Sammy Davis Jr - Student Nurse Initiation

I thought your members might like to read about my personal experiences of being “green horned” as a student nurse.

I was selected for student nurse training at a small NHS training school in the North East of England. I started my training in 1984 at the age of 20 years.

There was four levels of green horning or initiation. The first level was various practical jokes. Such has “go and ask theatre sister for a long stand”, “quick nurse we’ve just dropped the last of the fallopian tubes, run over to obstetrics and ask for some more”, “we’ve ran out of lab sticks, dip your finger in this urine and tell me if its sweet”, “get a ruler and measure the viscosity of this sputum”, and many more I can’t remember.

The next level was the cold bath on your first ward. It was getting towards the end of a evening shift when a third year nurse asked me to help her in the bathroom. I’d been wary all week expecting the dunking. The request was so casual that I did not think. I walked into the large bathroom and instantly realised what was happening. I tried to retreat but my exit was blocked. There was about nine or ten colleagues in all. Fortunately for me no males where present. I plead not to be dunked. But to no avail. I beg that they let me get out of my uniform and tights. They said sure after you’ve had your bath. You don’t know how difficult it was in those days to get wet tights off. The modern ones most be design different because they are much easier. Wet white nurses dresses become very see through along with white underwear. I ended up having to walk about 10 minutes to the changing rooms after my dunking to get changed. This included a 50 yard walk down the main drive on a light spring night around 8 o’clock when there was still plenty of visitors about. I covered my breasts and pubis with my hands and arms as best I could. I sure a number of people got to see pink bottom through soaking wet white dress and knickers. You could certainly see my thick black bush. Thank God for hands.

The third level of green horning was the trolley ride at the end of your first ward. Horror stories of this went around for weeks before. My time came one quiet Sunday afternoon. Once again I was casually asked to assist another nurse and found myself in the treatment room surrounded. The trolley was waiting for me.

I was told that if I co-operated it would go easy on me. If I didn’t I’d be the talking point of the canteen for weeks. I was told to strip. Strip completely naked. I asked to keep on bra and knickers. I then beg for knickers. I was reminded about easy versus hard. I started stripping and hesitated a few times but eventually there I stood naked with just a nervous smile to wear.

I then had to climb up on the trolley. I was covered with a blanket but told to grab the hand rails with my hands. My wrists where taped to the rail. The same fate befell my ankles. If the blanket slipped my nature would be revealed.

I was trundled around the hospital inside and out for about 20 minutes. The blanket was occasional readjusted to preserve my modesty. A few of the doctors and male nurses or porters tried to pull it off or quickly flipped it up. I know one group got a quick peek at my left boob and another group might of got a flash of pubic hair. I was return to the treatment room where I was untied and allowed to dress.

I f you where a non-resident nurse then the practical jokes, cold bath, and trolley ride where your worse fears. If however you where a residential nurse, that is, living in at the nurses home you had “matron’s nigh” to fear.

Matron is used here to mean the senior nurse living in. In my year it was a SEN called Vicky. She really hated student nurses because she’d only been a pupil nurse.

Well Matron’s night for me started at 1 am. I was yanked quite unceremoniously out of my bed. I found myself in the common room in a top and shorts pyjama outfit.

We where all line up. We were called everything under the sun. We were lecture on our lack of morals. We where told that we where unworthy and to prove that we could hack it as nurses we’d have to under take an ordeal.

The ordeal for me was in five parts. Firstly, I was drag off into the kitchen. Two female third years and a second year where to give me a medical to make sure I was up to the challenge. I had my pulse taken, then my blood pressure and respiration. They then said it was time for my temperature so I open my mouth for the thermometer. This was completely the wrong end. So there I was in the kitchen bottoms down bent over a table with a thermometer up my arse. After this I was told to strip which I did. There then followed a visual inspection of every inch of me. I had to stand hands on head. This was followed by a breast exam, and internal digital exams of back passage and pussy.

After this I was given a towel and taken back to the common room. A few of the girls where still in nightwear whilst others where in towels. A couple of girls where missing obviously getting their medicals. Soon we where all assembled in our towels passed fit for the rigors of the rest of the evening.

I was next taken off by another third year nurse and two first years who where in the intake ahead of mine so had already been green horned. The nurses residences where divided into six units of bedrooms. Each unit contained four bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen/dining room, and a bathroom. Their where two units per floor and they where three floors to a residence. Their where 8 residence in all.

I was at first alarmed because I thought they would take me to one of the units in the residence I was in but no they turn to the front door. I was concern about the idea of walking to another residence in just a towel. The third year nurse said if I wasn’t out in two seconds and walking I would be walking around without the towel. That persuaded me and I left the security of the residence and started walking behind her. We went to what was her block. We went in and she took me to the common room. Go in there and wait she said. She turned to walk away then turned back and said I’ll be needing this and with that the towel was whipped from me. I naturally wrapped my arms around my chest and placed my hand over my pubis while half crouching.

