I was at my college getting ready to go into a club room for studying when I saw one of my friends talking to this guy who had several books and papers on one of the tables(Not nursing books). He was in scrubs, and I decided to strike up a conversation with him. He claimed he was in a nursing program, BUT I highly believe he was lying, and I want to see if I called his bluff:
First, I asked him what nursing program he was in and the first time he avoided the question and said something else unrelated, then, the second time I asked he said "oh that's bragging" and then I said "no it's not, I asked". Now, this is not the part where I suspected he was lieing, I decided to test him and see if he knew basic CNA skills.
I then asked him: Have you taken any vitals or changed any bedpans?(I ask because from my knowledge, the CNA program is equivilant to the first class in a nursing program and from what I hear, nurses learn these basic skills within the first weeks) He laughed, shook his head then said "no" and I said "Gee, that's strange, because I am a CNA and that's the equivalent to the first class in nursing school and I know how to change bed pans and take vitals, if your halfway through your nursing program, shouldn't you have done that by now?". He IMMEDIATElY tried to change his story and claim that I jumped to conclusions and that he never said no, and that I "imagined" him saying that because that's what I wanted to hear.
He also appeared to be on drugs, and last time I checked, you can't test positive for drugs and be admitted into a nursing program.
I suspect he is lying for these reasons:1.He can't tell me what nursing program he is in (probably because he isn't in one) 2. He also claimed he was all these other things that I doubt he would have time for in nursing school (He claims he's also a motivational speaker, taking classes at some other college that aren't nursing classes, works a full time job) 3.He has not even done any basic CNA skills half-way through his program.
Did I call this guys bluff or am I wrong and nurses don't do pratice simple skills such as bedpans and vitals by the time they are half-way through the program?
BTW, OP, didn't you steal this avatar from someone else??
No, it looks like he/she has chosen a pic that is available in the Avatar Gallery. Those are available for any member to use, and multiple people can choose the same image.
First off, thank you ALL for the original posts. way to think outside the box.WHY DO I CARE? Well, gee, he handed out his number to everyone in he room and said to call him if the needed advice on ANTHING.I happen to associate with many mentally handicapped people who are niave and would not be able to discern the truth from fiction. Since he brought up the fact that he was in ns several times, I would not doubt that one of these individuals would call him for medical advice. GEE, I GUESS THERES NO PROBLEM WITH A POSSIBLE NON-MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL GIVING OUT MEDICAL ADVICE. No, I guess it's not rational to think that someone who would make up being in nursing school would also tell lies pertaining to medicine.Secondly, I would hope that someone would be the least bit concerned that not only someone who is not training for ns or medical school is possibly giving out medical advice, but also be concerned at the lack of respect that comes with inpersonating a professional/student like that. I will be sure to "mind my own business" and "get a life" when someone ends up hurt. It's good to see everyone supports impersonation and possible injury. The lack of respect was awesome too. Time to find a new nursing forum.BTW, this guy later admitted to one of my friends in private that he was not telling the truth and was "just trying to pull my leg for fun". I guess I'm the bad guy for suspecting something was wrong. I guess it's bad to start a conversation with someone who was attempting to start a convo with the whole room to promote his motivational speaking business. I guess it's wrong of me to want to be curious of someone elses success so that might use in creating my own. shame on me to not take things at face value and question things that don't seem right. This reminds me of the time a high school kid impressionated being a hospital worker that worked for weeks because no one stopped and questioned him. It's interesting how everyone is so quick to attack instead of stopping to think of the downsides of a fake running around. But I guess it's easier to read the post above yours, copy it in your own words, than actually consider the real qeustion to which I answered myself: no, this guy was lieing. Also, great job for those of you who qeustioned my education status. If you had actually read the post instead of skimming you would know I am at the CNA stage. It's great to see people skimming and assuming the rest. This world would be so great if everyone just went off assumptions. Just what we need on an, more skimmers. I guess it would be ridiculous to read something all the way through before passing judgement on it, that would be too much work.I hope to see more supportive posts on AN in the future and I hope I have provided some food for thought.
He could possibly have a mental handicap, did you ever think about that during your inquisition? Get a life
Wow your are sick. I don't see having a mental handicap as an excuse to lie and take advantage of other handicapped iindividuals. I will "get a life" when you get the ability to have compassion for others. I pray that I never end up in your care.
It's called a "consensus", CNA1991. I was the first person to respond, and I have no problem at all with other people "copying" me. It's called "agreeing". We all agree that you were wrong. You're certainly free to continue to have your own opinion about it, but if you have a hard time with people disagreeing with you, then yes, you probably shouldn't be posting here, or anywhere else on the Internet where you solicit other people's opinions. If you can't handle other people's opinions, don't ask for them!
