I'm not really sure where this goes, but I ran into an old friend the other day and asked how his family was doing. My friend's sister has worked as a CNA for years, but never went to nursing school as she became a stay at home wife as soon as she got married and quit school (prereqs) and her job.
My friend told me that his sister is currently working at a local middle school as the school nurse. I replied that I thought his sister never attended nursing school, so if he was sure if that was really her job title. He replied that she had her CNA and that since their grandma works for the school system was able to pull a few strings and get her hired.
I asked if maybe she was assisting the school nurse and he told me that the previous nurse either quit or was let go. (Can't remember.) I questioned him on what would happen if there was an emergency, as CNA training doesn't prepare you to handle those type of situations. He told me that all she does is call the parents if the kids get sick, and other than that give them Band-Aids or juice/snacks if they feel weak and allow the kids to lay down. He said her job was pretty laid back, and she really enjoys it and the salary increase that comes along with being a nurse.
I thought maybe he was lying about her working as a nurse having never attended nursing school of any kind, and asked another friend's little sister who attends that middle school (in 8th grade) who their new school nurse was. The little girl described her and even said my friends sisters name, so I pulled up a picture of her and asked the little girl if that was her and she replied that it was.
I'm a little shocked how this is even legal and honestly quite annoyed as I am busting my butt in school while others can claim and even get hired as a "nurse" without working for that title. Her name badge even has RN on it. Am I over reacting?
The local CNA school in our town that me and his sister went to is 1 week of training (ADL's, BP, simple tasks) and then we are allowed to test to become certified for the state of FL. All I can think of is that this situation would be a disaster if one of those children had a major health problem and that our 1 week CNA training clearly doesn't cut out to handle those situations.
We live in a very small town, and who you know does pull more weight than what you know. This same family got their cousin hired on as a paralegal without ever attending school, although I know nothing if on the job training is offered in place of schooling for that.
Many schools hire non licensed personnel as health-assistants, or some such random UAP title.
It seems entirely possible to me that this woman's brother and that kid are calling her the "school nurse" simply because the great majority of the general public has little conception of what a nurse actually is.
All of your information seems to be secondhand. .............
Basically, you need to make sure this isn't a case of the school hiring non-licensed people as healthcare aide-ish workers before you accuse anybody of anything.
Thanks for all your posts, starting with this one.
I am a school district nurse and I do have a health aide. I appreciate the job descriptions you and others have posted.
Lots of times people mistake the health aide as a nurse but she corrects them. Some of the kids think I'm a doctor! :)
To the OP, please don't jump the gun here. As others have mentioned, you don't have accurate information yet. Do not contact the BON.
Living in a town that is small enough to not have a mall, movie theater, or Walmart/Target and only about 3 grocery stores in the entire town, running into people isn't uncommon by any means. I did seem to interrogate him about his sister, as it just didn't make sense to me how that would even be possible. (And that I am nosey) We are still friends as I am with his sister, however due to conflicting schedules (his full time work schedule and my full time school schedule) have not really been in touch for about a year or so. There are no previous issues. Being that he was such a close friend, I had no problem questioning him for information. I like his sister, but I do not agree with being able to be a nurse without going through the proper training. I kind of assumed getting hired as a nurse would include you giving your license number and sending that paperwork off somewhere, (when I was hired as a CNA, they copied my certificate number and drivers license) so her getting hired made no sense to me as she does not have a license number & I figured school jobs would be stricter. Hence, all of the questioning.
I don't really understand what to say to the school or who in the school to contact. I'm sure a quick google search would provide me with the middle schools number, but who would I talk to? Is there a specific person? I'm also very young, graduating high school just a few years ago and am not sure if I would be taken seriously if I left a complaint. As far as the BON, I could contact them but would it be anonymous? As I said, my friends family and I have no issues, and reporting her would certainly open a can of worms towards a family I like. However, I feel tugged two ways, as I know this situation is not safe either and then ethical issues kick in so I feel like I should say something. I came here just looking for advice, or some sort of direction.
If you are still friends with the sister (and you live in a small town where it's easy to run into her), why not contact her to see what she says?
I agree with the other posters who said that it is important to think critically before reaching a conclusion and to investigate the facts. Our primary duty is the safety of the public and if you do find solid evidence that she has misrepresented herself as a nurse, then (in my state), you would be required to report to the BON. If you find out she's snagged herself a plum, well-paying job as non-licensed assistive personnel, then congratulate her. How hard one works to become a nurse, whether someone else without your credential is paid more to work in the same field, these are not the pertinent points, I believe.
I can't even fathom why a school district would hire a CNA as the school NURSE and pay her a NURSE'S WAGES. We have to haggle for a decent wage for ourselves. Plus here in CA, there are very few school nurses who work full time because the districts cannot afford it. (Or so they say).
This could be all assumptions and subjective. What are "nurses wages" anyways? And are we sure that the person in question has "RN" on her nametag? The RN on the nametag would be the fraud part of this--but we don't know this for certain.
