AZBON newsletter- medical office employees calling themselves "nurses" busted.

[Hellllllo Nurse]

The article was in the BON newsletter that was just released. I wish they would have put it on their website, so I could copy and paste it for you.

Basically, it said an entire medical office staff was sent a "cease and desist" letter, and case referred to attorney's office. It seesm the MAs and others there were calling themselves nurses.

Here is a copy and paste of another AZ case, dated 2003:

Imposter Case Summary:

Name: AMBER KOPF

Outcome Date: 6/4/2003

Imposter Case Summary: Amber Kopf, Nurse Imposter. Issued a Cease and Desist letter May 20, 2003. Kopf was issued a Cease and Desist letter after a caller reported that Kopf, a Medical Assistant in a physician's office, repeatedly identified herself to patients and callers as the triage "nurse" and office "nurse" despite being told that she can not use the title "nurse". Calls to her employment phone number confirmed that she identified herself as a "nurse".

[RNRealNurse417]

Thank you so much for sending this statute. I will address this issue by sending a copy to all of the physicians at the Family Practice Center. It is time nurses unite and take a stand for the profession we worked so hard to obtain.

[Thornbird]

In the clinic where I work, the doctors refer to their assistants as nurses. The receptionists refer to the assistants as nurses. Even the licensed and registered nurses refer to the assistants as nurses.

Because really, what is a nurse? It's one who cares for the sick.

It's more of a social convention than a great conspiracy by MAs to misrepresent themselves as possessing a knowledge or degree they haven't earned. I'm not going to say your anger is unjustified, perhaps I'm too relaxed about the whole thing, but I will say I think it's misplaced.

You are not serious, are you? Nurses have worked for decades for recognition as professionals with strict standards of education and practice. It's not "a social convention" to call someone who hasn't been educated, trained and licensed a nurse. It's a criminal offense in your state. Administering medication of any kind is not something that Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (which is what MA's are) can be delegated to do in your state. If MA's want to be called nurses they should go to NURSING school. I deplore any nurse that refers to an non-nurse as a nurse. If we don't show respect for our profession, who will?

[CHATSDALE]

if you see something like this going on, report it

send the letter to state bon and send a copy to the office

these people know that it is not legal to do this but they will do it until they are facing a legal action

no one gains from this except their employer, not the ma/cna who works for less pay than a nurse would expect, not the nurse that is being put out of a job and certainly not the patient that has no clue of whom is a nurse or not and who may present the sx that are not reported to doc

[RNRealNurse417]

In the clinic where I work, the doctors refer to their assistants as nurses. The receptionists refer to the assistants as nurses. Even the licensed and registered nurses refer to the assistants as nurses.

Because really, what is a nurse? It's one who cares for the sick. Time to duck and cover but I'll say it anyway: They do that. They take vitals and histories, give neb treatments and shots, do dressing changes, remove sutures, prep patients for and assist the docs with various procedures... they are a liason between the physician and the patient. They are not licensed practical nurses, they are not registered nurses --- these are legally protected titles --- but they are medical assistants who are performing nursing in a very basic sense... and so the name nurse tends to stick in this environment.

It's more of a social convention than a great conspiracy by MAs to misrepresent themselves as possessing a knowledge or degree they haven't earned. I'm not going to say your anger is unjustified, perhaps I'm too relaxed about the whole thing, but I will say I think it's misplaced.

espritjolieRN

First off, my CONCERNS regarding MA's referring to themselves as nurses should be taken as serious by you as an RN as well. There are many levels of people who provide care for patients. If your rationale is founded, then we would be calling everyone nurses...i.e....ST, OT, RT, PT, Patient techs, dieticians.ect. Despite all of those disciplines providing care, we don't refer to all of those disciplines as a nurse. Why? The obvious, each discipline has had their own specialty of education in order to provide the appropriate care to the patient. Thus your rationale is unfounded and you ought to rethink your comments. Nurses work incredibly hard in order to obtain their professional titles as nurses. The training supercedes a 10 week ...6 month...or year course. It is misrepresentation for anyone to refer to themselves as a nurse, if they are not a nurse. We as nurses don't call ourselves physicians. PA's also don't call themselves physicians...despite the fact many write scripts and do many tasks similar to an MD or DO. If your facility is calling your MA's nurses, you need to take a proactive role to correct this. If not only for patients safety, for your profession as a nurse.

