maybe its just me, but i get very bothered when someone says "i'm a nurse," and their not, their a cna, or nurse aid, or have no schooling at all and just worked their way up in a clinic. i work at a local emergency clinic 30 hours a week to gain experience in my field, and i just got accepted in ns, and i'v worked darn hard to get here! and i find it bothersome when one of the girls at work say "i'm the nurse" or something along those lines...i feel that when i graduate and pass my nclex that, only then, will i be able to say "i'm a nurse." the other day my doctor said "jamie, will you get a nurse?" i said "im sorry doc, i dont think we have any of those working here." he actually laughed and said "you know what i mean"......but is this just me?????
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I Had A Rn Give Me The Dirty Looks When Someone Asked For The Nurse In Charge And I Answered.. " That Would Be Me , How May I Help You ".. I'm A Lpn And Work In An Assisted Living Facility Where A Rn Can Work There But, Gets The Same Rate Of Pay As A Lpn Because You Don't Have To Have A Rn Supervisor , You Only Need A Lpn..she Was Just Coming On Shift And After The Person Left She Pulled Me Aside And Told Me I Wasn't The Nurse In Charge And That Anytime A Rn Is There That Is The Nurse In Charge !!! Our D.o.n. Happened To Be Around The Corner And Needless To Say The Rn Has Never Said That Again .. Yes, Yes, There Is A Difference, I Know This... But If We All Look At It Sometimes As " We Are All There For The Patients And Resisents" The Ego Trip Takes A Trip !!! The Sometimes Nurse In Charge, Debbie>>
Actually, I would have referred to the RN as well. I may have said that I was a charge nurse, but somehow would have recognized the RN. I can understand your point, however, she is the higher licensed nurse and by right, would be the one to turn to.
maybe its just me, but i get very bothered when someone says "i'm a nurse," and their not, their a cna, or nurse aid, or have no schooling at all and just worked their way up in a clinic. i work at a local emergency clinic 30 hours a week to gain experience in my field, and i just got accepted in ns, and i'v worked darn hard to get here! and i find it bothersome when one of the girls at work say "i'm the nurse" or something along those lines...i feel that when i graduate and pass my nclex that, only then, will i be able to say "i'm a nurse." the other day my doctor said "jamie, will you get a nurse?" i said "im sorry doc, i dont think we have any of those working here." he actually laughed and said "you know what i mean"......but is this just me?????
this really bothered me in a clinical i had at a md's office when i had to observe the "nurses". one granted was a nurse, a lpn but the other was a medical assistant who said with full confidence mind you, "hi you will be observing her today. she's dr. so-and so's nurse and i'm dr. so- and so's nurse. i thought, are med. assistants now considered nurses?:uhoh21:
Tom, I believe what you are failing to see is that the general public, today, believes what anyone generally tells them. If someone uses the term nurse and he/she is not a licensed nurse, the public doesn't catch this. They just believe they are dealing with a nurse, when in fact they are dealing with someone who has misrepresented themselves, especially given the fact that caps are no longer worn or uniforms are no longer color coded to tell who is and who isn't.
What I would like to know is why people who are not licensed nurses, insist on calling themselves nurse? If they are M.A.'s why are they not proud to represent themselves as who they truly are? And to be honest, I do not understand your attitude. Am I wrong when I believe that you do not think that licenses and correct titles are important. And that anyone who wants to should be allowed to call themselves what they are not. If that is the case, please address me as Doctor. I always wanted to be one. What harm could I possibly be doing?
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
Originally Posted by woody62
Tom, I believe what you are failing to see is that the general public, today, believes what anyone generally tells them. If someone uses the term nurse and he/she is not a licensed nurse, the public doesn't catch this. They just believe they are dealing with a nurse, when in fact they are dealing with someone who has misrepresented themselves, especially given the fact that caps are no longer worn or uniforms are no longer color coded to tell who is and who isn't.
What I would like to know is why people who are not licensed nurses, insist on calling themselves nurse? If they are M.A.'s why are they not proud to represent themselves as who they truly are? And to be honest, I do not understand your attitude. Am I wrong when I believe that you do not think that licenses and correct titles are important. And that anyone who wants to should be allowed to call themselves what they are not. If that is the case, please address me as Doctor. I always wanted to be one. What harm could I possibly be doing?
Woody:balloons:
Exactly.
I am really misrepresenting myself by asking to be called doctor. Unlike my SO, I do not hold a PhD nor an M.D. I am a professional nurse who worked hard to earn the degrees she earned. And to enjoy the variety of nursing experiences I have been privileged to have. And I only insist that each person be referred to by the title they have earned, by virtue of her license and/or certifications. I hold a professional nurse's license from NYS. I am a Certified Vocational Counselor by virtue of holding a Masters and passing a certification examination. And I respect anyone else who holds either a license or certification.
Thank you Dad for teaching me the value of an education and for supporting me in all my attempts. God bless you. And I miss you a great deal, you will have been gone seven years on the 14th.
Lets see if I got you right. You are saying that someone who lies about being a nurses, tells a lie. Then that lie becomes a "FACT"
I dont see it that way
No, you don't have it right.
Ok, let me try it this way: someone who represents himself as a nurse, when in fact is NOT a nurse, still APPEARS to be a nurse to the person he is defrauding. So the person who is being lied to thinks he or she is getting factual information (hence, the reason I used 'fact' in the manner in which I did).
