At my boiling point...you are NOT a Nurse...of ANY kind!!!!

[nursehunnie]

Ok folks, I'm just about ready to lose it and I know it's a little silly..or it may seem petty...but just take my feelings into consideration.

I am SICK to DEATH of SOME Medical Assistants, CNAs, and Respiratory Therapists (etc.) calling themselves NURSES, or allowing themselves to be called nurses...or saying that they are getting their "RN". Are you KIDDING ME?

Before I start, let me begin by saying that I respect ALL health care workers and think you should be proud of what you are doing, going to school for, and what your title is. However, I have LOW tolerance for people who break the law and throw around a professional title/license. It's beyond ignorant and I'm wondering how it can be stopped.

I would NEVER in a million years, call myself a Doctor...or a Nurse Practitioner..because I am NOT one. I did NOT go to school for it. I am a Registered Nurse and PROUD of it. If anyone calls me Doctor, or ANYTHING else, I quickly correct them with a sweet smile on my face.

Examples of what I have heard/seen/witnessed/etc.:

" Can I speak to the nurse?" Medical Assistant" Speaking, How can I help you?"

" So excited for my first day of school, we did injections!" says the medical assisting student..friend asks "OH, nursing program?!"...medical assistant student says "Yep, sure is!".

"Nurse Sarah, when do you finish school?". Sarah says, "In 2 months"...Sarah is in a RESPIRATORY therapy program.

My friend says to me," I went to school to become a nurse and finished, but I decided I prefer Social Work." I ask, "Really, so you're a nurse, where did you go?" Friend replies "Yes, CNA Tech Institute".(fake name) Uhm, that's a well known 6 month CNA school. SERIOUSLY?

"I actually teach the nurses on my unit everything. I know more than them and have more experience.", says the Medical Assistant after I ask them why they are referring to themselves as "Nurse".

I can't even go on to tell you how much more I have witnessed. MANY of this is coming from my friends. I'm going to be REALLY honest with you guys. I am just heated. I worked my BOTTOM off in nursing school. I applied to a program with 600 applicants in line (which is STANDARD) and was accepted into ONE of 20 seats. I killed myself not to be flunked out and passed with an average 3.5 GPA. It was four years of GRUELING work and I feel I have earned the right to refer to myself as a Registered Nurse. I'm very proud of it.

I feel like other health care workers are SERIOUSLY making a JOKE of the nursing field throwing around the title as though we are a dime a dozen. Why can't they be proud of what they do? EACH of those fields is JUST fine..but WHY are you breaking the law and calling yourself a Nurse?

Can you imagine what would happen if I called myself a Doctor? Sorry, but that's ignorant and pathetic. I would NEVER do it. If this thread offends you, then please don't reply. It shouldn't be offensive unless you are one of the few health care workers who live a lie and call yourself a nurse.

How do we address this and stop this? Medical Assistants are the BIGGEST group I have witnessed this by. I have a LOT of respect for them and envy their position. They ENJOY their jobs...but why do SOME (not ALL), throw MY nursing license value around like that by claiming they are a nurse?

What do you do when it's a friend doing this?

What do you do when it's a health care coworker?

I already know what I would do if I was going to a Doctor's office and they did this. That's easy. It's the friend part that is hard. I KNOW it's silly to be upset..but I have never seen so much ignorance. Why did I work hard if someone else can call themselves a nurse and only went to school for 6 months? What did I work for? Other than the obvious paycheck and passion?! ha :)

[Merlyn]

I must be in the minority here I don't want to be a nurse. When a patient wants to talk to an RN, I run done the hall.and get the first RN I come across. I don't want the responsibility. When they "Thank you, Doctor" I correct them. I don't want to be a doctor ether.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

CNA need to explain that they're not the RN. Simple.

