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?????
It agravates me. At my last job we had a TMA who not only called herself a nurse...she would fill out the charge nurse assignment book, and often even change it after the charge nurse had filled it out! For whatever reason...the nurses there wouldn't put their foot down. It drove me NUTS.
I could tell I REALLY made her mad though one day lol. A resident wheeled up to me and asked who her nurse was. I (honestly didn't know the TMA was there) nicely told her her trained med aid was ***. Boy...did I get a dirty look!
THe way I looked at it....I was in my last semester of RN school..and that TMA treated me like an idiot because I was only a part time CNA. She's not a nurse and the residents have the right to know that if they're mentally oriented.
if the look was from the patient, perhaps the dirty look was 'cause the oriented person knew what her " nurse" was but to her she was her " nurse" taking care of her and giving her her pills and getting other people, if more was needed? the way you describe it and the attitude portrayed about it in the post - maybe the resident felt it was a pretty silly comment to make and perhaps felt it was done with a negative agenda. just a thought from someone who would think that a comment like that would be unnecessary.
Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
I remember we were taught in nursing school that you don't practice anything above your training. In light of that, I believe the other personnel should just say that they are a part of the medical team. If not a nurse, then say they will get one.
I wonder if members of other professions feel so threatened by the unauthorized use of the titles they hold? If a jailer calls themself an officer? If an aid lets someone call them a teacher?
I don't think you should ever claim to be something your not, but to emphatically correct someone time and again, when the title really doesn't matter to said person, is ridiculous.
It's obvious that the title means a lot to the workers themselves, but to the rest of the (non-medical) world, it really isn't that important. They will call anyone who helps them with any kind of care a "nurse". To them, it is just a generic term and constant correcting isn't going to change their point of view.
I wonder if members of other professions feel so threatened by the unauthorized use of the titles they hold?. . . .
It's obvious that the title means a lot to the workers themselves, but to the rest of the (non-medical) world, it really isn't that important.
I can't speak for the rest of the world, but for physicians this is a constant issue.
Dieticians who walk in and introduce themselves as "Doctor so-and-so". DPTs. Pharmacists. Even some NPs and PAs. I myself went to a surgeon, got seen by a very nice woman in scrubs who introduced herself as "Doctor", scheduled me for a lipoma removal, and only later did I see on the discharge sheet that she was a PA. Yes, some of these people have "doctorates", but the title "Doctor" has a very commonly-understood meaning in the hospital. And it's not "I'm a physical therapist".
Why are titles so important?
1) It helps the patient understand who does what for them. Patients know that the RN gets them meds, the CNA helps them to the bathroom. If they think everyone is a "Nurse" then they'll get confused and upset when one particular "nurse" won't get them their morphine.
2) Health professionals sometimes convey the wrong information, and accurate titles help clear things up. So many times the patient has told me that the "other doctor" said the opposite of what I said. Then I come to find out it was the nutritionist or Occupational Therapist just guessing at our treatment plan. I hate telling a patient that the person they talked to wasn't one of their doctors. If the patient understood that they were talking to an OT, they wouldn't ask about possible future surgery.
3) It's just plain dishonest. This is probably the best reason to be accurate and clear in both your title and role.
I wasn't saying that it's right. It is clearly dishonest to call yourself something that you are not.
I'm saying that to the non-medical world, it's just not that important.
They seem to think pretty equally about anyone taking care of them and they will probably listen to the person who gives them the answer they want to hear. At least that's been my experience.
If a patient calls the CNA a nurse, the only thing that gets hurt is the real nurse's nose when it gets "out of joint". As long as the CNA doesn't bill themselves as a nurse to their patients or perform any duties on/to the patient that are outside their scope of practice, nothing illegal has been done.
I hate to see the "real" nurses rushing to let the patient know how wrong they are. When I hear, "I'm the nurse, she's just the tech", to a patient who was simply expressing their pleasure with the care they received and the actual title means nothing to that patient, it just seems so petty and childish. I heard one patient comment after the fact, "well I guess I got myself in trouble!".
Also, at an office visit, a non-medical person makes 3 distinctions: Who is the doc? Who is the nurse?, Who is the secretary?
They will call a NP or a PA a doctor and a MA a nurse. They aren't thinking about the time/effort/level of education involved. They are thinking, who is writing the script? doctor Who is giving me that shot? nurse Who is scheduling my next appointment? secretary
I've heard many people who don't like to be lectured on what they are allowed to call their care provider, they feel like they have been chastised or put in their place by the corrections.
I don't, however, condone a healthcare worker who lies about their position or tries to work above their scope of practice.