Do you have, OP, children in school that you are concerned are being treated by this person? Or are you a CNA who would like a job like this? Or an RN/LPN who would like to have this job and are upset that this woman pulled strings and got it--as in you applied and was declined in favor of this person?
In a CNA world, school gigs are not bad ones--pretty laid back in comparison to total care adults or kids. Can be a hot mess with behavioral issues and parents who are not always easy. In any number of schools, there is usually one RN-and a lot of states require a BSN--and everyone else could in fact be a UAP. So a child could go to the "nurse's office" and it is manned by a non-nurse. And passing a medication administration course (which is less time than a CNA course) one can give meds.
Very scary if one's child is a diabetic and needs sliding scale insulin. Or any other med that requires nursing judgment and critical thinking beyond a scope of a CNA.
Bottom line--I get it--it burns your butt that this chick got the cushy job. But if your town is as small as you say it is, I would think you had best be quite sure of your information before you get someone in hot water---and have to suffer the wrath of 3/4 of the Town over it---when you are going by half truths and I am not sure's of the brother.....
Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Heaven-Leigh, I don't see anything untoward about your motives in this situation at all. These sorts of judgement calls come up pretty frequently in nursing. Striking the right balance between wanting to do something about a potentially unsafe situation doesn't strike me something to be criticized. The only thing your post contained was a little too much detail for living in a small town.
Others will disagree I know, but the BON is in place to protect the public. The diabetic or asthmatic kid could walk in at any time. If the person we're discussing isn't impersonating a nurse, I can't see how this is an attack of some kind. If the OP launches her own investigation, she could face repercussions as well as upset some of her friends and family members.
I can recall some of our "the MA is calling herself a nurse!" discussions where the suggestion is made that the state BON make a strategic phone call to the MD, NP or whoever is responsible for the practice at the facility. Just my .002.
And I don't disagree that the kids and their safety need to be first and foremost. With that being said, I wouldn't be the one to start a pot stirring issue unless I saw it with my own eyes that a badge says RN, or that she is portraying herself as a nurse in conversation.
Otherwise, there are tons of schools that have just one nurse. The rest are UAPs who have certifications. The LPNS are usually 1:1 with the more behaviorally challenging kids--but curiously, wonder if they are considered other licensed nurses that are in the building as well.
It's not unusual these days for tasks that were formerly the domain of a "nurse" have now shift to non-nurses, even school secretaries with no health training whatsoever, so it's possible she works in a position that only requires CNA level training. If her name-tag says "RN" or "nurse" on it, or if she is telling people she is a "nurse" then that is something completely different and is a criminal act in many states.
Go to the school's website. Click on "staff directory" or whatever their website lists the staff as. Look for your friend's name. There you will have your answer. I very much doubt she is working as a "nurse" but may be working in a district that doesn't employ a nurse at every school as an UAP.
In those other threads, we were talking about situations where a MA clearly was going around telling patients "Hello, I'm Dr Smith's nurse!".
In this case, the OP has neither talked to nor seen the person in question. The person's brother telling her that his sister is a "school nurse" was the basis for the OP's suspicion. I bet every unlicensed school health aide has a relative or two who call them a "school nurse".
I still say more info is needed before going to the BON with this. Before accusing someone of impersonating a nurse, one needs at least a little bit of evidence that the person they're accusing is doing so. We don't know if this person has ever called herself a nurse. We don't know what her job title is. The OP has gone on record saying that she didn't know UAP in schools was a "thing".
Go to the school's website. Click on "staff directory" or whatever their website lists the staff as. Look for your friend's name. There you will have your answer. I very much doubt she is working as a "nurse" but may be working in a district that doesn't employ a nurse at every school as an UAP.
Great advice! And simple too.
I have eleven campuses in my district. I can't be on every one. My health aide works at the D.O. for the most part doing all those lovely immunization reports, etc.
My real office is at the D.O. I just go from campus to campus but not every day. And yes, I have one "para-professional" who works with the diabetic student but does not give insulin. We have one nurse who comes in for two hours/two days a week to do only that. I work the other three days.
I have to train non-medical staff to respond to medical issues.
What do you all think is going on here? (Besides 3rd hand conversation with a lay person)
Do you think this small town's school district is so wealthy that they have an on site RN position at this middle school?
Do you think if they did have an RN position, in a govt/public organization, that this gal was so slick as to fool them AND they didn't do a back ground and finger print on her, like they do every other employee? She was just some exception thanks to Auntie?
Do you think that this one and only school has put their students at risk by having only having a CNA on staff? Do you not care that your own schools districts don't have an RN on staff? What about those kids needing medical attention?
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Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN
11,305 Posts
Thanks for all your posts, starting with this one.
I am a school district nurse and I do have a health aide. I appreciate the job descriptions you and others have posted.
Lots of times people mistake the health aide as a nurse but she corrects them. Some of the kids think I'm a doctor! :)
To the OP, please don't jump the gun here. As others have mentioned, you don't have accurate information yet. Do not contact the BON.