What Happened To The Good Ole Days Of Nursing?

I remember long ago what nursing used to be like. It is kind of crazy when I think about all of the things that have changed over the years. When I started as a new graduate over 20 years ago I was a scared and overwhelmed little kitten. The unit I worked for was crazy busy. I had a 6 month internship that involved classes as well as floor training. I was so nervous yet excited at the same time that I was going to be a labor and delivery nurse.

I was stressed out back then and completely overwhelmed being a brand new nurse. The difference is that back then we as nurses we were allowed to laugh. We were allowed to giggle at the nurses station when we had the chance. We could relax and swap stories about our work day or about our husbands and kids. We even drank coffee as we charted. I remember being able to set up a lunch table for us all to share as long as it wasn’t visible to people walking by in the hallways. We could read a book or a magazine in our down time as long as no one else needed help. We were able to maintain our sanity and it worked!

It wasn’t all just about being able to drink a cold Diet Coke at the nurses station, or having the chance to share unit gossip with one another. There was other differences. The work load was so much less. I miss the good ole days of a clipboard with one documentation sheet for your entire shift. I miss doing admissions on a “green sheet”. I miss the days where you didn’t have to ask a million questions to a patient that didn’t even pertain to them. Now don’t get me wrong. Technology has it advantages. It is nice to be able to have everyones records accessible and in one place instead of having to call medical records. It is great to just click instead of hand writing a long note. Trust me I get it.

As technology has advanced I feel that we have continued to add task to a nurses role. I progressively over the years have felt that we have slowly lost our interaction with the patient. We are so focused to getting all of our documentation into the computer that we can’t even look at our patients anymore. Every time I turn around a new form has been added, or a new questions been placed in the admission database. We have to scan everything we touch anymore and log into the computer, and then log out again, and log in and log out. It is time consuming and exhausting. I often thought to myself as the years passed, would this ever stop? They can’t possibly add another task to our already crazy list of them? The answer is they can, and they did.

I used to be thankful ,as these demands were increasing in the nursing world, that at least I could still giggle with my friends. In the midst of the craziness me and my fellow nurses could vent to one another at the nurses station, or share a cup of coffee together. The laughter and the camaraderie always made me feel better. We could still be human amidst all the computers and robotic things around us. Until sadly, they stripped that away from us as well.

Over time the micro managers took over. Slowly the demands began to pile on top of us. The threats of writing us up or scolding us as nurses increased as the years ticked by. Gradually we could no longer giggle with each other because it was seen as unprofessional and disruptive behavior. We could no longer have a quick snack as we charted or even caffeine to keep us charged during these long shifts. If we glanced at our cell phone and anyone saw us we would get written up. If you made a call home quickly to check on your family, someone was right there to reprimand you. The magazines were removed, the books no longer available, and our ability to even breathe was gone. I miss those good ole days. I miss being able to work hard but still find away to have fun with my co workers. I miss a simpler time. I miss the days before my complete and udder burnout as a nurse occurred.