Can they PLEASE stop calling her a nurse!!!

Be_Moore · Jul 13, 2009

It makes it worse, I think...how was a tech getting Fentanyl? Too bad for Rose. Maybe my hospital system will start seeing some of their more uppity insured patients, however. See, every cloud has a silver lining!

PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2009

I read it online and they made sure--with the very last sentence--that the public was aware that SHE WAS NOT A NURSE.

Coloradogrl · Jul 13, 2009

It may be just the local news then which uspets me even more I heard it on our channel 4 about 3x's now

sunkissed75, CNA · Jul 13, 2009

What is a surgical tech?

DManAZRN · Jul 13, 2009

A surgical tech just sets up equipment, cleans the rooms etc... Like a CNA/Houskeeper for the OR. Cheaper than a nurse too...

Probably got Hep C from prior theft of syringes too. How poetic.

So much for that medical career eh?

Yeah, the Media is just out of control sometimes... must have saved that story for last, and made you wait the whole program right? Must not have had time before they cut to commercial to tell the whole story!

Every time they slander nurses that aren't even nurses the ANA should stand up for nurses and sue the stupid media! That might give them a real nursing story.

Why don't they report on our working conditions?

Crash_Cart · Jul 13, 2009

Here in Denver there was a surgical tech that had HEP C and was stealing fentanyl syringes from the OR and injecting herself with it and swapping them with saline ones. Well it has been all over the local news and also on the national news and on several local stations they keep calling her a nurse :angryfire She was a surgical tech not that it makes it any better or worse but it is just a personal pet peeve that anyone that wears scrubs and works in a hospital is a nurse

That's ok.. When I worked in ER as a nursing orderly and I wore a "dentist uniform" (I am a male) I found out later I was being "portrayed" on the local news media as the actual ER doctor...!!!

This is what the media does.... No point in trying to change what is already said and done. It's futile to even try... Just think of it as a TV show with portrayed characters playing various parts.. That's what I did. I thought I would never hear the end of it from my colleagues when that happened to me. I was being called "doctor" something or other for months long after this aired on local TV..

Even the ER docs had a chuckle over it... The actual ER doctors even addressed me as "doctor" for at least a week or more after it aired on TV. They were obviously just poking fun at me and the situation I was in at the time... :)

It happens.. just move on.. It's not the surg tech's fault she was "portrayed" as an actor on TV..Incidently, I too have been referred to as a "nurse" on at least 3000 occasions during the course of my patient care career. No point in taking the issue to the high courts if you should ask me. Public "perception" is not against the law.. I never "portrayed" myself as a "nurse" but if that's what the public wants to think, I am not exactly going to go out of my way to "correct" everyone who comes along either.... I guess you have to wear my scrubs and shoes to know where exactly I am coming from on this issue..

Simply put, I have better things to do with my time... You too also need to realize this happens as a nursing professional yourself. With all due respect, you should already know who you are and you really have nothing to prove to anyone anyways... So let your skill and knowledge speak for itself... It's not "OUR" fault this happens...Blame the patients, the media or whomever is responsible for stating such rhetoric... I (similar to the scrub tech) for one am not responsible for it's inception or occurance...

My Best,

ChristyRN2009 · Jul 13, 2009

It is a pet peeve of mine too to have people refer to all hospital workers as "nurses." It is a legally protected title. If I see a coworker of mine not correcting a patient regarding this, I will let the colleague know (in private) and if it continues I will take further issue with management. I worked very hard for my title, I have a license, and I value that title and license. I think taking an apathetic attitude towards people using the term loosely cheapens the value of nurses overall. I know and am confident in my role as a nurse and I'm not a fan of people lessening my importance. Of course, the general public may not know but I consider it part of my role to educate them when this situation arises. And this is not limited to nurses. I had wisdom teeth removed earlier this year by an oral surgeon. I told him "I hate going to the dentist" and he quickly corrected me that he was not a dentist, he was a surgeon and the requirements and licensure were different.

cupcake75 · Jul 13, 2009

A surgical tech just sets up equipment, cleans the rooms etc... Like a CNA/Houskeeper for the OR. Cheaper than a nurse too...

Um, not sure how it is in your hospital, but as a surgical tech, my job is not only to set up for an operation, but to actually assist the surgeon while he/she operates. I have never had to clean up like a housekeeper, but I have had to break down a room after surgery, making sure that my instruments are all there and placed back in their containers and that everything blue is placed in the correct trash container. AND, every place I have ever worked, the OR nurse (circulator) has assisted in the turnover of the room in order to get the next case in there as quickly as possible. So, does that make them just like CNAs/Housekeepers too, only cheaper? I don't know if you are a circulating nurse or not, but it is not fair to act as though the OR scrub tech is not an integral part of the surgical team. We may not get paid as much as a nurse (again, just depends on where you work), but there are plenty of times when we don't get lunch breaks/smoke breaks/potty breaks, for many hours, but our circulating nurses make sure that they do. We work just as hard, and sometimes, even harder, than the circulating nurses in our OR. It is the attitude you seem to be projecting about srub techs that has made me decide that the only way I am going to be a nurse in the OR is by becoming a scrub nurse or an RNFA. :angryfire

nina4nursing · Jul 13, 2009

to make a really strong point here. a couple of days ago i was telling a complete stranger that currently i am a cna (but not working in the field) and that i start "nursing school" in january. well last night she knocked at my door. asked if i could help her because she had spilled hot grease on her forearm. so automatically i kicked into action, kept my cool, and was able to render first aid. while doing this she commented to me that she "told her husband that she was coming over here because she knew i was a n u r s e and that i could help her. :bugeyes:

even i who was not on duty, (right now i work in a group home for mr/dd) still took the time to clarify that "i am not a n u r s e"

so moral of the story is: as soon as you put on the uniform that so defines us as being in the "medical field" we are susposed to know it all. it does nothing to ruin the title of cna/lpn/rn or other titles as applicable because those titles are reserved for individuals who have completed the proper training to earn those titles. also a person can call me n u r s e all day long but i surely am not compensated accordingly. :twocents:

nina

Divergirl · Jul 13, 2009

A surgical tech just sets up equipment, cleans the rooms etc... Like a CNA/Houskeeper for the OR. Cheaper than a nurse too...

Ok, not to be picky or anything, but a surgical tech completes 9 months of training. They set up the surgical field and they assist the surgeon. Some of these people have been working in surgery for years and are highly specialized/skilled. Some techs actually close incisions with suture. I'm not defending the tech in colorado, but I think some surgical techs would be very offended to be compared to a housekeeper.

Coloradogrl · Jul 13, 2009

Ok, not to be picky or anything, but a surgical tech completes 9 months of training. They set up the surgical field and they assist the surgeon. Some of these people have been working in surgery for years and are highly specialized/skilled. Some techs actually close incisions with suture. I'm not defending the tech in colorado, but I think some surgical techs would be very offended to be compared to a housekeeper.

I am by no ways putting down surgical techs but the idea of them closing incisions to me is very very wrong:down: There are several trade school programs here in the area and several of them dont require even a GED when you enter them. I know this for a fact b/c I have a friend that is a admission rep for one of these school and he told me this he also that the average education level for most entering the program was between 7-9 grade when it came to testing.

I think surgical techs are great but when it comes to 1st assisting that should be designated for RNFA