[HollyGoLightlyRN]

I am an RN student (2 more semesters until I graduate), but I currently work as a CNA. I will admit that there are times when a patient will ask for the nurse and I will ask them if I can help them. I'm not pretending to be an RN in any way, but sometimes the patient needs to use the bathroom or wants some juice, which I can certainly help with. If, however they requested their pain meds, or asked a question that required patient teaching I would certainly let their RN know that their patient had a request. I've never done this to offend my RN co-workers and hope I haven't. I'm simply trying to discern what the patient actually needs first before bothering the RN. I guess the proper thing to do would be to clarify that I am the nursing assistant before I offer to help. Thanks for pointing out that I should avoid confusion when in this situation.

[nursel56]

Wish everyone had such a common sense approach, skindigo.

[albsRN]

I agree, it's really annoying. But at the same time, it's somewhat of a compliment that so many healthcare workers wish they were a nurse lol. It's kind of like a PA telling people they are a doctor. They may be embarassed to introduce themselves to new people as a nursing assistant. When I first became a CNA I remember getting a lot of flack, even from some friends. Ex: "haha, why would you want to clean up people's S*** for a living???" However, when still in school, if my boyfriend told people I was a nurse, I would quickly correct him and say "nursing student".

Where I really draw the line is letting a patient believe you are a nurse when you're not. Also, referring to yourself as a nurse in front of health care workers who KNOW the difference!

[carrie_c]

In my state (TN) in order to work in a nursing home as a CNA you have to be take a state approved test and be certified by the state. Hospitals will hire nursing students who have completed fundamentals to work as nurse techs. Medical assistants aren't regulated at all here. Anyone can be an MA or call themselves one, without even going to MA school. Doctors can hire who ever they want. I think this is really scary. There are a lot of good MA's, but there are also a lot of them giving pt education about things they know absolutely nothing about. And it's not just MA's who call themselves nurses, most of the doctors call them nurses too, even though they know they aren't.

[healthstar, BSN, RN]

Now I totally understand why Doctors HATE nurses who go to med school, who call themselves doctors, nurses who interpret tests etc..........:))))) god bless

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I am an RN student (2 more semesters until I graduate), but I currently work as a CNA. I will admit that there are times when a patient will ask for the nurse and I will ask them if I can help them. I'm not pretending to be an RN in any way, but sometimes the patient needs to use the bathroom or wants some juice, which I can certainly help with. If, however they requested their pain meds, or asked a question that required patient teaching I would certainly let their RN know that their patient had a request. I've never done this to offend my RN co-workers and hope I haven't. I'm simply trying to discern what the patient actually needs first before bothering the RN. I guess the proper thing to do would be to clarify that I am the nursing assistant before I offer to help. Thanks for pointing out that I should avoid confusion when in this situation.

What you describe is a completely appropriate response to someone asking for the nurse. When I worked in the hospital, I always wished that the secretaries/aides would ask the patient what they needed before telling me that they needed me. I'm not kidding, I once got sent into a room after being told "the patient in 10 needs you now"... I open her door and all she wanted was to know the address to the hospital! People also frequently ask for their "nurse" when all they need is juice or diapers. I am certain that the nurses you work with appreciate you asking the patients what they need first and helping them if it's something you can help with!

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

"Sticking feathers up your butt doesn't make you a chicken."

Yet another T-shirt I want to have......

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

The term "getting my RN" doesn't bother me in the least. At least they're in the process of becoming a nurse.

[deftonez188]

Yet another T-shirt I want to have......

Chuck Palahniuk wants his cut.

[HollyGoLightlyRN]

Last semester there was a nurse at my clinical site who wore her nursing cap. I haven't seen one of those in years. I finally got up the courage to ask her why she chooses to wear her cap and she explained that it helps the patient identify who their nurse is! She said that the RNs, LPNs, CNAs and even the cleaning staff all dress alike in scrubs so it can be really confusing for the patient. Especially older patients who don't realize that there are many different types of personnel on the floor and entering their rooms at different times. The RNs also wear a red RN badge attached to their name/security badge, but that probably helps the staff differentiate one another more than the patients. It's easy to forget that the hospital is a different world for the patient.

I would prefer not to go back to the all white uniforms, or nursing cap, but it would probably be helpful if the RNs looked different than the housekeeping staff (not to belittle that job in any way).