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'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.
That is what most of this boils down to.
Putting someone that is considered inferior in their "place".
Some Docs look down on nurses because they have a more extensive education. This apparently makes the nurses feel inferior. To convince themselves that they are just as "professional" as the docs, they find a group with less education/training, like CNA's or techs, and make it a personal mission to enlighten the ignorant world that "these people" don't, in any way, compare to the "Nurse".
I hear a lot of nurses say that the nurse aide should be proud of his/her title. Why would an aide feel proud of their job when the "real nurses" are so adament about not being equated with them. It's enough to make a CNA/tech want to hang their head.
I've been reading this thread for the past hour or so and have a few thoughts, for what they're worth:
-I have no problem with CNAs in LTC not correcting a pt who calls her/him "nurse" when the pt has dementia and can not benefit from reorienting.
-LPNs who graduate today often have more nursing training then RNs who graduated 30 years ago, esp in states that haven't required CEUs. (case in point, a 57 y.o. RN who needed me to start the IV, interpret the labs, explain to her that it would be a bad idea to give the lasix to the dehydrated pt, despite the physician order that hadn't yet been d/c'd (but it's a dr order..i HAVE to give it..)...i told her to hold it and call the doc, etc.) Oh, and an LPN can be the "nurse in charge". We often have an LPN as charge while an RN works the floor...it works for them.
-I don't want to have to go back to wearing white or those silly caps. I know my job and my limitations, whether it's as an LPN or an RN student. I don't feel threatened by those who call themselves "nurse" unless they have the potential to harm someone. I know the MA in my doc's office isn't a nurse, but she's working under the MD's license, and knows how to give the injection, etc. She might even call in his orders, with his blessing. It's his license on the line.
-Gosh, I'm glad I start classes again on Monday, 'cause this was too much reading toward no resolution!
-and finally, isn't it great that we can have these debates and agree to disagree? Some very intelligent, well-thought out responses that were fun to read. God bless!!
Putting someone that is considered inferior in their "place".
Not one nurse has said that MA's are considered inferior. Do they posess a nurses skills and critical thinking? No
Are they valuable members of the healthcare team? Yes
Do most of them practice within their scope? Yes
Do all of them practice withing their scope? No
Do a large majority portray themselves as nurses? Yes and that is what most of this boils down to.
Some Docs look down on nurses because they have a more extensive education. This apparently makes the nurses feel inferior.
Aahhh No! Doctors do not look down on nurses. If they could hire a nurse for the same price their paying their MA's then they would be hiring nurses. Doctors will be happy to tell you that they know who runs the hospitals and whose work they know they can't do and as a nurse I've been treated as the professional that I am and with respect by the vast majority of doctors.
To convince themselves that they are just as "professional" as the docs, they find a group with less education/training, like CNA's or techs, and make it a personal mission to enlighten the ignorant world that "these people" don't, in any way, compare to the "Nurse".
Nurses are as professional as doctors. If you have not walked in my shoes then you cannot speak for me. I, as an RN, highly respect a good CNA. I could not do their job. They work very hard. I appreciated the CNA's that I have worked with and I let them know it. I have never made a CNA feel ignorant. You have no clue as to how many times a CNA has come to me with a concern or an observation about one of my patients and 99% of the time they are right on and helped the patient and myself immensely. I don't recall one nurse putting down CNA's.
I hear a lot of nurses say that the nurse aide should be proud of his/her title.It's enough to make a CNA/tech want to hang their head.
I don't think they say be proud of your title more like be proud of the job you're doing because you're awesome and I could not do my job without you and we nurses know it.
Why would an aide feel proud of their job when the "real nurses" are so adament about not being equated with them.
"real nurses" are adament about those who portray themselves as nurse because though their job is enormously important it is not equal to that of the "real nurse". Hence we earn 3 x as much per hour. If someone wants to be a "real nurse" then that person should go to school and earn that title and quit whinning.
This is giving me a huge headache. It's like banging my head on a wall trying to make unlicensed people understand that they are not entitled to call themselves a nurse. It has nothing to do with who they are or how much good they do, it only has to do with earning the right to call themselves a nurse.
No matter what anyone would like to see/read between the lines, when asking the state board of nursing: Can an unlicensed person call themselves a nurse? and the answer is: No You cannot juggle it around to change that No to a Yes. No means No.
Why anyone would want to go around calling themselves something they are not is beyond me. If I went around calling myself a nurse practitioner I would look like a fool. :icon_roll
I think I've said all I want to say on this subject. I'll just continue to watch the debate. Carry on....
Where I work am responsible for ordering the correct lab tests in correlation with the patients diagnosis. It is in the scope of my practice.
what do you need to carry in the field to do these labs and get the results - do you carry a mini lab in your car ? i am curious as i was out of nursing for about 4 yrs a while back and much has changed so am interested in stuff that is new to me :)
what do you need to carry in the field to do these labs and get the results - do you carry a mini lab in your car ? i am curious as i was out of nursing for about 4 yrs a while back and much has changed so am interested in stuff that is new to me :)
I work in an outpatient center that is part of/next to the hospital. That's where I order the appropriate lab tests, draw the blood and the blood is couriered to the hospital lab.