Obviously the lie never really became a "fact"! But just as obviously, I would think, is that you could see how a visitor to the MD's office THINKS he is getting bonafide, legitimate medical information when actually it is not. The general public, particularly the elderly, DO get easily mislead by a set of scrubs...they think everyone working with the doctor is a nurse! Unless, of course, it's a male nurse, in which case, they are likely to assume he's another doctor
Yes, the general public really IS that gullible. And they will believe they have gotten correct information from a nurse ("fact") when all they've gotten is the Office Clerk's opinion presented as fact. Anyone who's had to figure out what on earth "the nurse" told an elderly friend or relative can clue you in on that one.
Specializes in L&D, peds NN, and recently outpatient..
:confused:In my office where I work there is only one nurse. Me. The other person is a MA who has been there for years and on my days off gives
some meds, all immunizations, etc. She doesn't refere to herself as a nurse but everyone and I mean all the patients think SHE'S the nurse. I have heard her give medical advice over the phone( "it's illegal for you to get a mamogram without breast exam") THAT one made me crazy, as I called the breast health center and the American Cancer Society to find out for myself. While it is not ideal,it's NOT illegal, it is better that NOT having a mamogram, which is what some will do. Also what about the moble units you see at fairs and such doing screening mamos? They take women off the street. It really gets to me but she is nice as can be otherwise. And the doctor will never stand up to her, he is oldschool, and she and I are really his only friends. This sounds really sad I just realized.
When a patient calls out to me when I'm in the hall and says "Nurse", I will go into their rooms and say "I'm a nursing assistant, can I help you?" That's usually when they say they want the nurse. For some reason, patients don't seem to like nursing assistants....
Unfortunatly, this is so very true. I am a RN, but when I was a nursing assistant, I made sure that everyone knew that I was a nursing assistant, not a nurse.
But, as I have said many times in other threads, I, personally, COULD NOT do without a nursing assistant. You guys are the backbone of the hospital. You do all the grunt work, and get none of the praise. "The 'NURSES' did everything for me" when in fact the nursing assistants did 85% of the patient care--especially on nights. Not that we don't do patient care, that is not what I am saying. But nurses give the meds, do the charting, put up with the MD's, ect.,ect. :trout:
Nobody's knocking nursing auxiliaries--they are invaluable and I have worked with some excellent ones--and not so excellent, and not so excellent RgnS ALSO!!!!!!!
To some extent you cant blame the general public for alling all uniformed beings "nurse" in a hospital/clinic/ community nursing setting. It doesnt really matter and it is hopeless to make an issue of it. The problem is the unqualified calling themselves "nurse"--and giving advice etc out of their remit.
Would assistants to solicitors, doctors, air line pilots, ships captain etc dream of calling themselves solicitor, doctor, ships captain or pilot?
Also printed info for fiund-raising--ie Marie Curie--states, last tiem I saw it, that there were so many MC "nurses" though I should guess that at least are not qualified nurses.
of course i am, even i'm only a nursing student. the way i care my patients everytime we have a hospital duty, the way i understand the do's and dont's being as a student, the way i work with sincere and honest to my patients, clininical instructors and even to the staffs. if you're really understands the roles and responsibilities of being a nurse, even you're not a registered nurse, you can call yourself as a "nurse", "a true nurse".
Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
of course i am, even i'm only a nursing student. the way i care my patients everytime we have a hospital duty, the way i understand the do's and dont's being as a student, the way i work with sincere and honest to my patients, clininical instructors and even to the staffs. if you're really understands the roles and responsibilities of being a nurse, even you're not a registered nurse, you can call yourself as a "nurse", "a true nurse".
it may be all right in your country to refer to yourself as being a nurse before you graduate and are licensed but here in the united states, it is not. in the u.s. you must hold a license as either an lpn or rn to call yourself a nurse. if you are a student, you are a student nurse. if you are an aide, you are an aide and not allowed to call yourself a nurse. if you are a medical assistant, you are that, also not allowed to call yourself a nurse.
i am very strong about this point because i have had the experience of having someone refer to themselves as a nurse when they were not. and i worked to hard to obtain my education and pass my licensing exam and kept current on new items and care, in nursing, to allow anyone who is not a nurse to refer to him or herself as a nurse when they are not.
:confused:In my office where I work there is only one nurse. Me. The other person is a MA who has been there for years and on my days off gives 
:yelclap:
pagandeva2000, LPN
7,984 Posts
I Had A Rn Give Me The Dirty Looks When Someone Asked For The Nurse In Charge And I Answered.. " That Would Be Me , How May I Help You ".. I'm A Lpn And Work In An Assisted Living Facility Where A Rn Can Work There But, Gets The Same Rate Of Pay As A Lpn Because You Don't Have To Have A Rn Supervisor , You Only Need A Lpn..she Was Just Coming On Shift And After The Person Left She Pulled Me Aside And Told Me I Wasn't The Nurse In Charge And That Anytime A Rn Is There That Is The Nurse In Charge !!! Our D.o.n. Happened To Be Around The Corner And Needless To Say The Rn Has Never Said That Again .. Yes, Yes, There Is A Difference, I Know This... But If We All Look At It Sometimes As " We Are All There For The Patients And Resisents" The Ego Trip Takes A Trip !!! The Sometimes Nurse In Charge, Debbie>>
Actually, I would have referred to the RN as well. I may have said that I was a charge nurse, but somehow would have recognized the RN. I can understand your point, however, she is the higher licensed nurse and by right, would be the one to turn to.