Calling yourself a "nurse"

Nurses General Nursing

Published

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?????:uhoh3:

Specializes in Pediatrics.

At my facility we all have name badges and then a giant, bright orange tag that hangs out from under it reading "RN". The rumor was that a family (at a different hospital) had taken medical advice from someone wearing scrubs who they assumed was a nurse. Apparently it was a housekeeper.

I think the tags are great since pretty much everyone in the hospital wears scrubs these days its nice to be able to see who are the RN's.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Brain injury,vent,peds ,geriatrics,home.

One of my neighbors tried to pass herself off as being a nurse.I excitedly said to her Oh ME too! What school did you attend.She went on to say the red cross!!Some people!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in 3 yrs CNA.

YOU know what you have gone through to get into nursing school, so why are you letting other people's behavior get to you? What does it have to do with you?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

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

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Geriatrics, Transplant, Education.

I've never really heard that, at least in my workplace. As another poster mentioned, at work my badge says student nurse (because I'm a student in a BSN program), but I work under a CNA protocol. I've never called myself a nurse--when I work days, and get my assignment in the morning, I always introduce myself to the patients I'm covering by saying "I'm Katie, the student nurse that is going to be working with your nurse, so and so." If the patient is confused/has dementia, I tell them that I'm a helper, and I will help get them washed up/more comfortable, etc. In those cases I find telling them I'm a student nurse only confuses them more.

Additionally, when I answer a call light, and the patient is asking for pain med, to stop their iv pump from beeping, etc, I always let them know that "I can't get your med/fix your IV, etc, as I am a student nurse, but I will be happy to give the message to your RN."

Up Vote Up Vote ×

What do you expect from a society where people seem to have self esteem issues with every aspect of their lives? I am not suprised by this in the least. When I was in the miltary, people loved to tell cool stories that taken at face value, seemed to indicate special operations involvement. When I was in high school, all of the guys bragged about......well, you can figure that one out. When I was in grade school, all of the kids argued about who had the best mom or strongest dad. Now that I am grown up, I am not suprised when a family or friend is placed into a situaion where they loose control, they bend the truth a little to make them feel in control. The problem is related to the fact that we live in a society where people do not have any pride in what they do; however, they are too lazy or scared to take steps to improve their life. So, they bend the truth a little, and fill their hollow little life with make believe stories and illusions. Pretty sad if you think about it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

This is one of my pet peeves as well. I hate it when the MA at the doctor's office refers to herself as a nurse. One of the other offices I go to the person who does lab draws, weight, BP, etc doesn't refer to herself as anything, but she is an LPN so this doesn't upset me in the slightest. The other of which I speak seems to delight in saying that she's the doctor's nurse, and brings it up often.

It really gets under my skin. :madface:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I know someone who is a Home Health Aide and calls herself a nurse. I HAD to tell her about it. It is wrong!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I agree with you 100%. I am currently in nursing school. It was hard for me to get here and it sure is hard staying here. I am working my butt off to earn my degree. And it annoys me when a medical assistant, etc.. claims that they are a nurse. I had a problem recently while taking my 6 month old to a doctors visit. I wanted to ask a medical question about my son's reaction to formula, so I asked the woman who appeared to be a nurse. I first asked are you a nurse and she said "YES", then she says "well kinda, I'm a medical assistant." I became visibly upset and I stated to her that she was in no way a nurse!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, oncology, home health, hospice.

i just moved from california and it is indeed illegal to call oneself a nurse in the state of california if you are not, in fact, a nurse. i spent a great deal of time trying to explain to a physician friend that an ma was not allowed to call themselves a nurse and, any telephone triage done in her office had to be done by licensed staff (nurse or physician: all of this is written in the nurse practice act.)the problem is, most physicians run their practices this way and nothing will change unless some one enforces the rules. i have since moved across the country and work in a clinic and we must prominently display our bright orange badge with rn on it. i now work in a magnet facility and nurses are very respected here (a rarity). i still find physicians who still can't seem to identify the differences and it's up to us to educate them, i guess....you can see this frosts my water, too:angryfire

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
So why are you letting other people's behavior get to you? What does it have to do with you?

It has alot to do with who I am, what I worked hard for and I have every right to be bothered by it. Walk a mile in our shoes before making a judgement.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.
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

And Your Point Would Be???? :uhoh3:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment