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 :)
Specializes in Mental Health, Medical Research, Periop.
If you are secure in yourself and your accomplishments, why are you so worried about what others are doing? It seems like some of the Rn's on here want a pat on the back or something for being an Rn. Most patients don't care what your title is and shouldn't care all they are worried about is you making them feel better and that is all you should be caring about instead of being on some ego trip.
I surely do want a pat on the back. :yeah:Shoot! I earned it!
To the OP. I hear ya. I feel exactly the same way. What is even worse is when your best friend is a LPN, in her pre-reqs (100 level) for a BSN, comes home every day from her job making statments about the stupid registered nurses she works with and they are all dumb. Tells everyone in the whole world she is a nurse. Which is fine she is...but to my face cuts down our profession. I become very offended. The thing with me is if I get upset enough I just do not say anything and I have the gift of gab. And I used to be LPN. I was proud to be LPN. I am proud to be RN. Whenever I was LPN and anyone asked me about my nursing I always said LPN!
Sometime I don't think doctors really know the difference nor do they care. Especially the old school DR's everyone is a "nurse" and as long as they don't have to do the work and the pt's are happy its ok. Another thing is it looks and sounds better to pt's that a "nurse" is taking care of them and they may not understand what a MA or CNA is and not trust them. So many times Ive gone to a Urgent Care/Dr's office/ other medical building and not known the whole time the formal title of the professionals helping me/loved ones except the actual Dr himself. I make it a point to address my pt's "i'll be your nurse today" I keep my name badge on my chest facing FORWARD.
Not even remotely the same. DNP= Doctor of Nursing Practice. The doctorate degree entitles the holder to be called Doctor if they choose. It does NOT entitle him or her to be called physician. CNA is nursing assistant, entitling the holder of the certification to be called nursing assistant. It does not entitle the holder to be called nurse. If, like a DNP prepared NP, a CNA wants to be titled according th their level of education, I suppose they would be allowed to introduce themselves as "person with a 2 week class."
Well, I guess I was in the wrong by calling all my college professors "Doctor", and my PhD educated colleagues (I work in the educational system) "Doctor". If and when I become a DNP, you can bet your sweet bippy I am going to be Dr. Heidi. I am not saying I am a physician. MD's don't hold a monopoly on the term "doctor."
If you are secure in yourself and your accomplishments, why are you so worried about what others are doing? It seems like some of the Rn's on here want a pat on the back or something for being an Rn. Most patients don't care what your title is and shouldn't care all they are worried about is you making them feel better and that is all you should be caring about instead of being on some ego trip.
Have a simple question for you. Are you a nurse or a nursing student?
Not even remotely the same. DNP= Doctor of Nursing Practice. The doctorate degree entitles the holder to be called Doctor if they choose. It does NOT entitle him or her to be called physician. CNA is nursing assistant, entitling the holder of the certification to be called nursing assistant. It does not entitle the holder to be called nurse. If, like a DNP prepared NP, a CNA wants to be titled according th their level of education, I suppose they would be allowed to introduce themselves as "person with a 2 week class."
Slippery slope here, some DNPs would be referred to as "1 year online degree" if they introduced themselves via level of education
I didn't mean to weigh in on whether I thought DNP's should be called Dr. in the clinical setting--I'm not sure I have a meaningful opinion on it. I just meant that we all have similar responses when we feel like our toes are being stepped on, metaphorically of course.
The larger point though is definitely about clarity of scope for patients' benefit, not ego.
Just recently this same aide asked a patient who told her she was in pain to rate her pain on a 0-10 scale. Um..yeah, Confronted her on that one too and told her that ASSESSING pain is a NURSE responsibility and she wasn't permitted to ask them to rate their pain but to simply report to me, the RN that the patient is complaining of pain and I'll take it from there.
I don't know your situation. So, I will not comment on that. But, for me, the thing that is annoying is when a CNA comes to me and tells me, so and so wants to see you in her room. I always ask; what for? The reply is I don't know. Frustrating. Then there are the CNA who will tell me that so and so is having pain in their knee and says it is really really bad, a 10 out of 10 pain. I appreciate that. I will still assess the patient, but it arms me with valuable information and saves me a ton of time. I don't look at it as assessing, they aren't looking at the knee for swelling, assessing it for warmth, or writing the nursing notes. They are just being helpful. Now, if I don't look and assess, then I am guilty of letting my CNA do my work. But, if armed with helpful info, I have already looked up their mar, see what the PRN meds are and when they were last administered, I am way ahead of the game. KUDO's to all the hard working CNA's out there.
Slippery slope here, some DNPs would be referred to as "1 year online degree" if they introduced themselves via level of education
That would be entirely inaccurate. Mine will take me 3 years. I don't know where that one year nonsense came from. It isn't possible to do 45 doctoral credit hours and 1000 practice hours in one year. If you could, that would REALLY be something to brag about, lol. It's quite rigorous. Nothing wrong with online.
Mrs. SnowStormRN, RN
557 Posts
I surely do want a pat on the back. :yeah:Shoot! I earned it!