A Nurse I work with is faking their CCRN credentials

[Gr8Murse]

The title says it all. I am a RN with a CCRN and CEN and am proud of that fact, I have worked hard for these certifications. One of the RN's I work with on my unit has failed both test on multiple occasions. The employer we work for has a deadline for us to complete these certifications (2 years) and if not completed by then we are terminated .

One of the RN's we work with has falsified their CCRN and CEN certifications so that they would not get fired. First I suspect the AACN and BCEN don't take this lightly. The AACN site states that to verify an RN's certification a signed release form from the RN needs to be submitted with the request. We then checked the "AACN congratulations to our newest members" online. (every month in the AACN magazine they publish the newest CCRN nurses.) Their name was not published their.

Can someone please guide me in an appropriate and anonymous way to deal with this. If you have any insight into this matter that would be greatly appreciated.

[klone, MSN, RN]

I agree with Trauma. You had better be sure. If you are wrong, you will have ruined your reputation. Good luck with that.

And the reputation of the nurse who was falsely accused as well. I have personal experience with this - my husband had some bad blood with a few nurses on a unit he left, and one of the nurses started a rumor that he was fired because they found out he lied about getting his RN license, and never even went to nursing school. Thankfully, the rumors were completely baseless and easy to disprove (hello, look on the freakin' BON website!), and his reputation was not tarnished, but it could have been very ugly, and in a small community, word travels fast.

[violet_violet]

You can just ask the supervisor how they're going about verifying the certifications instead of "accusing".

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

Your post reeks of holier than thou. It's not pretty. You went out of your way to check on credentials of a nurse you work with. I suspect you don't like her, resent her, feel intimidated by her, are jealous of her. You're actions speak for themselves. It is not your job to police your unit. You are not the boss, but apparently you want to be. Be honest about why you want this nurse to fail. Why you want her to lose her job.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

It really isn't your concern. Just a name not showing up in a website is not irrefutable proof that she is lying. Going after her will appear petty and mean. If you are concerned then speak privately with your manager.....but you better be VERY, VERY sure you are 100% sure she's faking it......making an accusation that is not based in fact will shine badly upon you!

[shoegalRN, RN]

Now, what if you DONT have proof this nurse is faking her CCRN and you go running to management with this? And it could be this nurse has a different last name that YOU nor your co-workers don't know about and it could be listed under that name. And if you were to do this and the accusations turn out to be FALSE, then I would sure enough take this to the BON for deframation of character. So, you will find yourself in big trouble in the end.

I never understood people who would go out of their way to mess with someone's livelyhood, and then put if off as "I'm so concerned for the patients". Oh really? Why don't you be a professional and let this woman know you are investigating her instead of doing it anonymously? And I bet you still speak to her like nothing is wrong, smile in her face, "oh, how you doing" while stabbing her deeper in the back.

And this is the reason why I trust NONE of my co-workers.......

[TDCHIM]

How do you know she failed the test? Did she actually say so, or are you simply going by the little "congratulations" update you mentioned?

[sunnycalifRN]

*clip*

One of the RN's we work with has falsified their CCRN and CEN certifications so that they would not get fired. First I suspect the AACN and BCEN don't take this lightly. The AACN site states that to verify an RN's certification a signed release form from the RN needs to be submitted with the request. We then checked the "AACN congratulations to our newest members" online. (every month in the AACN magazine they publish the newest CCRN nurses.) Their name was not published their.

Can someone please guide me in an appropriate and anonymous way to deal with this. If you have any insight into this matter that would be greatly appreciated.

And, you have checked all the other CCRN and CEN certifications at your hospital, too? With your high level of concern, you certainly should. Why, stop there? . . . you should check all RN's in the state!! Maybe your real calling should be as an investigator for the Board of Nursing in your state!

[shoegalRN, RN]

And, you have checked all the other CCRN and CEN certifications at your hospital, too? With your high level of concern, you certainly should. Why, stop there? . . . you should check all RN's in the state!! Maybe your real calling should be as an investigator for the Board of Nursing in your state!

I bet the OP only investigated this one particular nurse for whatever reason.

And my question is this, while the OP is doing all this leg work for management, who is watching the patients????

Oh, maybe it's the RN that's the OP is investigating.......

[klone, MSN, RN]

To give him the benefit of the doubt, it's quite possible that he's looking at the website on his own time. It wouldn't take hours on the internet to look up the list every few weeks.

I don't think "Who's watching your children/patients while you play online?" is a strong argument. There are so many other reasons to be concerned about the OP's post without singling out that one.

[shoegalRN, RN]

To give him the benefit of the doubt, it's quite possible that he's looking at the website on his own time. It wouldn't take hours on the internet to look up the list every few weeks.

I don't think "Who's watching your children/patients while you play online?" is a strong argument. There are so many other reasons to be concerned about the OP's post without singling out that one.

No, I was being sarcastic.

Basically using the same excuse under "it's for the patients", as it was used to investigate this RN.

Yes, the OP could be doing it on his own time, which shows he really wants to get this RN out. That shows some personal issue with this RN to me. Just my opinion.

[Simply Complicated]

I agree that it is a little strange to be making such a huge deal out of looking for someones credentials. But IF you feel that strongly about it, or somehow know she faked them somehow.. rather than singling her out, tell the manager that it is going around that someone may have faked something, without naming names. If they feel it warrants looking into, they would then have to recheck everyones credentials. But I would be very careful, as everyone else has said.

[Radwords]

You are the correct one in this issue. I don't want a liar taking care of me or my loved ones!! If in this person is doing this, this person is capable of doing worse in a stressful situation. However, if I had proof and I spent time money and hard work to accomplish this cert. I would be offended if there was someone working with me inpersonating my accomplishments. Those of you that say this does not affect anyone should think about the type of work we do. Honesty and integrity are the most important things behind a good education and quality care. this would have legal issues as well if something happened to a patient and there was a court involved. Yes this is a bigger issue that just faking some paperwork. besides a good nurse can get a job anywhere, but a liar and deceiver will not.