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?????
I just got my license, after working full-time during nursing school, yet I now realize how little I know, I'm almost embarassed to wear the same badge as people who really know what's going on!
The ones who call themselves "nurse" (but who wouldn't recognize a NANDA if it bit them) get quiet real quickly when I ask them about Liability Insurance, CEUs in our state, etc etc LOLOLOL
When I walk into a new patient's room I always introduce myself and identify myself as their nurse for that shift...I thought picture ID was supposed to take care of the problem of who is who...
Well, if you were/are in Missouri, it would be the RN who is in charge regardless of pay scale, job description etc. Particularly in Longterm care (nursing homes). I hope that both you and that RN read your state nurse practice act. It can be very enlightening reading.
i agree totally. a LPN cannot be in charge of a RN. i was a LPN for 21 years and even if i was a team leader the RN was always in charge. the RN was right she was in charge. i as a LPN never had qualms w/ a RN being in charge. she had the license and i was able to make the decisions .. and rightly so. I think the DON and the LPN need to review the nurse practice act. i think the RN needs an apology.
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.
See it now?
When you state your a nurse when your not its fraud, when you are doing something. The last time I saw someone state they were a nurse falsley was some guy who was trying to impress a girl at the driving range. I dont see the problem there. Ive told some whoppers in my life for a pretty girl also.
And no, the general public isnt that gullible, even though they did elect 2 different bushes, who both got us in wars. I concern myself about things more interesting.
Now someone who is a nurse fake and gets a job as a nurse, that is something different all together.
Specializes in ub-Acute/LTC, Home Health, L&D, Peds.
i agree totally. a LPN cannot be in charge of a RN. i was a LPN for 21 years and even if i was a team leader the RN was always in charge. the RN was right she was in charge. i as a LPN never had qualms w/ a RN being in charge. she had the license and i was able to make the decisions .. and rightly so. I think the DON and the LPN need to review the nurse practice act. i think the RN needs an apology.
That is not true in all states. I have been in charge of RN's many times as Charge Nurse.
For June bug--re Marie Curie "nurses"--a wonderful service no dispute, but last tiem I saw their leaflet it did describe them all as "nurses". The patients and carers will not know the difference, unless they scrutinize the id tags and all are called generically "nurses2--it would be difficult to try and explain the matter to the families--the unqualified cant give injections, thats about all there is to differentiate in practical terms! Their training, qualified and unqualified, was undertaken by ourselves, the district nurses.
One funny thing is often patients used to ask us "Have you thought of doing your training and becomin a proper nurse in hospital?! I hope this was not a reflection on our skills!!!!!!!!! It was a fairly common and innocent question which the genral public used to ask--when we wore out blue uniforms and they knew we were some kind of nurse, but in the past the image was of slightly loopy ladies on bikes giving bedbaths all the time! The tv series Where the Heart is unfortuantely reinforced this batty image with the unrealistic and idiotic story lines they invented!
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Egads!!!!!!!!!!!
I just got my license, after working full-time during nursing school, yet I now realize how little I know, I'm almost embarassed to wear the same badge as people who really know what's going on!
The ones who call themselves "nurse" (but who wouldn't recognize a NANDA if it bit them) get quiet real quickly when I ask them about liability insurance, CEUs in our state, etc etc LOLOLOL
I received my license last year, and still feel green behind the ears and not knowing enough to brag on my prudentials. The main difference between those that call themselves nurses and those that actually are is that we are licensed to inform the client, therefore, if we do not know the immediate answer, we have to at least know the proper resources to obtain the information. Heck, sometimes, I still have to walk to the physician's office to ask why a person is getting a specific medication or such...but at least I know to check my resources or ask a trusted professional before I answer something that can cause liability later.
That is not true in all states. I have been in charge of RN's many times as Charge Nurse.
i worked in a rehab unit for 9 years as a LPN Team leader. which means they had me running the floor w/ 2 LPN's under me and 2 CNA's and 20 patients.. we had a RN supervisor who was in charge. if i had a family member that came up to me and asked me who was in charge i explained that i was not the charge nurse but was the team leader over the floor . i would expalin to them i would help them if i could , can you please tell me what they need.? they would tell me and i would help them. if i had a code or needed a push or something that required a RN i would gratefully call the supervisor. here in nevada the nurse practice act will not let a LPN be in charge of a RN. i was a LPN for 21 years. I am now a RN, worked hard for that license.
anyway .. i love your name Katfish.. it's cute.. take care.. i love your posts... i am still a LPN at heart.
My issue is like most have mentioned, its not good for patients. A patient has the absolute RIGHT to know the qualifications of someone caring for them, and if the person caring says they're a nurse, then the patient will generally assume that that person went to a nursing school and got the proper degree.
In NZL people can essentially just walk off the street into a CG job, we have people at my work who are having mid life crises and want a change of pace so show up and after two weeks of wiping the backsides of the elderly and making a few beds they're calling themsleves nurses.
There was a bit of a stink at my work cos the CGs and the RNs had the same uniform, several of the younger RNs were annoyed because when patient's families came to visit they'd go talk to the older women who were not actually RNs but CGs! So the RNs hounded teh board/management for new uniforms, that look great, and the majority of the CGs kicked up ahuge stink over it.
Its not just about looking more professional or having a "chip" on your shoulder, its making sure patients and their families know you're the nurse and that if their family memeber had a MI, they'd be able to get to you first, and not some "wiser looking" middle aged woman who happily chants she's a nurse when she doesn't even know what the heck systolic means.
I'm not a nurse (yet) but I damn well tell people if they ask that I'm just a student nurse!
50isthenew30
9 Posts
Egads!!!!!!!!!!!
I just got my license, after working full-time during nursing school, yet I now realize how little I know, I'm almost embarassed to wear the same badge as people who really know what's going on!
The ones who call themselves "nurse" (but who wouldn't recognize a NANDA if it bit them) get quiet real quickly when I ask them about Liability Insurance, CEUs in our state, etc etc LOLOLOL