Insults to the midlevel professions

Specialties NP

Published

Have you encounter insulting remarks or situations to being a midlevel, ie demeaning?

How did you handle it?

Just curious.

I did find this ad on craigslist which included the following:

Summary:

The role of the EP (electrophysiology) Nurse Practitioner is to perform all nursing duties in the respective clinic and promote a good health care environment for patients through the use of good communication skills and established nursing practices.

Functional Roles: Performs other nursing and clerical duties as needed.

Responsibilities:

Accompanies patients to exam room and prepares patients for exam by physician

Gathers patient information, obtains history, vital signs, review medication regimen.

Assists physician when examining the patient.

Performs venipuncture for laboratory testing and prepares samples and requisitions for the contracting lab.

Performs "housekeeping" duties within the office as assigned.

It seems like this person wants the NP to be the nurse, the MA, the phlebotomist, the housekeeper, and the clerk..

Good luck to them finding somebody...

Seriously a lot of jobs out there, no wonder they cannot get or keep midlevels.

I know a lot of midlevels are highly respected it just seems we have to earn it a lot more than an MD. No patient ever really says, "Oh your just the intern or resident" If you are a Doctor, you are a Doctor.

Its not just about educating patients on what a NP or PA is, but also MD's as well, HR, CEO and upper levels...Because a lot of times they just aren't getting it.

Sorry if this is a repeat post.

Neelia

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I've been in nursing a long time, and I've never heard of an "EP" NP. I think the ad was written by someone who simply doesn't know what s/he is talking about. Nothing in the list of job duties requires NP education/licensure -- I suspect the person who wrote it just doesn't understand nursing practice and titles. I doubt it was intended to be an "insult" to NPs ...

(Also, I've heard plenty of clients over the years draw a distinction between residents and interns and the "real" doctor -- they get plenty of "Oh, you're just the intern" and "You're just the resident" ... :) )

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Specializes in ICU.

I agree that the ad is confusing and probably poorly descriptive of the true position.

However, way back when I was a tech I remember being in a semi-private room getting vital signs on bed 2. A PA came in to see bed 1 and talked to the patient for a few minutes. The patient (who clearly knew the PA for a while judging from the conversation) said to her, "When will you go back to school and become a real doctor?" I was a little shocked by this statement. The PA handled it really well and replied, "I like being a PA!"

Gosh, I hope nobody ever says that to me. I might not react as well. :no:

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"When will you go back to school and become a real doctor?"

yeah, my relatives still say this, like you can still go back to school..

Um hello, do you not see the past 10 yrs of school i have done to get my 3 degrees?

I don't want people to think we are Doctors, we are not, i just want them to understand we are not the same as a RN.

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Specializes in ICU.

Yup. There has to be a distinction. I also don't like the NPs who think they're doctors. There are a few in our hospital who walk around and act superior to the RNs as if they've never held the title and are above us. :rolleyes:

How goes the job search? Did you have a study CD set to sell, btw?

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Did you have a study CD set to sell, btw?

yes, currently on ebay, didn't know if i would get in trouble for advertising it here or not.

[no trouble, just against TOS....please PM member for info- Stevern21-Allnurses mod]

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Specializes in FNP, Peds, Epilepsy, Mgt., Occ. Ed.

I agree with elkpark, I think that ad is for an office nurse, period. I don't think the person writing it has a clue.

"Clerical?" "Housekeeping?"

Pitching in is one thing. I think it's the "assigned" that got me.

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yeah, that ad was a doosy. It did have some other things such as prescribing, etc. but did not seem like they were looking for a NP to be able to function independently and that the MD needed his own personal servant..

trying to get the most bang for the buck i guess:D

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I have found that a lot of these job listings for "nurse practitioners" are really job listings for nurses (I didn't see anything in that ad, other than the title, that would lead me to think that what they were looking for was actually an NP). It would seem many recruiters do not know the difference. Heck, most of the general public does not know the difference. I was asked by one patient "nurse practitioner, does that mean you're practicing to be a nurse?" Oh, good grief...:uhoh3::uhoh3::uhoh3::uhoh3:

Yes, dear, it does. And the general practitioner (MD) in the next room is practicing to be a general.

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Specializes in FNP.

My husband's partner is planning to hire a new FNP grad. His plan is to "train her right" from the beginning. He doesn't have plans for her to practice independently. She'll go in and do the H & P, perhaps an assessment and plan, but he expects to see every one of those patients... :bugeyes:

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Well, that negates the reason to have an NP. If you want to use your mid-levels to their fullest, you need billable time and this won't be.

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My husband's partner is planning to hire a new FNP grad. His plan is to "train her right" from the beginning. He doesn't have plans for her to practice independently. She'll go in and do the H & P, perhaps an assessment and plan, but he expects to see every one of those patients...

He could just get a student if that's all he wants? What's his point?

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