5 rules for nursing students…from the 1970s!

Times they are a-changin’…or…er…are they? For those of you who are in nursing school and are aghast at some of the surprisingly dated rules you must abide by (white uniforms? Really??), take a look at this list of rules for nursing students from the 1970s as told by Scrubs Facebook fans who were there to live by them. Which one seems the most antiquated to you?

5 rules for nursing students…from the 1970s!

1. I learned to smoke, drink and swear (when needed) as a nurse. Nurses used to follow doctors down the hall with the patients’ charts and an ashtray — to keep the ashes from the cigars off the floor. – Patty
2. I graduated from a three-year school of nursing in 1973. We were still wearing white dresses. You had to wear a slip, white hose, white shoes and your cap. You could only wear a navy blue or black sweater. Your hair had to be up, you could only wear a plain wedding band, watch and stud earrings. – Nan
3. We were expected to give everyone backrubs at bedtime. – Lee Ann
4. I graduated in 1976. I remember mixing our own piggybacks in glass bottles (either 50cc or 100cc, D5W or 0.9 NACL), labeling them and hanging them ON TIME to my team of 28 patients on a busy med-surg floor in Chicago. The most people I was ever legally responsible for was 70! – Carol
5. Back when I was first in training, we were told to not use gloves unless absolutely necessary as it might make the patient think we thought they were dirty. I’m not kidding! I was also on an “isolation” unit with no toilets or sinks in the rooms. There was a large communal/dorm bathroom, but we had to use commode chairs in every room. Really I am NOT joking! This was 1975, in Terre Haute, IN. – Evalea Siverly

What are some antiquated rules from your nursing school days?