And even if he were a nursing student, even if he were a nurse, no one should be asking him for medical advice -- that's what doctors are for. I hope you don't think that the fact that you are a nursing student means you should be giving out medical advice, any more than the nursing student "impersonator" should be doing so.
Personally, I'm a little weirded out by the fact that the OP decided to interrogate someone because they were in scrubs. Last time I checked, it is not illegal for anyone other than healthcare workers to wear scrubs. Nor is it illegal to refuse to answer someone's questions, especially when the questioner is being intrusive which--with all due respect to the OP--was exactly what they were being. Was he lying? Don't know--I wasn't there and I don't know him. Was the OP correct? Don't know--I wasn't there and the OP is only telling their perspective on the matter, so that's only one POV we have. OP: unless this person directly affects your nursing school participation in some way, shape or form, what he does is not your business. Focus on yourself and your own studies.And another gentle piece of advice to the OP: you may want to tone down your approach. Yes, you may have thought you were sussing out a fake..and maybe you did, or maybe you didn't (again, I wasn't there, I don't know). But you also don't always know the whole story and this approach of yours may end up alienating people.
Maybe I was being nosey, but I find it hard to hear him say "ask me anything" and then hear him avoid my qeustions about ns. He seemed to be an open book on every other subject so I felt safe asking him these qeustions. I promise you, I was not trying to be catty or combative but I felt like something was wrong. It turned out I was right and I was told later on by a friend that he admitted he lied. I tend to think my friends who could possibly be hurt by a phoney ARE my business. He was handing out his number encouraging them to call him for advice. I think it becomes everyones business when someone is running around with fake credentials that could possibly hurt someone who takes their advice. Just my 2 cents.
Much has been said here, and all I have to say on this is you are worrying about the wrong person. Almost disturbing how one can be so hung up on whether your "friend" is in nursing school or not. Immature much? Your post was entertaining, I'll give you that. And, we all can see that this issue is a problem for you since you felt the need to "vent" it out. We all need to do that now and again.
However, there are more important things in life you should be worrying about, not some guy who may or may not be in school and whether he's lying or not.
It's called a "consensus", CNA1991. I was the first person to respond, and I have no problem at all with other people "copying" me. It's called "agreeing". We all agree that you were wrong. You're certainly free to continue to have your own opinion about it, but if you have a hard time with people disagreeing with you, then yes, you probably shouldn't be posting here, or anywhere else on the Internet where you solicit other people's opinions. If you can't handle other people's opinions, don't ask for them!And even if he were a nursing student, even if he were a nurse, no one should be asking him for medical advice -- that's what doctors are for. I hope you don't think that the fact that you are a nursing student means you should be giving out medical advice, any more than the nursing student "impersonator" should be doing so.
If they agree they could have just liked your post or simply put "I agree". No need to waste words. I did not ask for a consensus, I asked for a person by person answer to see what they thought of my speculations-there is no "wrong" answer. In that case, I would be right because he turned out to be lieing.Unfortunatly, I can tell you did not read any of my posts fully as you would I am not yet a nursing student but only a CNA. Please fully read my posts before posting back so you can fully understand them. I am not upset at being told that I shouldn't be concerned, I am shocked that pretty much none of the ns/n on this site were concerned that someone with possibly fake credentials could be doling out advice to people that could get them hurt. You may think that it's common sense to ask a doctor for medical advice but there are plenty of niave people who will take things at face value in leu of seeing a doctor. As for "not being able to handle things", the only thing I "can't handle" is the fact that safety was not brought up at all as an issue at until one of my last posts. It's kind of hard to think that safety would be at the back of people's minds who work within it's concept everyday.
The fact that not one person here agreed with you should at least give you pause...
There really is no huge safety factor here. Anyone who would take medical advice from this guy, even if he was a star nursing student on the cusp of graduating with highest honors, is too gullible for words and would be taken in by someone else if not by him.
It's just not worth getting this worked up over. Really.
Plenty of people give out medical advice that shouldn't be giving out medical advice. Individuals calling themselves "nutritionists" (and are not dieticians) frequently offer medical advice. People who participate in pseudo-healing "sciences" believe they are qualified to give out medical advice. Sorry, but that's just how people are.
I can't just go up to every TT practitioner and tell them, "You're a fake nurse!" That doesn't protect protect anyone from them, whether or not their practice is valid.
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psu_213, BSN, RN
3,878 Posts
BTW, OP, didn't you steal this avatar from someone else??