Non-Nurses calling themselves a Nurse

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The school district my child goes to has a CNA in the school clinic, who refers to herself as "The school Nurse". I thought she was either an LVN or RN until last week when she had me come pick up my child from school. She had a little nausea but, she said she needed to stay out for two days due to a small rash on her face that she diagnosed as "Wingworm"! She told me to get an over-the-counter anti-fungal and treat for two days when she would be allowed to return to school! (I think that is practicing medicine w/o a license?!) I asked did she mean ringworm-she said no, wingworm...so, I had her write that down on the standard form they use when children are sent hm. Maybe the school board is exempt from following the law?!

Well, I took her to our family Doctor who said, she doesn't have ringworm-it's impetigo and prescribed bactriban.

My beef is that the teachers even refer to her as the school nurse-I wonder if

they even know the difference between an LVN or RN and a CNA? I sent a letter to the Assistant Superintendant for the district but, have not heard a reply. I think I am no different than most of you who have worked hard for your RN or LVN license and earn the respect of being called a "Nurse". I was a CNA before I was an LPN and have now been an RN over 20 yrs. As a CNA, I knew my place and my limits of practice. Any other parent or Nurse concerned about this?:nono:

Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

it is scary and infuriating to see non-nurses presenting themselves as nurses -- this often happens in the doctor's office. i make sure to inform them that it's illegal to present themselves as nurses if they haven't passed boards. what also makes me angry is the idea that if a nurse loses her job, she's a "former nurse." i'm sorry, mom. your friend's daughter lost her job, not her license. that means she's still a nurse, albeit an unemployed one at present!

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I am in a debate with an LVN on another forum regarding RN vs LVN/LPN but the song remains the same. If a can digress and take you down the garden path here... I had a productive cough, chills, muscle pain that increased one day. I called my "HMO" and listened for the usual 14 minutes before I got a human voice. After reproting my symptoms and requesting an appointment aysap (as soon as possible...cough cough, wheeze sniff) this HUMANOID told me the following... " Maybe you can take some tylenol and call back later in the week, we are SUPER busy here today!!! ". As I gathered my remaining breath I calmly said "Are you a nurse?" well sir, she had to think for a few before answering.... "UH no..." and I replied "Well I AM AND I KNOW WHEN I NEED TO BE SEEN!!!! I need an appointment TODAY!!!" So I go in, get a CRX and have a complete white out of 1 lung, the NRP gives me erythemycin!!! I beg her for a ZPak. She refuses. I go home, later that nite go to the ER with chest pain. I get a breathing treatment, a hit of demerol and a scrip for a Zpak along with some codeine/phenergan to help me sleep.

Had I listened to Miss Thing on the phone I would have drowned in my own secretions. There would have been crime scene tape and a chalk outline, you get the picture.... whatta ya gonna do...

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"wingworm"........I musta missed that part of the micro lecture on parasites.......or is that parachutes?

I agree with Hopeful, you should write a letter to the editor. I recently did that over an issue of student safety at my daughter's high school, after trying repeatedly to reach the principal and then members of the school board. One letter to the editor and all of a sudden the entire board was tripping over themselves trying to call me, and the principal was on the hot seat. Very effective.

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I am in a debate with an LVN on another forum regarding RN vs LVN/LPN but the song remains the same. If a can digress and take you down the garden path here... I had a productive cough, chills, muscle pain that increased one day. I called my "HMO" and listened for the usual 14 minutes before I got a human voice. After reproting my symptoms and requesting an appointment aysap (as soon as possible...cough cough, wheeze sniff) this HUMANOID told me the following... " Maybe you can take some tylenol and call back later in the week, we are SUPER busy here today!!! ". As I gathered my remaining breath I calmly said "Are you a nurse?" well sir, she had to think for a few before answering.... "UH no..." and I replied "Well I AM AND I KNOW WHEN I NEED TO BE SEEN!!!! I need an appointment TODAY!!!" So I go in, get a CRX and have a complete white out of 1 lung, the NRP gives me erythemycin!!! I beg her for a ZPak. She refuses. I go home, later that nite go to the ER with chest pain. I get a breathing treatment, a hit of demerol and a scrip for a Zpak along with some codeine/phenergan to help me sleep.

Had I listened to Miss Thing on the phone I would have drowned in my own secretions. There would have been crime scene tape and a chalk outline, you get the picture.... whatta ya gonna do...

Uh.....not sure what this has to do with LVN/RN licenses......sounds like the person you dealt with on the phone was neither.

As for the med.....is it possible the NP could not give you a z-pak? My older kids used to belong to Kaiser through their mom. She called me one day because DS had a herpes outbreak on his arm, very painful, and the doc at Kaiser had told her there was no med for it. I told her what to say, got nowhere. I called myself and talked to the nurse and got him a script for acyclovir cream, but it wasn't covered by Kaiser and his mom had to pay for it out of pocket, which is why the doc had initially said there was nothing to be done.

