Why do Nurse's wear there degree on there name badges?

[Medic_Kev]

I have never had anyone give me a straight answear to this question, Why do nurses wear there degree on the badge uniforms? I see few other people in the hospital setting that do it except for nurses, why is this? Is it an ego thing? I would understand if you were qualified for various postions ie RN, EMT-P, RRT, but the whole concept of wearing your degree seems to have a I'm better than you attitude. Personnally myself being a military man I find the postion you hold carries more clout than your degree. I have seen ADN's as Supervisors and MSN's doing floor work. Does the degree vs the certification(CEN,CCN) make a difference? As a pre- hospital care worker when I go in the ER or up to a floor the only thing I ever notice is that the higher the degree the less likely that person is to assist you, not always but more often than not this is the case. I would welcome any feed back on this. Thanks Kev

[SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN]

originally posted by nsgtiger

"why do nurses wear their degree on their name badges?"

because they earned it! everyone should be able to display their degree without being judged for it.

plain & simple!

cheers!

moe

[globalRN]

A nurse should be entitled to list the degrees that are relevant to his/her job.

My institution puts our name and our position only.

I do get a lot of questions about my badge since I am listed as an advanced nurse practitioner.... with no mention of the fact that I am also a registered nurse.

People ask how is that different from a registered nurse...so it is an opportunity to educate the public about what nurses do and what a nurse practitioner is.

I don't include alphabet soup on my name badge...only in my professional correspondence.

However, as one person said ....if they have earned it...they want to show it....so everyone to one's own.

[resqrider]

Hey KEV

An old addage came to mind as I was reading the post it goes like this: Paramedics save lives and EMT's save Paramedics

It doesn't matter what's on the tag if the quality of care gets tossed into the trash bin, because even the most qualified nurse can give the worst care.

Don't worry about what is on the name badge worry about the quality of care your patient recieves.

Ego's are like ballon's anyway sooner or later they all deflate and fall.

and you can quote me on that!

[TheLionessRN, RN]

I got to page 3 of this thread and almost stopped due to the sour grapes I saw all over the place. Is it just me, or do a lot of LPNs dislike RNs,or resent them?

Anyway, I didn't see this reason posted in my sketchy reading, so I will answer the original post as directly as I can. When I graduated, the hospital I worked at did not pay for a person's degree. Feeling that we deserve something, anything, for all of our hard work, those of us with a BSN put it on our badge simply because it was the ONLY acknowledgment of our degree.

I know there are a lot of people out there who think that just because it hasn't happened to them, it hasn't happened, but I can testify that I have had more than one patient who asked me what a BSN was. It is an excellent opportunity to educate a person about the different nursing levels, just as it has been said on this thread several times. Some people really do care what is written on the name tags of those who are caring for them.

[PhePhe, RN]

RN is a professional credential, just as MD or JD or PhD is. Nurses like to know what level the other nurse is--its just a nursing thing!

My badge says:

$$$$$$$ BSN, MBA

Registered Nurse

[peachysweet]

I am a currently enrolled in a BSN nursing program. I feel that it is important for a nurse to display his/her education. I agree that many people do not understand the level of education any nurse has reguardless of their degree. This was brought up in my professional nursing course. Many people believe nurses are semi-educated comfort promoters. (My boyfriend included.) I have asked many people about what it takes to be a nurse, and unless they have a nurse in the family, or they know a nurse personally, they think it is an honorable profession emotionally not intellectually.

[surgorthonurse]

Where I work it is either cna, lpn or rn..

Believe me the bsns and msns here have an ego problem well 70% of them..

My feelings it doesn't matter bsn or msn, lpn, or cna we all are here for the same reason the patient.

My philosophy no matter if you wash the dishes or pass the meds everyone is important, from the CEO to the housekeepers. treat others like you want to be treated.. Kindness goes along way..

[LaVorneRN]

As a proud graduate of a school of nursing from a university(did I cover all bases?) I have my ADN. While I am proud of the 6 years it took me to get it(working full time and starting from prereqs 1 at a time) I don't care to wear the letters on my badge because I took the same test that requires me to practice nursing as a BSN graduate takes and to a patient they don't really care. I was a patient for over 3 months alongside my husband and not once did it occur to me to ask or was it voluteered what degree one caring for us held. They all knew I was preparing for my boards and was a new grad and gave all kinds of advice and study materials. Most of them gave great care.

It is naive to think there is not an element of "I'm better than you" between BSN's and ADN's. I have seen it and experienced it. It doesn't mean all nurses with BSN's think like this-some of my best friends have BSN's!!!! But I am proud of the fact that (yes, this statistic is true via the nursing board of AK) ADN's pass the boards at a higher rate than BSN's. It doesn't matter what the letters are behind your name as long as they say RN and you are capable of doing your job. Peace and blessings.

[fergus51]

If only certain BSNs are snobby about it, then why not just deal with them as individuals? It seems like the attitude is what matters, not the name tag. If I am a perfectly nice, not coneited person, would you really care that it says BSN on my nametag? If not, I don't see a problem.

I have had all types of nurses seem arrogant about their education being the best (ADNs get more clinical time, BSNs have a "real" degree, LPNs do all the "real work", etc). I don't see why it matters what their nametag says.

[LaVorneRN]

I have a friend who states he is a behaviorist-that is he doesn't deal with people based on their race, vocational or educational status, financial status etc. He deals with them based on their behavior. I choose to follow that premise.I don't care what's on a person's name tag. If you worked hard for it by all means do what you feel moves you. There are those who think as you elevate your education it elevates you as a person. Those are the people I have a problem with. Those who think these letters make them better than others. This has been a topic of face to face discussions between me and other nurses (with ADN's, BSN's, ANP, and PhD's) who actually agree due to experiences. I don't speak for everyone. I speak for myself and based on my personal experience. There is no better degree as far as I'm concerned. It depends on where you are in life, what you want and where you want to go in your career.

[angiebaby]

I don't see anything wrong with having RN or RN, BSN or RN,MSN after your name, We should be proud of the level of education that we have achieved. Also, in an emergency those 2 little letters let people know what you a legally able to do to help.

[mattsmom81]

I wear RN on my name badge. I used to wear LPN just as proudly. I don't insist on wearing the CCRN. Now my coworkers know I have it and most of us have attained this... for our own personal satisfaction.

Since I did not attain that credential for anyone other than myself, in my mind I have no need to advertise it. My behavior speaks to my competence and I don't need to get into tiffs re 'who's a better nurse...who's a better person'. It's such an old tired debate.....

Now I WILL list it in a job app, as it is valued by employers, but again I did not do this for the employer. They give me an extra buck for it...whoo hoo.

Unfortunately I've found the wearing of advanced credentials leads to 'I'm better than you' wars, in real life (just as on this BB.) I try real hard not to feed into them. Life's tough enough..LOL!

Angibaby, I hope you don't think any MSN could handle an emergency better than a nurse with solid ER experience...because if I could choose who would handle MY emergency, it would be an experienced ER nurse.