I do HH on a PRN basis only. We have PT/INR machines that work like a glucometer. Anything else has to be drawn and taken to the lab. Anytime the INR is above 5 we have to do a peripheral stick and take it to the lab for a backup result.
I work in an outpatient center that is part of/next to the hospital. That's where I order the appropriate lab tests, draw the blood and the blood is couriered to the hospital lab.
I do HH on a PRN basis only. We have PT/INR machines that work like a glucometer. Anything else has to be drawn and taken to the lab. Anytime the INR is above 5 we have to do a peripheral stick and take it to the lab for a backup result.
thank you - that is very cool that they have machines like that- can you tell me what they are called - id like to learn more- we dont have in house labs and it would be a great thing to consider. i typically carry my own equipement when i do private care ( that i can affford lol - like i have pedal dopplers and glucometes and blood pressure cuffs and an oxygen concentrator and several other items as well - id like to check into finding one.- and yes i get order for the oxygen- its just that i have it there and we dont need to wait for delivery. it has helped me twice help a patient- just clarifying before someone jumps on that haha ) thanks again. many blessings.
I totally agree with you in that you shouldn't call yourself a nurse if you aren't a licensed nurse. I just don't see why nurses get so bent out of shape about a non-medical person calling someone who takes care of patients a nurse.
My grandmother put it in a nutshell quite nicely after being corrected several times by LPN's and RN's during her last stay at the hospital. She said, "if you are wiping my butt-you're my nurse".
That is how most of the non-medical world sees it.
I won't call myself a nurse until I get my answer from my state BON and no one else should either. However, I'll never get upset over someone referring to the medical personnel at the doc's office as "the nurse" or the tech who just fed them, toileted them, and changed their bed (which all used to be done exclusively by nurses) as "my nurse". It won't make me feel like my hard work in NS has been cheapened. I already understand that most of the public doesn't know all the in's and out's of the medical world and the only thing that really matters to them is that someone is giving them good care.
I totally agree with you in that you shouldn't call yourself a nurse if you aren't a licensed nurse. I just don't see why nurses get so bent out of shape about a non-medical person calling someone who takes care of patients a nurse.
My grandmother put it in a nutshell quite nicely after being corrected several times by LPN's and RN's during her last stay at the hospital. She said, "if you are wiping my butt-you're my nurse".
That is how most of the non-medical world sees it.
Which is precisely why nurses get so bent out of shape about a non-medical person calling themselves a nurse. The public needs to be educated about what we do.
...the only thing that really matters to them is that someone is giving them good care.
That's right. And when some unlicensed person, through sheer ignorance, gives them poor care, guess who they're going to take it out on? The licensed nurse.
The law considers the title of "Nurse" to be a protected one in my state. If you are in Florida and you call yourself a nurse and you do not have a license, you can be fined and go to jail. All unlicensed personnel need to know that. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
If it didn't really matter to the public, there would be no such law on the books. Neither would there be licensure for nurses. These laws are there to protect an ignorant public about who is and who is not a nurse.
If the law isn't enough to convince you, here are links to a couple of stories about the subject. While reading them, I hope you will put yourself or your loved ones in the shoes of the patients that these "nurses" cared for:
Grace Oz......I don't know how things are regulated where you are.
Where I am my State Board designates me as RN-Inactive. When and if I desire reactivation i am to notify them. Depending on the circumstances there might be CEUs to be taken. I've only had the -i added in the past year so right now all I'd have to do is a notification and pay this biennial renewal fee.
All of the nurses I work with clean poop. Great time to assess perineum, as well as stool itself, assess how well pt. can move, assist with clean up. I even have had a doc or two help with code browns!!
Specializes in Med/Surg/Ortho/HH/Radiology-Now Retired.
Grace Oz......I don't know how things are regulated where you are.
Where I am my State Board designates me as RN-Inactive. When and if I desire reactivation i am to notify them. Depending on the circumstances there might be CEUs to be taken. I've only had the -i added in the past year so right now all I'd have to do is a notification and pay this biennial renewal fee.
Here in Oz, if a nurse has not worked within a 5 year period, regardless of whether or not said nurse has maintained registration, she/he must do a refresher course.
I consider myself a Retired nurse.* I say this because I was a nurse until I retired 5 years ago. :)
However, I am not aware of that 'title' * having any kind of legality.
If I'm asked about my occupation I say; "I'm retired". :w00t::)
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jackson145
598 Posts
That is what most of this boils down to.
Putting someone that is considered inferior in their "place".
Some Docs look down on nurses because they have a more extensive education. This apparently makes the nurses feel inferior. To convince themselves that they are just as "professional" as the docs, they find a group with less education/training, like CNA's or techs, and make it a personal mission to enlighten the ignorant world that "these people" don't, in any way, compare to the "Nurse".
I hear a lot of nurses say that the nurse aide should be proud of his/her title. Why would an aide feel proud of their job when the "real nurses" are so adament about not being equated with them. It's enough to make a CNA/tech want to hang their head.