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 consider calling them unlicenced nurses and licenced nurses.
When there is a room full of "nurses," I introduce to the patients, We are all your nurses, this is Sam your LPN he will help you with your care and some of your medicatons, This is Mary your nursing assistant, she will help you with personal care, but if you need anything else she will relay to me Anne your RN to anything you are needing, etc...
The patient's look to all of us as nurses, as long as nobody tries to pawn themselves off as something they are not.
If a nursing assistant states he/she is an RN, he/she is wrong! same goes for an LPN.
But to patients we are all nurses to them, because we all take care of them.
It is the staff they trust, and we must not take advantage of that.
If anyone misrepresents themselves, they are wrong.
They have crossed the line.
Staff must educate the patients to who is the nurse in charge of them, the other licenced nurses,as well as the nursing assistant.
If one pawns off as another type they cannot be trusted!!!
When we all go into any type of nurses training, we are always taught to intoduce ourseves as the disiplines we were trained for(work within our scope of practice).
So, if we were are all fruits, it just depends on what type of fruit we are, and the patients must know what kind we are; apples(nursing assistant),oranges(LPN) or bananas(RN),lemon (charge nurse). HA HA!!!
We need not get hung up with the word "nurse." CLARIFICATION TO PATIENT IS THE KEY...
I consider calling them unlicenced nurses and licenced nurses.
When there is a room full of "nurses," I introduce to the patients, We are all your nurses, this is Sam your LPN he will help you with your care and some of your medicatons, This is Mary your nursing assistant, she will help you with personal care, but if you need anything else she will relay to me Anne your RN to anything you are needing, etc...
The patient's look to all of us as nurses, as long as nobody tries to pawn themselves off as something they are not.
If a nursing assistant states he/she is an RN, he/she is wrong! same goes for an LPN.
But to patients we are all nurses to them, because we all take care of them.
It is the staff they trust, and we must not take advantage of that.
If anyone misrepresents themselves, they are wrong.
They have crossed the line.
Staff must educate the patients to who is the nurse in charge of them, the other licenced nurses,as well as the nursing assistant.
If one pawns off as another type they cannot be trusted!!!
When we all go into any type of nurses training, we are always taught to intoduce ourseves as the disiplines we were trained for(work within our scope of practice).
So, if we were are all fruits, it just depends on what type of fruit we are, and the patients must know what kind we are; apples(nursing assistant),oranges(LPN) or bananas(RN),lemon (charge nurse). HA HA!!!
We need not get hung up with the word "nurse." CLARIFICATION TO PATIENT IS THE KEY...
Sorry, I disagree. A nurse aide is a person who aides or assists the nurse, not a nurse. An unlicensed nurse could be a graduate nurse or a student nurse, but not a nurse aide, totally different.
a friend of mine actually told me she was (i quote) just like an lpn because she works at a group home and was trained to give out medications, another person i know who works as a tech in a clinic claims lpn's arent anything because she can do just as much as they can and brags that she gets paid just as much!! this type of blatant ignorance and arrogance that reduces nurses to nonprofessionals sickens me! lay people just dont get it, i'm tired of explaining to people what i am and do as an lpn and tired of people thinking nurses clean poop, alot of people woundn't survive a few hours as a nurse! :oornt::prdnrs:
a friend of mine actually told me she was (i quote) just like an lpn because she works at a group home and was trained to give out medications, another person i know who works as a tech in a clinic claims lpn's arent anything because she can do just as much as they can and brags that she gets paid just as much!! this type of blatant ignorance and arrogance that reduces nurses to nonprofessionals sickens me! lay people just dont get it, i'm tired of explaining to people what i am and do as an lpn and tired of people thinking nurses clean poop, alot of people woundn't survive a few hours as a nurse! :oornt::prdnrs:
i agree with you, lay people don't get it.
well, in the case of nurses: lpns and rns, our "just a piece of paper" aka our licenses, separate us from the wannabees. we earned the right to be called nurses with our education, theory, skills, knowledge behind the skills and are recognized by a state board that we have passed a rigorous test.
dang everyone~~~~~can't we all just get along???!!! we (ma's, cna's, lpn's, rn's, pa's, rt/ot's, and every other member of the entire health care field) are all in this field for the same purpose---to help those who can't help themselves!! just be proud of who you are and of your contributions to the well being of those in need, you'll be so much happier at the end of your day/shift. and please, stop b****ing~~~~it's so unbecoming to the healthcare profession as a whole-and discouraging to those who might be considering getting into some form of healthcare!
It seems very conflicting that nurses cry foul when a doctor doesn't treat them as equals but are up in arms that someone, anyone, might mistake a CNA/MA for their equal. True a nurse has more formal education than a CNA/MA, but the flip side is a doctor has much more education that the nurse.
You can't have it both ways.
And why stop at the differentiation of nurse to tech. Let's make sure we call everyone by their level of training. After all, an ASN isn't a BSN and a LPN doesn't have a college degree as does a RN.
There are so many issues in professional nursing today. I just can't believe that a Doc/patient referring to an MA/CNA as "nurse" is such a big issue.
Because "I" the nurse knew the patient had taken way too much anticoagulant, checked her PT/INR, her INR was 37+ and I called 911. .
you took the blood and do the lab and do the results yourself out in the field? thats pretty neat that home health has come that far - been a long time since i worked in home health. but then arent we practicing being a labtech then? i know i wasnt trained to do labs in school........
Q. Can an unlicensed person call themselves a nurse?
A. No. K.S.A. 65-1114 makes it unlawful for any individual to practice as, hold oneself out as, use any sign/card/device or words to the effect they are licensed as an RN, LPN or ARNP unless they are duly licensed or authorized. K.S.A. 65-1122 imposes a criminal penalty for such actions.
