain towards the middle of my first tour; was given "credit" for my PC work (had no idea about this). We would sometimes wear our BDUs/jump boots to work -- boots back then were heavy. Had a pt. when I was working in the ICU who presented with strange set of s/s; he was from one of the islands and was later found out to have been homosexual. Various doctors would come by trying to figure out what was going on with the pt. It wasn't until post discharge from the military that I would learn that he had AIDs -- back then his illness did not even have a name. I do remember being angry at the doctors one shift (there was one peering in through the glass windows); I practically yelled that the pt. MUST be administered an analgesic ... he was practically levitating off the bed with pain (the doctors were circumspect about this due to the strangeness of his illness). I was finally given the order to do so; he died not long past this. By the end of the course of this pt's brief illness, I felt that I was inside his skin with him -- not just physically, but metaphysically as well. I still carry him around inside me, somehow. I also remember a young ~ 19 y/o homosexual enlisted medic (he did not formally announce his sexual orientation inside the military [only some of us knew]) whisper to me that he had heard of a friend of a friend in San Francisco having some of the same weird s/s. (I hope that this medic survived the AIDS epidemic.) I worked at a VA next; the VA had a good number of former military nurses. The VA nurses, as in the military, were generally very well trained/educated;I loved,loved, loved the pts (generally speaking, I sadly do not have the same general opinion of my own baby boom generation). It seemed as though beds were always filled at the VA; worked progressive care and in one of the intensive care units. Pts. did not have to worry about receiving a bill for their care; I was proud of my country for their free care [i believe in universal free health care]) I also served in the Army Reserves throughout my time there. Army Reserves receives mixed reviews from me; some nurses are not as experienced as one would like (one had not EVER worked apart from it [only nurse that I never had any kind of respect for; never saw her working with pts. -- only sitting off somewhere]). I really do have incredible respect for the nurses associated with the military and VAs in our country. (Aside: once I was out of the military and married, I began the very serious business of creating humans inside me. What a difficult job it is for women in any capacity to create and then nuture human beings -- particularly as a nurse!) That essentially ends my nsg. experiences in the 80s: total number of meal breaks ever taken during that time (excepting quick presentations in the nurses' lounges for social stuff) -- two handfuls worth, perhaps (I would feel guilty [not unusual for a nurse]). Blessings.

You just might be my new hero.