Impersonating a Nurse - Page 4

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  1. Nov 18, '12 by
    I think if be bothered to have a higher license type than my boss (sorry for the crappy wording but I'm not sure how else to say it). Hypothetically, if an MA or CNA were the boss and they were working on a patient with an RN, the RN's license is the one on the line. No, thank you.
    redhead_NURSE98!, ColimaDog, and nguyency77 like this.
  2. Nov 18, '12 by
    Quote from nguyency77
    I can't believe they said that!

    It bothers me when non-nurses call themselves nurses. I called my primary care the other day, and the secretary said she would ask the "nurse" about my immunizations. That practice employs only medical assistants, the DO, and two PA-C's. No RNs to be found, but the secretary always tells people she'll "check with the nurse." Just because you wear cute Disney scrubs, carry a clipboard and twirl a stethoscope around does not make you a nurse.

    I am just a CNA and a nursing student. When I worked as a CNA, I always introduced myself as the "aide" or "orderly." I never said "nurse assistant" or "nurse tech." I didn't ever try to get technical with patients and mislead them to think I was the RN or LPN.

    I've had many run-ins with MA-nurse-impersonators. I'm interested in how this is going to turn out so I can articulate the dangers of nurse impersonation to the next CMA who tries to tell me she/he is the nurse.
    Eh, we used the word "tech" a lot where I used to work only because there were so many different "levels" of what really just amounted to being a CNA.

    First, there was the CNA who went through a CNA class, took the skills test, and got a certificate in the mail.

    Then, there was the PCT who used to be a CNA, but then took a 3-4 day class so they would be allowed to draw blood and do finger sticks. There was a little pay raise in there too. Even though they were a CNA yesterday, don't dare call them a CNA today because they are not "just a CNA," they are a PCT! Nevermind that they still do the exact same job with the added responsibility of finger sticks.

    Then, there were the "Nurse Interns." They also had the same exact job as a CNA except they got paid more. They didn't take a CNA class bc they were in nursing school so after completing so many hours in the program, they were allowed to work as a "Nurse Intern."

    I won't even mention all the different levels of Nurse Intern.

    Anyway, I referred to myself as the "nurse's assistant" which is different from "nurse assistant" and I don't think there's anything confusing about that? I would often be mistaken for "the nurse" and I would say, "I'm not the nurse, I'm the nurse's assistant."
  3. Nov 18, '12 by
    Depending on your state of residence, she is breaking the LAW. And depending on how said law is written, your employer, by allowing her to present herself as a nurse, is breaking the LAW
  4. Nov 18, '12 by
    Quote from ColleenRN2B
    Depending on your state of residence, she is breaking the LAW. And depending on how said law is written, your employer, by allowing her to present herself as a nurse, is breaking the LAW
    That is what several nurses have already told our corporate office, so they are well aware of the fact that she is not a nurse yet continues to work for them and continues to claim she is a nurse. I've now filed an official written complaint with the Board of Nursing, so I hope something will happen now.

    Have you read these articles? I suggested that our regional manager forward these to our legal team - hoping it might spur some action:

    For more information on the potential legal ramifications of this practice, please see:

    Archived Public Affairs Articles :: AAMA - The American Association of Medical Assistants


    http://www.csma-medassist.org/CMAToday-1.pdf


    For further information on what a medical assistant is, and what education a medical assisting degree includes, please see:




    http://www.mnnurses.org/sites/defaul...Assistants.pdf, which summarizes as follows:

    • Medical assistants are UAPs and have no “scope of practice”
    • MA educational programs do not provide any nursing related content.
    • The majority of educational content, whether a one or two year program, is related to office administration and non-clinical content.
  5. Nov 18, '12 by
    Quote from nguyency77
    I wonder what would come of it, if for instance an MA introduced herself as a nurse to a patient who had come into the clinic with their spouse. What if the patient has a life-threatening emergency at that moment, the MA does not know how to react, and the patient either dies or has serious complications as a result?

    Let's just say hypothetically that the patient's spouse becomes angry at the "nurse," stating that a reasonable and prudent nurse should have intervened on the patient's behalf. The MA is then found out to have been passing herself off as a nurse, when she wasn't... and harm came to a patient as a result. It sounds like a bad situation, all around--for the patient, the practice, and the non-nurse.

    If something happens to me or my loved ones while in such a person's care, and they've introduced themselves as the nurse... They'd better know how to save me. Just my logic!
    Exactly. And this is what I said to my employer, who has yet to respond:

    I believe that potential legal liability arises in two situations:


    1) When a client or participant relies on the claims of the provider that they are a nurse, and they later discover that the provider is not a nurse at all.
    2) When an emergency situation arises, and the alleged nurse is unable to respond appropriately, or worse, does something to harm the patient.
    nguyency77 likes this.
  6. Nov 18, '12 by
    A lot of medical assistants and people who do that type of work are mistaken by the general public as "nurses." Obviously this woman wants to be seen in the bright light of an RN as opposed to just a medical assistant and she feels like all her "pals" on facebook wouldn't really be able to tell if she was a nurse or not anyway. I know someone who is a teachers aide who pretends on facebook like she is an actually teacher referring to the kids in the class as "her students" etc... People are annoying like that. She'll get into some serious problems/trouble eventually for pretending to have a prestigious title that she has not earned.
  7. Nov 18, '12 by
    I mean, if you're a medical assistant passing yourself off as a nurse, why not go for "physician assistant?" They're "better" than a nurse! lol
    nursel56 likes this.
  8. Nov 19, '12 by
    She has a nurse fantasy and fetish, I guess. She just posted on Facebook that famous picture of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square - with a comment saying that this was her in a former life. This posting triggered comments by her minions suggesting that she wear her nurse's uniform, etc. Clearly her friends on social media believe that she is a nurse. Of course, until this job, if someone said they were a nurse, I believed them too! If she wants to be a nurse so badly, why doesn't she just go back to school? Oh, I forgot, she can't spell or write a sentence. That's a problem!
    Last edit by ColimaDog on Nov 19, '12
    redhead_NURSE98! likes this.
  9. Nov 19, '12 by
    It's kind of scary because however unlikely it is to happen, what if someone relied on her being a "nurse" and ran to her for help.
    I've had several friends say that they've ran to their neighbor's aid when something was going wrong in their neighborhood bc someone came knocking on their door. That situation could arise, or it could be that someone needs medical attention nearby and someone who knows there's a "nurse" working a few feet away calls on her to help. She's setting herself up for a bad situation. Good for you for reporting it! Let us know how it progresses.
  10. Nov 19, '12 by
    Quote from ColimaDog
    She has a nurse fantasy and fetish, I guess. She just posted on Facebook that famous picture of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square - with a comment saying that this was her in a former life. This posting triggered comments by her minions suggesting that she wear her nurse's uniform, etc. Clearly her friends on social media believe that she is a nurse. Of course, until this job, if someone said they were a nurse, I believed them too! If she wants to be a nurse so badly, why doesn't she just go back to school? Oh, I forgot, she can't spell or write a sentence. That's a problem!
    Maybe you should reply to her pic.... If you would go to school to become a nurse and there is another major war this could be you.
    ColimaDog likes this.