Referring to an unlicensedperson as "the nurse" or representing such a person to patients as a nurse, leading a patient to believe the person is a registered nurse, is a very unwise practice. Under 54.1-3008, it is a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to: "knowingly employ an unlicensedperson as a professional or practical nurse or knowingly permit an unlicensedperson to represent himself as a professional or practical nurse; use in connection with his name any designation tending to imply
that he is a professional nurse or a practical nurse unless duly licensed to practice".
the last 3 links not working or bring up any particular site - 2 bring up a search which i am not gonna scroll through themj all to find where these sources came from - however the first one owrked and
"
"Q. Can an unlicensed person call themselves a nurse?
A. No. K.S.A. 65-1114 makes it unlawful for any individual to practice as, hold oneself out as, use any sign/card/device or words to the effect they are licensed as an RN, LPN or ARNP unless they are duly licensed or authorized. K.S.A. 65-1122 imposes a criminal penalty for such actions.
Q. Can an unlicensed person practice nursing?
A. No. The general rule of law (K.S.A. 65-1114) says they cannot. See above answer. There are some exceptions to this answer and they are found at K.S.A. 65-1124. They include but are not limited to; gratuitous nursing by friends or family, domestic servants, graduate nurses from accredited programs within a set or specific time frame, unlicensed people who have had a nursing action delegated to them by a nurse, etc. "
to address the first part an RN,LAPN, or ARNP is not just a nurse - the R,LP and ARP designate the nurse as licensed. it does not say you can not call yourself a NURSE it says you can not say you are an RN, LPN, ARNP.
the second part goes further to say that even unlicensed personell can practice what is delegated them by the licensed person.
am i reading that right? anyone have a thought on this?
a friend of mine actually told me she was (i quote) just like an lpn because she works at a group home and was trained to give out medications, another person i know who works as a tech in a clinic claims lpn's arent anything because she can do just as much as they can and brags that she gets paid just as much!! this type of blatant ignorance and arrogance that reduces nurses to nonprofessionals sickens me! lay people just dont get it, i'm tired of explaining to people what i am and do as an lpn and tired of people thinking nurses clean poop, alot of people woundn't survive a few hours as a nurse! :oornt::prdnrs:
in my opinion this friend is really not a friend - sounds arrogant and braggart but to say one " is just like" is not saying one is - big difference though i do agree your friend neeeds to get knocked off thier pedastal lol. ( i do happen to know several folks who work private care who do work "just like a lpn" amd they do get paid more - much more and do just as good as an lpn.)
It seems very conflicting that nurses cry foul when a doctor doesn't treat them as equals but are up in arms that someone, anyone, might mistake a CNA/MA for their equal. True a nurse has more formal education than a CNA/MA, but the flip side is a doctor has much more education that the nurse.
You can't have it both ways.
And why stop at the differentiation of nurse to tech. Let's make sure we call everyone by their level of training. After all, an ASN isn't a BSN and a LPN doesn't have a college degree as does a RN.
There are so many issues in professional nursing today. I just can't believe that a Doc/patient referring to an MA/CNA as "nurse" is such a big issue.
Some LPNs do have college degrees....associate degrees. Not all RN's have college degrees...some RN's are diploma RNs.
If you call yourself something that you are not, especially in the medical field, you are only asking for trouble.
Rad techs do not run around calling themselves Radiologists
Vet techs do not run around calling themselves Veterinarians
Pharmacy techs do not run around calling themselves Pharmacists
Dental assistants do not run around calling themselves Dentists
Legal assistants do not run around calling themselves Lawyers
Opthamoligist assistants do not run around calling themselves Opthamoligists
And...the list goes on.....Why should MA's/CNA's run around calling themselves nurses?
Comparing yourself to someone with a AS or BS degree in nursing is insulting those who actually went to college for 2-4 years to get their degree/diploma and took and passed the NCLEX - National Council (of state boards of nursing) Licensure Examination - after which they received a license.The same holds true for LPN's.
Nurse and titles are reserved for those who earn that title.
It is my business to know exactly who I am talking to on the phone when I ask a question because someone can suffer serious consequences or die and it's my license that is pulled not the person on the phone who gave me the incorrect information.
I'm not saying that MA's/CNA's don't have a place in healthcare but they need to know their place and their limitations.
longjourneydream
145 Posts
A nurse is a nurse.
I consider calling them unlicenced nurses and licenced nurses.
When there is a room full of "nurses," I introduce to the patients, We are all your nurses, this is Sam your LPN he will help you with your care and some of your medicatons, This is Mary your nursing assistant, she will help you with personal care, but if you need anything else she will relay to me Anne your RN to anything you are needing, etc...
The patient's look to all of us as nurses, as long as nobody tries to pawn themselves off as something they are not.
If a nursing assistant states he/she is an RN, he/she is wrong! same goes for an LPN.
But to patients we are all nurses to them, because we all take care of them.
It is the staff they trust, and we must not take advantage of that.
If anyone misrepresents themselves, they are wrong.
They have crossed the line.
Staff must educate the patients to who is the nurse in charge of them, the other licenced nurses,as well as the nursing assistant.
If one pawns off as another type they cannot be trusted!!!
When we all go into any type of nurses training, we are always taught to intoduce ourseves as the disiplines we were trained for(work within our scope of practice).
So, if we were are all fruits, it just depends on what type of fruit we are, and the patients must know what kind we are; apples(nursing assistant),oranges(LPN) or bananas(RN),lemon (charge nurse). HA HA!!!
We need not get hung up with the word "nurse." CLARIFICATION TO PATIENT IS THE KEY...