[sailornurse]

Also- if you are a nurse you must have a current license to practice in order to use the title. As a nurse practitioner student, one physician I trained with, the LPN had let her license expire because she "worked as a medical assistant". I was not aware of this until a patient who was an RN asked her if "she was still calling herself a nurse". I asked him what he meant as I knew she had trained as an LPN. The RN-(patient) told me she did not have a current license.

We do need to be vigilant. A local hospital was putting on staff nurse badges the initials: "CNP" by which they meant: Clinical Nurse Preceptor" as they also had "CNL" for Clinical Nurse Leader. Both of these "titles" were intended for in-house use.

Unfortunately, CNP is my title in this state for: Certified Nurse Practitioner. I wrote a letter to the director of nursing and when I did not hear back from her I called her on the phone to ask if they were going to stop using the Protected Title of CNP. I had already checked with the BON before writing the letter. She was annoyed that I had written the letter but they eventually did stop using the title of CNP. Then they decided that RN would be all they would put on badges even for those that are Advance Practice Nurses. That did not last long as I showed the human resources person my license and explained, that I am both a RN and CNP and both titles are to be on the badge.

:redbeathe:twocents:

[3rdcareerRN]

Texas Board of Nursing:

Imposter Alerts

If you have any knowledge or information regarding the employment practices of the following individual(s), please contact the Board's Enforcement Division immediately, at [phone]. http://www.bon.state.tx.us/disciplinaryaction/imposteralert.html

To clarify who can call themselves "nurse":

Texas Nursing Practice Act

Introduction: ..."Any person practicing or offering to practice nursing in this state is required to have a license."

Sec. 301.002. Definitions. ...

"(3) "Nurse" means a person required to be licensed under this chapter to engage in professional or vocational nursing.

(4) "Nursing" means professional or vocational nursing.

http://www.bon.state.tx.us/nursinglaw/npa1.html#002

In Texas, "someone caring for the sick" is NOT a "nurse" unless they are licensed.

[RNRealNurse417]

i found this statute under florida bon. http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?app_mode=display_statute&search_string=&url=ch0464/sec015.htm&title=->2006->ch0464->section%20015#0464.015however, i wonder if the family medical center in plant city could argue that their medical assistants are not saying they are lpn, rn's, arnp's..ect....they simply say they are a nurse. none have badges unfortunately..which i personally think should be required for anyone working with patients. title xxxii

regulation of professions and occupationschapter 464

nursingview entire chapter1464.015 titles and abbreviations; restrictions; penalty.--

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

further info:

laws protecting the title "nurse" (2007) - 18th mar, 03:09 am

[Thornbird]

i found this statute under florida bon. http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?app_mode=display_statute&search_string=&url=ch0464/sec015.htm&title=->2006->ch0464->section%20015#0464.015however, i wonder if the family medical center in plant city could argue that their medical assistants are not saying they are lpn, rn's, arnp's..ect....they simply say they are a nurse. none have badges unfortunately..which i personally think should be required for anyone working with patients. title xxxii

regulation of professions and occupationschapter 464

nursingview entire chapter1464.015 titles and abbreviations; restrictions; penalty.--

i think this would be the applicable part of the statute:

"9) a person may not practice or advertise as, or assume the title of, registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, clinical nurse specialist, certified registered nurse anesthetist, certified nurse midwife, or advanced registered nurse practitioner or use the abbreviation "r.n.," "l.p.n.," "c.n.s.," "c.r.n.a.," "c.n.m.," or "a.r.n.p." or take any other action that would lead the public to believe that person was certified as such or is performing nursing services pursuant to the exception set forth in s. 464.022(8), unless that person is licensed or certified to practice as such."

also further down:

"(a) using the name or title "nurse," "registered nurse," "licensed practical nurse," "clinical nurse specialist," "certified registered nurse anesthetist," "certified nurse midwife," "advanced registered nurse practitioner," or any other name or title which implies that a person was licensed or certified as same, unless such person is duly licensed or certified."

definitely the "nurses station" sign and referring to themselves as nurses violates this, with or without name badges. unless there are actual nurses at the nurses station, the whole clinic is in violation. i would contact the bon asap. you are doing the right thing.