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Uh.....not sure what this has to do with LVN/RN licenses......sounds like the person you dealt with on the phone was neither.

As for the med.....is it possible the NP could not give you a z-pak? My older kids used to belong to Kaiser through their mom. She called me one day because DS had a herpes outbreak on his arm, very painful, and the doc at Kaiser had told her there was no med for it. I told her what to say, got nowhere. I called myself and talked to the nurse and got him a script for acyclovir cream, but it wasn't covered by Kaiser and his mom had to pay for it out of pocket, which is why the doc had initially said there was nothing to be done.

Sorry, I lost the whole point of the thread..... but on another note, I would be hesitant to trust Kaiser to diagnose and treat my dog. I am glad the family is OK...Haunted.... OUT!!!!

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Specializes in Nursing Ed, Ob/GYN, AD, LTC, Rehab.
If that were me, I would go one step further, on a public arena.

Send a letter of your situation to the Editor of the local major newspaper...I GUARANTEE they will print it....then sit back and watch the School Board's phone ring off the hook.

I think this is the best idea yet, will get the quickest results and alert the public to be careful who gives them advice. I called my doctor a few months back needed to get in quickly for a tetorifice shot as my school was breathing down my neck to get it updated. Was told on the phone if i wanted to get in today that a "Nurse" could do it for me, i said sure no problem! Go into the office sitting in the room chit-chating with said nurse talking to her about nursing school and such as i am in school right now she is playing along with the whole bit and right after she gives me my shot i ask her where she went to nursing school, uhhh turns out uhhhh she is umm a medical assistant. well i just about lost it. i know MA can give injections but i might have thought differently about the whole thing had i known who she really was before hand, boy did i lay into the staff there for telling me she was a nurse, im sick of this!

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Specializes in LTC, home health, critical care, pulmonary nursing.

A local elementary school in my town actually hired a girl in my nursing class as the "school nurse." They knew she was not a nurse, but no nurses applied, SO...this district has it so that the unlicensed people at various schools work under the actual nurse at another school's license! SUCH a scary thought. There are some very sick children in this district that I know personally, and I would be TERRIFIED to put my child in that situation. Much less be the nurse who had people working under me 10 MILES AWAY! Thank God the girl did not take the job. She really thought it was no big deal to be a school nurse.

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Specializes in ICU-Stepdown.

I agree with the above. Don't settle with just griping at the principal, you NEED to put this in the paper. The only way this SHOULD be dealt with is PUBLICALLY. They need to have enough heat thrown at them over this to discourage this kind of activity in the future.

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My 6 year old diabetic granddaughter will be entering public school in the fall and the person responsible for giving her insulin is the school secretary!!!. Not in this lifetime!!!!!!!!! To my knowledge there is no law that states there must be a licensed nurse at the school when children are there.(at least not in Louisiana).

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Specializes in ICU-Stepdown.

thats nuts! The secretary?

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Several persons have been cited with impersonating a nurse in Arizone in just the way you are describing. In Minnesota is is illegal for a non licensed person to even answer the phone, "school nurse's office".

Lay administrators in schools sometimes are under the impression "any mom will do". Please take a stand in your child's school and insist that every child has a right to a registered nurse just as they are entitled to certified teachers.

The problem is so pervasive that an editorial appeared about it in the Journal of School Nursing last month:

Denehy, J. (2007). Who is that sitting in the nurse's office? Journal of School Nursing, 1.

BTW - a recent study showed that children are sent home by unlicensed person 57% more often than if a registered nurse does an assessment - a real caveat for the working mom and for employers AND all the adminstrators trying to keep kids in the classroom to boost test scores.

Wyman, L. L. (2006). Comparing the number of ill or injured students by school nursing and nonnursing personnel, Journal of School Nursing, 21(6), 351 - 355.

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My 6 year old diabetic granddaughter will be entering public school in the fall and the person responsible for giving her insulin is the school secretary!!!. Not in this lifetime!!!!!!!!! To my knowledge there is no law that states there must be a licensed nurse at the school when children are there.(at least not in Louisiana).

There may not be a law that says that there has to be a licensed nurse at the school, but what about practicing medicine without a license to do so? There is a law against that.

This thread just blows my mind, and I totally agree with everyone here, that there are some children with chronic conditions such as diabeties.

If a child needs administration via epi-pen (sp), I wouldn't care if it was a 5-year old giving it to it as long as it got in. However, when it comes to chronic conditions, there needs to be a licensed professional, that can also recognize the signs of a serious reaction, and know what to do...that is the difference between a medical assistant, and a LPN or an RN.

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