I was left their naked in the common room. I noticed straight away that I useful item to cover myself was gone. I heard voices and soon was joined in the common room by the other residents of the block. I was made to stand up straight and put my hands on my head. They inspected me thoroughly and had me take up various medical examination positions testing my knowledge has they went. At the end of this I was passed a theatre gown and told to follow the third year I was taken back to the original common room and found that the others had suffered a similar fate.

I was next collected my a trained nurse another SEN. She asked me to follow her which I did. We went out the back door. She deliberately walked the long way to her block. The theatre gown was quite open at the back and so I had to walk with one hand trying to shut it. This time I wasn’t taken to the common room but to the laundry room. A group was waiting for me.

I was told to remove the theatre gown and then lay down. There seemed no long any point in arguing after all I’d been seen nude now by over half the student staff. I was ordered to turn face down and stick my bum up. It was then that I noticed the potty and very quickly realised what was coming to me. I tried to get up and run but was grabbed and pushed back down and held. I pleaded to be spared but to no avail soon I was filled with soap and water standing in the corner naked waiting to be allowed to use the potty. After about twenty minutes when I was squirming I was allowed to release my load. After this I was given a hospital night dress and taken back to the starting point.

Next we where taken over to the main hospital day unit. I was surprised at the fact that one of the nurses had a key to let us in. This meant that a senior member of staff must have been in on the evenings events. Senior staff pretended to be against green horning but secretly I think many where still for it since no doubt they had had to go through it.

We where line up out side one of the bathrooms. We where all stripped and told we could leave at any time but we’d be leaving as we where. So there we sat waiting our next fate. The first nurse was taken into the bathroom.. We could hear her pleading but not clearly enough to make out what about. It went quiet and after a while the door open and she remerged minus her pubic hair.

We all started to plead but we knew it was useless. I was the third for the chop and entered the bath room. I was lathered up and shaved with a safety razor. Soon I was bare.

After we where all done we where given a plastic apron to wear. This afforded an ample figure like mine very little in the way of protection. We where taken up the tower block onto the top floor. I was a bit worried by this because I could not see any particular reason. Since all the initiations had something to do with nursing activities I wondered what the top floor had.

The plastic aprons where removed and we where told to wait in the visitors room. After about ten minutes Vicky entered the room and said for safety reason we had to have our hands tied. We where then left again. We waited and waited then the phone rang. We where told to that the doctors, male nurses and porters where on their way to us from all parts of the hospital. They didn’t know where we where so had to search for us. If we got back to the starting room without being caught we where safe. If not we would likely be the talking point of many conversations.

We stood and looked at each other then started to run. It wasn’t easy with hands tied behind back. The trick to a successful run I discovered later was to plan a route that followed the trolley ways since all these doors open when you pushed. If you tried to go against the trolley way you had to pull the door open difficult with hands tied behind back.

I was very fortunate that I was only seen from a distance and chased. Only two of us made it back to the common room. The rest found photos of them circulating for weeks.

I’d managed to survive the three years and three moths of nurse training. I was eagerly awaiting my results with some anxiety. I’d been promised my dream job working has a staff nurse on accident and emergency department subject to passing my exams.

The results came with great relief and all I had to do now was wait for my registration and the ceremony of being handed my blue belt which was the official way of signifying your promotion to a qualified nurse.

Over the last 2 and a bit years of my training health and safety, as well as, various other changes had more or les put a stop to the excesses of “green horning” but blue dressing was still in full flight mainly because it took place off hospital grounds mainly.

We had a great evening out with the lasses. The pictures, a meal, then a pub crawl followed by a night club. I’d not expected anything then realised when we returned to the bus to take us home that something was going down. The four of us that had just qualified seemed suddenly surrounded and separated from each other.

I was ushered to the middle of the bus on the kerb side. I was trapped into a window seat. Suddenly a blue dress was produced from who knows where and I was faced with three third years saying did I want to strip myself or have them do it. I was really to drunk to completely comprehend so they started stripping me. I could only put up token resistance. Soon I was naked and doing my best to cover my various bits and pieces. I never been sure just how much of me the driver saw.

I was given the dress which I hurriedly put on thinking that was it. No worse look. One of the other girls had to walk the length of the bus just wearing her blue dressing that’s find I thought then realised that holes had been cut around her breasts, pubic patch and bottom cheeks. The other two girls followed suit and soon it was my turn and two second years got to work on my dress.

I parade up and down the bus a few times because of my shyness. In the end I was ordered to put my hands on my head and repeat the walk. After this we where gathered together and required to drink lots of water I was all ready desperate but this put me over the top. The driver stopped the bus outside some public toilets I we all trotted off to the loo. We where made to remove our dresses not that they covered much in the female toilet. We then had to run out of the female loos and into the male loos to use the urinals. I know the driver got a look at four young naked nurses streaking.

We returned to the bus and then had to go across the knee of every other passenger and have our butts spanked. It was very red by the end and it remained sore for days but at the time with all the alcohol it didn’t seem to bad.

Once we got back to our town the bus stopped about a mile from where we lived and we where let out. It was rather embarrassing walking home like that.