Another rant regarding MA's and Nurses

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I know I've read on here multiple times regarding MA's calling themselves nurses but now its not even the ma's but the doctor's office they work in calling them nurses. I feel this is so misleading and done deliberately. I called my doctors office today (she is part of the Advocate system here in Illinois) and the recording said "press 2 to speak with a nurse" so I pressed 2 and the person answering my call said "Hi this is Ashley, can I help you?". Well after spending a few minutes telling her my issue and her giving me advice I said "You are a nurse.....right?"

She went on to explain that no she isnt a nurse but a ma. When I asked to speak to a nurse instead, she said they don't have any that work there, they only have ma's.

Is this reportable? I felt really misled by the office recording and I'm sure other patients think they are talking to a nurse when in fact they are talking to a ma.

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How do you feel about DNPs introducing themselves to hospital patients as "Hi, Ms. Jones, I'm Dr. so and so"...?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
How do you feel about DNPs introducing themselves to hospital patients as "Hi, Ms. Jones, I'm Dr. so and so"...?

Not at all relevant.

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Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.
How do you feel about DNPs introducing themselves to hospital patients as "Hi, Ms. Jones, I'm Dr. so and so"...?

There are apples then there are oranges...

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How do you feel about DNPs introducing themselves to hospital patients as "Hi, Ms. Jones, I'm Dr. so and so"...?

Not to be rude, but that is not the point or the topic of this thread, however you are more than welcome to start your own thread.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
I know I've read on here multiple times regarding MA's calling themselves nurses but now its not even the ma's but the doctor's office they work in calling them nurses. I feel this is so misleading and done deliberately. I called my doctors office today (she is part of the Advocate system here in Illinois) and the recording said "press 2 to speak with a nurse" so I pressed 2 and the person answering my call said "Hi this is Ashley, can I help you?". Well after spending a few minutes tell her my issue and her giving me her advice I said "You are a nurse.....right?"

She went on to explain that no she isnt a nurse but a ma. When I asked to speak to a nurse instead she said they dont have any that work there, they only have ma's.

Is this reportable? I felt really misled by the office recording and I'm sure other patients think they are talking to a nurse when in fact they are talking to a ma.

OP, I'm very uncertain about the "reportable" aspect. I know what I read on AN.com about what is reportable, yet I cannot find supporting documentation in my state's regulations.

What I do know is that you can and should let your doctor know that you have issues with the manner in which his/her staff mis-represents itself. If enough of us do so, we may be able to convince the MD's that the title of "nurse" means something to the general public. And that the general public should not be misled.

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A lot of doctors offices seem to have them now .I can not stand when they call themselves nurse and then half was though they ask you (what is that ) and you find out they are not nurses . My own doctors office had an ma and then had to move her to the phones and get an rn to replace her .

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
How do you feel about DNPs introducing themselves to hospital patients as "Hi, Ms. Jones, I'm Dr. so and so"...?

Meanwhile, back to the topic at hand...:rolleyes:

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Specializes in Pediatics, Family Practice.
How do you feel about DNPs introducing themselves to hospital patients as "Hi, Ms. Jones, I'm Dr. so and so"...?

I don't feel this is applicable to the original post. To the OP I am unsure if this is reportable. It is deceptive to state an employee is a nurse when said employee is not a licensed nurse. I would refer to the BON.

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This may not be a popular answer or one in vogue but I do think it is reportable to the state. It is fraud. No one can identfy them selves as a nurse idf they are not licensed. If the nature of your call to that MD's office was requiring that MA to do triage- that too is against state regulations- I know in my state the only persons LEGALLY allowed to do telephone triage ( whether it be Doctor's office, call center, home based triage or clinic) is an RN. Check with your state Dept of health.Ashley can make appts and Ashley can cancel appt but she is not qualified to give telephone advise, no matter what her ego says.

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In NY, it clearly states in the Nurse Practice act that only a nurse can be called a nurse. Not an MA, not a secretary. It also states that only a nurse can triage a patient. So, I would check with your states BON and go from there.

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In NY, it clearly states in the Nurse Practice act that only a nurse can be called a nurse. Not an MA, not a secretary. It also states that only a nurse can triage a patient. So, I would check with your states BON and go from there.

Ditto for Louisiana.

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