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 :)
report them to the BON? jesus, no wonder people think all nurses are sooo junior high! talk to the person that you are having a problem with, and fix it.
This irks me too. Maybe RN's should refer to themselves as Registered Nurses, not as "nurses". You can't be an RN without passing your boards.
Hello ANA - some guidance here!
One doesn't need the ANA or any other professional body, the movement you need is on your shoulder!
Back in the days of whites and caps nurses worked darn hard for the right to wear those things and protected their "turf". However while becoming a professional nurse is more difficult that ever before in history the mass taking up of scrubs by all and sundry has almost rendered the RN or LPN totally invisable. Add to this the ever growing list of tasks being peeled away from nurses and handed over to techs it's no wonder patients are confused who their "nurse" is and why those seeking to exploit that opening see their chance.
One of the first steps to making someone or thing irrelevant is to take away their identity. Confusing who or what is the real McCoy allows others to make their case that they should be included in a group merely because they perform some functions of the same regardless of education and or overall skill sets. This was the exact reason state's enacted nurse practice acts and defined just whom could hold themselves out as professional nurses.
Maybe it's the tone of the OP, but this whole topic seems a little petty. Maybe it's all the CAPS and !!!'s, which I get - it's a rant, but really? Professional pride is one thing, as are legal definitions of practice, but what's the real issue here? We know the numerous distinctions and levels of responsibility between healthcare workers, yes? If patients feel like someone dressed in scrubs is kind to them, or is taking good care of them, or is helping them to any degree and in any capacity ... is it so horrible if they automatically refer to this person as "nurse"? Or if someone feels like they are doing any or all of these things and isn't in any hurry to correct them, is that the end of the world? I recognize that lowly techs who compare themselves to nurses should be crucified for their audacity, but I also see the way some nurses treat healthcare workers who are "beneath" them at times. Of course the OP and the numerous posters who are up in arms about this ethical dilemma are not this type of nurse, so no need to identify or defend yourselves. We're all too wrapped up in the team mentality to be self-important or condescending, yes? Good. Then before someone tells me what exactly the big deal is, please try to consider what might motivate one to refer to themself as a nurse or let someone who may not know any better do so. Do you really think they are sh*tting on the nursing profession by including themselves despite not having gone through what we went through? Or are they aware that there is nothing more noble or profound as to be included in this elite group of professional Samaritans? Huh?! Tell me!
Hehe. Long, boring night. I think I'm just being contentious for the sake of it. I'll probably sound the alarm myself next time I encounter this blatant act of direct care role/title terrorism.
It's not only stupid for them to identify or mislead people on what their position is..it's dangerous. Anyone who acts like they know it all usually ends up causing the most trouble.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Maybe it's the tone of the OP, but this whole topic seems a little petty. Maybe it's all the CAPS and !!!'s, which I get - it's a rant, but really? Professional pride is one thing, as are legal definitions of practice, but what's the real issue here? We know the numerous distinctions and levels of responsibility between healthcare workers, yes?
No. Well, you probably do, but to avoid any confusion when 50 people answer "yess?" when someone calls out for a nurse, we need to advise all the PCTs, RTs, CRTs, UAPs, LNAs, CNA I, CNA II, MA, CMA, PCTs, RPNs, STNAs, CMTs, CMAs, dietary workers, and housekeeping to tone down the kindness and helpfulness just in case somebody might require a higher threshold for using the title.
If your problem is with the OP, why not send a visitor message to voice your concerns? Then you wouldn't need to call all of us a bunch of unflattering names.
I agree with most of your rant about people who treat their coworkers like just so much dog ****, just not sure this is the right thread for it.
Ya know, this could be so easy to correct if MAs were required to wear some kind of badge in their physician offices, stating their name and job title. Unfortunately, many physicians in my area do not do this. Doctors are just as much to blame for this as well as the "imposter". It sickens me, frankly. That someone with 8+ years of education and training does not know how to address someone with their correct title. Physicians work hard, very hard for their titles, and get all ***** when they are not addressed by their title, what makes RNs and LPNs different. Some physician assistants can fall into this catergory as well, but they also have their separate license. PAs & nurse practitioners aren't doctors, MAs & aides aren't nurses. I'd never call a nurse a doctor and I certainly do not call an aid or MA a nurse!
Speak up! If you are a patient in a doctors office and you hear an MA or doctor referring to them as a "nurse", correct them. Your doctor should not get mad at you, you are the patient! If you hear an office manager or an RN working in a doctors office referring to MAs as "nurses", correct them. Personally, shame on the RN who does this but an office manager may just be clueless to the differences.
As far as aides in hospitals, ask to see their badge. A little blow to the ego will correct them and humbly put them in their place. If they continue, report it. Its not acceptable and against state laws to claim to be a licensed professional, when you are not!
Yes, this does drive me crazy at times, and rightly so. You do realize that this continues and will continue to be an issue until people start standing up for the nursing profession. Its bad enough that we get little to no respect as it is. Nurses do not need other health care workers claiming to be "nurses" when they are not. It puts patient care at risk when one falsely claims to be a licensed professional when they are not. For one thing, an imposter does not have the education and training as an RN or LPN would have.
You all know this. I know you do. And the people who are claiming to be "nurses" know it too, but are ignorant. If you are a MA or CNA and you are reading this, I am speaking to you. You are hurting only yourself and you are not doing your patients any favors and certainly not helping them, by claiming to be something that you are not. Please, be proud of what you are and commend yourself for being in the health profession, as it is. If you want to be a nurse, go to RN school or LPN school, graduate, take the NCLEX and THEN become a Nurse.
I've been a lurker of this site for a while & finally decided to register. Really enjoy all the info I've read so far. I'm not a nurse, but really looking into becoming one (one of my best friends is one, know plenty of nurses--gosh, I sound like a cliche, lol). I've been a physical therapist for over 10 yrs and back in college I weighed the question "nursing or PT"? Well, I got into PT school and here I am 11 yrs later bored and plateaued at what I'm doing. I'm not thrilled about studying my butt off in nsg shool or having to pay dues all over again, but I'm ready for a challenge and I have always respected nurses.Having said that, I get called a nurse at least once a day. It use to tick me off, and sometimes I correct a person, especially if they are cognitive enough. But to some ppl, esp older ones, all the women are nurses and all the men are drs! I will always have a problem with someone representing themselves falsely though. If you're a tech or whatever, just say it, there is nothing wrong with it. And believe me, if there is some drama going on with a patient a tech or aide sure doesn't have a problem saying "let me get the nurse" then lol.
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
calmcoolcollect-- Welcome to allnurses! If you post this under the section "Introductions and Greetings" you'll get more welcome messages, anyway best wishes in nursing school! :)
milksteak
185 Posts
report them to the BON? jesus, no wonder people think all nurses are sooo junior high! talk to the person that you are having a problem with, and fix it.
sheesh.