Can you see where a patient would be confused anyway?
They are hospitalized and told that only a nurse is allowed to give you your injection, not a CNA. Then after they are released, they go to follow-up at the office and get the same shot from a MA who might have less training than the CNA (MA's have no formal training where I'm at) who wasn't allowed to give their shot.
Suddenly, all these titles don't seem to be very helpful, do they?
It's important to know that a NP or PA is not equal to a doctor, but if the doctor is too busy to see you, then you're told that the PA/NP will be just as good.
In actuality, a lot of NP/PA's see more critical cases than the doctor because those are the people who need an immediate appointment and it's almost impossible to get a same day appointment with an actual physician.
Sorry to ramble :) I've just worked on both sides of the fence and seen both points of view. Once I entered into a caregiver position I realised that we don't always understand what a layperson is thinking or what is important to them. They certainly don't see things and think about things the same way someone with a medical background does.
I used to work as a personal care attendant in a nursing home. One time an elderly patient referred to one of my coworkers as a nurse (BTW the coworker never told anyone she was a nurse or anything it was just assumed). One of the RN's came up and more or less lectured the patient 'She is not a nurse, she is a carer!'.
I felt pretty humiliated for her because it was unnecessary . Whether or not she was a nurse probably didn't matter to this resident in the slightest because she had no idea on the different roles and laws etc. To her this carer was providing care to others, hence she thought she was a nurse.
So yes i agree that if your not liscenced as an nurse then don't lie to others and say your a nurse when your not. And don't practice outside your scope because it's illegal and unsafe. But then don't be so defensive like the nurse in the situation described above and take it to the extreme like that.
I didn't read the whole thread but here's my take -
I'm a CNA. I often, several times a day get called a nurse. I'm very quick to tell them that no, I'm not a nurse but an aide and then ask if there is something I can help them with or that i can speak to their nurse about. By putting yourself off as a nurse you're opening yourself up to questions that as an aide that you don't know the answer to. No way am i giving false info to a pt or family member.
I had one more question. My minister has a doctorate and he prefers to be addressed as Dr. Smith (not his real name). He feels that he worked long and hard to earn that doctorate and deserves to be addressed as doctor.
Should his being addressed as Dr. Smith offend medical professionals? After all, their argument is always, "I worked long and hard to be called doctor/nurse/etc" and he feels the same way.
Consequently, the parishioners felt he was being a little too pretentious and he's no longer our preacher.
I don't think it is a question of feeling "threatened" as Jackson145 stated. It is for the patient's benefit that we identify ourselves. Nurses give meds, various treatments (foleys, IVs, dressing changes, etc), check orders, call docs or RT, OT, Nutrition, wound nurse, etc. as well as being capable and trained to do all that an aide does. But an aide cannot do what the nurse is licensed to do...and nurses ARE responsible for those under our delegation. To confuse a patient by allowing him to think an aide is a nurse can cause unrealistic expectations.
ANd to any aides/techs who were on the receiving end of a "he's just an aide" or "she's only a tech, not a nurse", in a condescending way, that was rude and thoughtless of your nurse. You are worth your weight in M&M's when you perform your job well and make the floor run smoother.
I had one more question. My minister has a doctorate and he prefers to be addressed as Dr. Smith (not his real name). He feels that he worked long and hard to earn that doctorate and deserves to be addressed as doctor.
Should his being addressed as Dr. Smith offend medical professionals? After all, their argument is always, "I worked long and hard to be called doctor/nurse/etc" and he feels the same way.
Consequently, the parishioners felt he was being a little too pretentious and he's no longer our preacher.
He has a doctorate that he earned, he is not claiming to be a medical doctor...which is different from being a nurse aide and calling oneself a nurse...or a PA calling oneself a physician.
He has a doctorate that he earned, he is not claiming to be a medical doctor...which is different from being a nurse aide and calling oneself a nurse...or a PA calling oneself a physician.
But he is still called Dr. Smith. Not Paster Smith, doctorate of theology. He is known by this title wherever he is, not just church. At a restaurant in casual clothes, he is referred to as Dr. and Mrs. Smith (at table 6 are ready to order). He makes no claims, but to the public there isn't any way to know.
twotrees2
913 Posts
if the look was from the patient, perhaps the dirty look was 'cause the oriented person knew what her " nurse" was but to her she was her " nurse" taking care of her and giving her her pills and getting other people, if more was needed? the way you describe it and the attitude portrayed about it in the post - maybe the resident felt it was a pretty silly comment to make and perhaps felt it was done with a negative agenda. just a thought from someone who would think that a comment like that would be unnecessary.