As the daughter of an Army Drill Sergeant, I grew up around Fort Jackson, SC. We shopped at the PX, attended the Roman Catholic church on base, bought 29 cent gasoline and went to the movies for a quarter. But the place I seemed to spend most of my time was in the outpatient infirmary. I remember the wooden structures that were meant to be temporary when first constructed, the highly polished wooden flooring and ramps, the “shot” room where I received more than my share of Pen V for recurrent pneumonia and tonsillitis…many decades later it still feels like yesterday.
My most vivid memory though, is the nurses. All wore Army issue 100% cotton uniforms, starched and white, with sharp caps and polished shoes. From my vantage point, I could see little beyond large bosoms in sharp Playtex bras that preceded them into the room like the prow of a ship. They terrified me. I remember hiding behind the medicine refrigerator when I knew a shot was imminent.
These nurses were tough, and a pediatric department was nonexistent. No lollipops for good behavior (and I would not have earned one in any event). I was expected to behave like a small soldier.
Many of these women had served overseas and their pride was evident in their bearing as they marched down the polished hallways, shoulders back and snapping salutes from the brow of their stern faces. They were subordinate only to God and outranking physicians. The distinction between the two was not always clear but my inferior position was never in doubt. My mom was also a nurse, and I secretly thought she identified with them more than me, her youngest national treasure. Of one thing I was certain; I would never become a nurse.
So much for that resolution. I too grew up to wear polished shoes and cap for graduation, but the hospital I worked for had a wonderful pediatric floor. Body language had changed. I wore child-friendly smocks, tossed the cap after I kept losing it in the nebulizer tents, and there was a rocker in every room. No scary nurses allowed. Gently approaching children instead of pinning them down like feral cats was a solution the military had never conceived. Sheltering in mom’s embrace for injections took away some of the sting, and parents were calmed by having their own hands held after a particularly hard night.
When I transferred to ICU, body language was equally if not more central to the care of adults. They scrutinized our faces for indication of bad news as did their families. Amidst their lines, wires and tubing, they were vulnerable. Their spirits were buoyed by unhurried baths and clean bedding. Their families were less apprehensive when their loved ones looked well-cared for, and sometimes they needed a hug. They wanted to know we cared and that we would be there when the call light was not on, and that our shift ended when the work was done and not before.
In the latter 70s and early 80s, you did not wear gloves to start IVs, give baths, take vital signs or draw blood. Gloves were only required for trach and wound care, suctioning, Foley insertions, continent care and when isolation demanded it. Although today’s MRSA-resistant hospital environment demands protection for staff and patients, those gloves also communicate “unclean” to patients who crave human contact. Now more than ever, smiles and reassuring body language are indispensable to good patient care.
And honestly, who needs frown lines?
legalnurseadams 
Alice- wonderful brings back my childhood as an army brat. Who else would take tonsils out
under local. Patients really need that extra touch and extra connection that only a nurse can give.
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Fantastic blog and so true Alice!
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Well said as usual, Alice
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Nice job Alice!
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Your remarks definitely resonate with my own past experiences. When gloves aren’t required, human touch makes such a difference in young and old alike. Nicely done.
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Great article. In this busy world of healthcare we all need a reminder that a human touch and a warm smile changes the day for all of us.
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Well put. It brought back memories as a young nurse and how we were trained. We didn’t do the talking and touching of our patients back then that we do now…it was all business. Gloves were not disposable and had to be sterilized. Guess what? We washed our hands! Even today I tend not to wear gloves and wash my hands a lot. How can you convey compassion when holding someone’s hand with gloves on. Body language says it all sometimes.
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I had the best time reading this Alice! I do remember those times….glass syringes and surgical steel bed pans. I sometimes long for those days and never seem to miss an opportunity to read about the “old days” when nurses so demonstrated the art of caring.
thanks for the ride down memory lane.
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Very Very nice Alice. A great job as usual!!
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Nice blog, Alice; a thoughtful presentation of the ever changing face of nursing.
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I was and am one of those nurses from the 60’s. These days I have been on the other side of the bed as a patient. One night a nurse came in to rub my back when I was in pain and I cried! It reminded me of times past when we touched our patients. No one does that anymore. They bring you a towel and wash cloths and tell you to wash whether you can or you cannot! Where are the back rubs and baths? Thank you Alice!
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Alice,
In 1968 my 13 year old brother was diagnosed with a brain tumor and had surgery (and a month long stay) at University of California San Francisco’s Moffat Hospital. Throughout a long and very difficult month, the nurses and doctors on the pediatric floor and ICU were phenomenal! There was time spent just playing with the kids. Doctors, nurses, orderlies, visitors, and anyone else who showed up, played. Syringes became squirt guns and it would be all on some days! I remember one day my brother smacked the back of his own head with a plastic bat (after surgery mind you!). Play was over for him that day, but he was back at it the next. He made friends (in particular an asthmatic boy named Robert) and watched while some families lost their particular battle. We learned about compassion and understanding from those nurses and doctors and believe me, I carry some of them with me in the ER every time I face a child. They were amazing role models and we were thankful for each of them.
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