Making Good on Private Duty: Practical Hints to Graduate NursesLounsbery, Harriet Camp
Science
Making Good on Private Duty: Practical Hints to Graduate Nurses
Lounsbery, Harriet Camp
Private duty nursing
Be careful about your _eating_. Your meals will of necessity
be often irregular, that is unavoidable, but eat only wholesome
things. Do not eat candy; and at dinner, which you will probably
have in the evening after the family are through, avoid patties,
and rich puddings, ice cream, and such like. You will always find
plenty of plain food and fruit in the most luxurious homes; eat
these and let the rest alone. If you want to keep your stomach and
whole digestive apparatus in good order, you must care for it, and
not overtax it. If you have a pretty good stomach it will bear a
good deal of abuse, but in the end it will grumble, and a
dyspeptic nurse is not an attractive object. As to your night
suppers, which you should always have, should your case require
constant watching, I would recommend plenty of coffee, tea, or
cold milk, if you can drink it, bread and butter, cold meat and
fruit. Never eat candied fruits, cake, or pies at night. Have eggs
if you care for them, and pickles if you like. Remember, the
plainest food, the most easily digested, the most nourishing is
what you must have. Believe me, you will be rewarded for the
temperate use you make of all the dainties you see, by a clear
complexion, and good color, which will make you "good to look at,"
especially good for a sick person to look at.
As to the nurse's night toilette, it is quite a problem sometimes
as to just what is best to wear. When the patient is not ill
enough for the uniform to be retained for night duty, the nurse
should be comfortable enough so that she can sleep; yet dressed
enough for any emergency. I think a house gown of pretty material
much neater than the kimono. Be sure this fits about the
shoulders, and never have loose flowing sleeves. A white frill in
the neck looks very trim, and is always becoming. The corset and
all tight clothes should be removed, stockings and underwear kept
on. The hair should be arranged simply, but not allowed to hang in
a loose braid, unless you are _very_ sure you will not see
any but the patient, and even then it may be unwise, as a braid of
hair has an exasperating way of slipping from its proper place
(hanging down the back) and dipping into whatever you are stooping
over. Dressed thus, with night shoes to protect the feet, one can
lie down on a lounge and sleep very comfortably, being freed from
tight clothes, and yet being entirely presentable, no matter what
happens. To undress regularly and put on the diaphanous low-necked
short sleeved night dress of the present mode, and go to bed, when
you are sure you will have to get up one or a dozen times during
the night is not good judgment, I think. You get out of a warm
bed, and if you only put on your shoes and stockings, your patient
must wait while you do it. If anything serious occurs suddenly,
you either run the risk of taking cold from being insufficiently
clad while doing what must be done, or your patient must wait
while you dress--both bad.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account