SUE, this one's for you

I went to Nursing school two different times.The first during the late 50s',early 60s', the second , the early 90s'. During the big gap, I took time off to raise 5 children. My choice was to do the whole thing over again, including all the prerequisites. I figured too much time had elapsed and too many changes had come to pass. I WAS SO RIGHT!! The knowledge base had grown tremendously. First, I'll tell what we did not have, no IV pumps, no disposables, needles were cleaned, sharpened and autoclaved, put onto glass syringes. We learned to use sterile forceps like extensions of our hands. Oxygen and suction,etc were not at the bedside ,needing to be brought if needed. So much more, I'll stop here. There were nurses' residences adjacent to the hospitals, which we were required to live in for the first year, married or not. The hospitals depended on student nurses to help staff the hospitals. After the "probie" period, we worked 5 eight-hour shifts a week, in addition to classes. These shifts included week-end and holidays ,winter, spring, summer and fall. Our curriculum was divided into "specialties", such as pediatrics,psychiatry.OB and surgery (OR), public health. The floors in the hospitals were divided into medical, surgical, etc. We were instructed in each of these, taking classes,etc and were able to put into practice what we were learning while working with patients in each of these specialties. So, that was a good thing. We had mega clinical practice. As advances in medicine and technology occurred, the way nurses were taught had to change. The role of nurses changed with much added knowledge and autonomy. No longer were we "handmaidens" to the doctors, but, professionals in our own right. One thing that has not changed is the spirit of nursing, we are now, always have been and always will be there for the patient and his family., caring for them with expertise, compassion, and empathy. Most of us came into nursing, hoping to make a positive difference in the lives of those we would serve. This is why I came into nursing. I love and so miss it. It is something that gets into your heart, never to leave.