Do I use a nickname at work?

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Should nurses use their legal name at work, or a nickname they are more accustomed to?

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Our EMR system has our legal first name. Our badges will have the name we go by in large letters, but our first and last name and title will be underneath that.

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I don't see any reason why you can't go by your nickname at work. I'd imagine you'd just have to use your legal name when signing documents.

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I use my middle name and it is a massive pain. I've worked on the same unit for several years and people still get confused since my legal name shows up as my email address, on our staffing list, and in my electronic charting. I've accidentally been assigned to two different assignments (one for one name and one for the other). I have been able to have my middle name printed on my badge. I've literally never used my first name in my entire life, but I've considered doing so out of convenience since I started nursing. You may have an easier time if your nickname is some permutation of your legal name rather than something entirely different.

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Specializes in orthopedic/trauma, Informatics, diabetes.

We seem to have had a run on people with the same first names, we all have a nickname to help when the secretary has to find us. There is an awful lot of people with "M" for a first initial LOL

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
I use my middle name and it is a massive pain.

I can understand that.

People probably mistakenly call you "Dash" when your middle name is actually "Underscore".

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People probably mistakenly call you "Dash" when your middle name is actually "Underscore".

Oh geez, don't get me started on the baby name trend of "Le-a" (pronounced 'le-dash-a') because the dash "isn't silent."

As you can see on my Wikipedia page (Underscore - Wikipedia), another term for this symbol is 'underbar,' so I respectfully request that you address me by my full name, Adventure "UnderbaRN". I will, however, respond to "Dash" for short.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
I respectfully request that you address me by my full name, Adventure "UnderbaRN". I will, however, respond to "Dash" for short.

Your middle and last name sort of sounds a lot like a crawl space beneath a large farm building used for storing grain, hay, or straw or for housing livestock.

A lot of names are toponymic in nature, being derived from a place, Dash.

How interesting.

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Oh geez, don't get me started on the baby name trend of "Le-a" (pronounced 'le-dash-a') because the dash "isn't silent."

The first time I saw that name and the parent said. "It's all pronounced." I quite seriously looked at the child and said lehyphena. Oops, "dash" never even occurred to me.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
"Le-a" (pronounced 'le-dash-a')

I don't know- if the name was pronounced lah-daush-a, it would give it more of a French sound to it. People might hold the name in higher regard.

For example, I had the name on my badge printed as "DAVERN" and people would call me day-vern.

Then a patient began pronouncing it dah-vern, which sounded kind of French.

Kind of more classy too, don't you think?

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

Well, we've shopped at Tar-jhay for years. It's quite fancy and upscale. :-)

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