Health care has changed dramatically in the past 50 years, not only with the advent of new technologies but because the delivery of patient care has evolved.
One recent program addressing those transformations, Nursing through the Decades, was held in Alumni Hall at Purdue University Calumet. Among topics highlighted were developments in the nursing industry since the1950s.
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A group of seven area nursing professionals served on the panel.
“I wondered what kind of program we could come up with, considering all the talent we had (with the seven panel members),” PUC associate nursing professor Joan Dorman said. “This event was the perfect solution for them to share their wealth of information and experiences.”
More than 75 residents attended the program, which was sponsored by Purdue Calumet’s Sigma Theta Tau International Mu Omega Nursing Honor Society.
The panel discussed changes they have seen during their careers, and also offered a question-and-answer period after their presentations.
“Less than 2 percent of women were accepted into medical school in the 1950s,” nursing professor Gloria Smokvina said. “This wasn’t a common career for them at that time.”
She added that when she first started hospital work, nurses were on probation and caps weren’t allowed for the first six months.
“And we had to wear a white, starched uniform, white shoes, white hose and a hair net,” she said, with a laugh. “You were starched from head to toe.”
PUC nursing professor Ellen Moore discussed the 1960s, when she first began her nursing career.
“It was a very task-oriented time,” she said. “It was pretty common to have patients in constraints.”
Nursing instructor Kathy Kleefisch said glass IV’s were used during the 1970s, rubber gloves weren’t used, and patients stayed in the hospital much longer than today.
“Usually, that would be five to 10 days after surgery, and three to five days after childbirth,” Kleefisch said.
The 1980s and 1990s saw a huge swing in the direction of sanitation, especially with the onset of AIDS. The use of gloves in all health care situations became common.
Today, hand sanitizer is common — available and used in both homes and public places. And nurses enjoy a less formal working environment, sporting casual and colorful attire.
“I wear a (hospital) T-shirt, scrubs and clogs to work,” panel member Christine Johnson said. “This makes for a very comfortable, relaxing atmosphere.”
Those in the audience ranged from retired area nurses to nursing students.
Sally Fowler of Westfield and Janel Zilinski of Knox traveled from Purdue North Central to the PUC campus for the event.
The nursing classmates didn’t know what to expect during the program but were pleasantly surprised with the informal atmosphere and comparisons with nursing years ago, they said.
“It’s so interesting to see how far nursing has come,” Fowler said. “There have been some drastic changes, and I’m sure other changes will be in our future career field also.”
Evidence-based nursing (EBN) is the focus today, according to Dorman.
EBN is an approach to making quality decisions and providing nursing care based upon personal clinical expertise, in combination with the most current, relevant research available on the topic.
An example would be to appraise an article/information on a specific subject and see if you want to use it, as it applies to your situation, she said.
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Sue Ellen Ross is a freelance reporter.