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.
Also, OP made it clear she doesn't think the practice of employing non nurses in the schools is safe practice in general and gave examples of the risks to the kids even if legitimally employed*, on top of her non licensed friend landing a great gig without having to go to nursing school.
*I don't necessarily disagree but that is a system problem, not a personal problem with one individual.
Op, have you resolved this issue? Previous to this post I was under the impression that only nurses were allowed to work in schools and was alarmed by the possible impersonation as it may be putting children's lives at risk.
i interpreted the pic that OP pulled up was a personal pic, Facebook maybe.
What OP said was, "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."
So I agree, OP didn't make a connection between the picture with the RN badge and the job, or show that the job required an RN. STILL...
The facts raise the possibility that someone is practicing without a license. I can understand why someone might feel it was her duty to investigate out of concern for public safety. That is what professionals do.
I can also see that there may be personal motives and beliefs involved. It's to OP's credit that she asked for advice to help her to separate the wheat from the chaff.
We're simply lacking too many key facts to say OP's concerns are all chaff.
I have not read all of the comments so please forgive me if someone already suggested this.
CA Board of Registered Nursing has a "verify license" optoption on their web page. If it is available in FL, simply enter her name and county she works in. If she is an RN she will be listed. If not, verify that she is indeed working as an RN and then follow steps to report her as outlined in previous posts.
Don't report anything until you have all of your evidence or proof in place. You are right that CNA training does not cover what an actual nurse would know. The childrens' health and safety could be at risk.
I haven't read all the replies but if it is a public school you may be able to get the info you need from the school boards website since all of that information is public record (it might take some digging)
Am I the only one who thinks that it's overly dramatic to say the students' "lives are at risk" by not having a FT RN on premises?
Where I grew up, I never had a school nurse. No unlicensed health aide either. I grew up thinking school nurses existed only on TV. Don't get me wrong, I think having a RN on staff is a wonderful thing.... tons of opportunity for health education and preventative care and health screenings. Having comprehensive RN coverage across our school system adds an extra layer of health and social services our society really needs.
But to say kids lives are in literal jeopardy if they don't have a school nurse on site. Come on.....
Ill also add that I'm not too keen on the idea of a CNA acting as a "school nurse extender" of sorts, as widespread and legal as the practice may be. I almost think it'd be better to have no one. I know a lot of CNAs who would let that kind of perceived power go to their head, leading to some pretty unwise decision making. Having someone with such a limited knowledge can be more dangerous in certain situations than having no one at all.
If there is a picture of said person with RN clearly on a badge, then yes, this is fraudulent. What I fail to understand even a little is that if this is a small town, doesn't everyone and their brother know that this person is NOT actually an RN?
Interesting thing about parents of children who have medical needs that have to be dealt with in part in school. They are ALL up in the grill of the person taking care of them at school. It is a huge (and rightfully so) control thing. So if it becomes a "thing" that this person is found NOT to be an RN and is playing one on TV, the parents will go out of their minds. And that is really, really bad press for a school. Especially if the school and/or kid gets state funded monies for care.
When becoming a part-time per diem for a local school, they investigated every bit of my backround. And I live in such a small town, it wasn't as if no one knew me on a personal level. So I am thinking that either this person went to college and you just were not aware of it, that they are perhaps an LPN and you misread the name tag, or is a CNA but that is what the local school system is choosing to use for some schools....In other words, I am not sure why anyone would take the chance of having RN on a name tag, portraying an RN or any other level of licensed nursing in a town where every single person knows them, and most would know better.
Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
Am I the only one who thinks that it's overly dramatic to say the students' "lives are at risk" by not having a FT RN on premises?
Where I grew up, I never had a school nurse. No unlicensed health aide either. I grew up thinking school nurses existed only on TV.
Ditto this -- Michigan is DEAD LAST in number of school nurses per student in the USA. The school's secretary was the one who slapped bandages on skinned knees and administered medication when I was growing up in the 1970s-1980s, and in most public schools in this state it is still this way.
Handing out Ritalin and ice-packs/bandages is not rocket science, which is why "health room aides" exist with nothing more than CNA training, if that. School nurses who are actually RNs are needed for things like working out systems for kids with special needs, making sure that staff working with such kids have the proper training, etc. Does the teacher know how to recognize the signs of / what to do in the case of an asthma attack? Anaphylactic shock? Seizure? Cases of child abuse? Those are the types of situations where RN vs CNA makes a big difference.
Well, after continuing to read this thread...
If there is a picture of said person with RN clearly on a badge, then yes, this is fraudulent.
I'm not sure where this interpretation started (and I honestly don't care enough to go back and read the whole thread to find the person whose lack of reading comprehension skills started this misconception), but the OP never said that they saw a picture of the name badge that said RN. The OP pulled up a picture OF THE PERSON on her phone and showed it to a kid who "confirmed" that this was the "school nurse" at her school. Separately, the OP said that the person's brother stated that the sister's name badge says "RN" on it. Two separate events -- at no time did the OP say that they saw a photo of the name badge that says RN on it.
Don't believe everything you read on the internet, folks -- it was often written by someone who can't read.
There may be one main nurse for the district, and CNA's handling the day-to-day functions at the school. As long as she is just doing band-aids and giving fluids, maybe a vital sign here and there she is fine. The main RN may pop in for an hour at each school to administer the meds and so forth. When I was in elementary school in the 80's our LPN school nurse floated from school to school. I knew her because she was a friend of the family. That's how it was. We did not have a nurse on premises every day. I know at my son's school there is a LPN there every day due to so many kids now days having to have meds administered. But she does float throughout the 3 schools in the district. I live in a very small, rural, town.
I have a girl on Facebook though who pretends she is a nurse when she is a CNA. She does it all of the time. Tells everyone on Facebook that she is indeed a nurse and she loves nursing. I did see a guy question her on it one day and she did come clean and say she never actually completed school. She just does it to make herself feel more important. She doesn't live in the same state as me and if she was actually doing a job where she told everyone she was a nurse, I would probably call that state's BON. She does just have a CNA job. She just likes to feel better on Facebook I guess.
You really need to do your research before making accusations. Second hand information means nothing. The general public has no idea the differences in nurses. I have to correct people all of the time. But if she is indeed truly passing herself off as a nurse, then call the BON.
It somehow has be legal or sore the school would not be doing it. However, her name badge ca not hold the title of RN. I know in the state of Nevada a CNA has a scope of practice that they must call under. If you are concerned call the school and talk to principal. They could have a floating nurse that covers a few schools and the have health aides. My aunt was a retired nurse and became a health aide but she could not carry the title because she no longer carried an active license. Either you should call the school.
Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
Am I the only one who thinks that it's overly dramatic to say the students' "lives are at risk" by not having a FT RN on premises?
Nope, you're not the only one. Growing up, we had one RN and one LPN who covered three elementary schools, the intermediate school, the junior high, and the senior high by rotating who was where and when. When there were large group trips such as the annual chorus trip to another state that lasted a week, the RN went along and the LPN covered all of the schools. As far as I know, there were no adverse outcomes of this setup, although it meant that instead of getting to lie down in the nurse's office, students had to wait on the bench in the office for parents to show up.
Libby1987
3,726 Posts
Also, OP made it clear she doesn't think the practice of employing non nurses in the schools is safe practice in general and gave examples of the risks to the kids even if legitimally employed*, on top of her non licensed friend landing a great gig without having to go to nursing school.
*I don't necessarily disagree but that is a system problem, not a personal problem with one individual.