Does this *really* bother any other nursing students??

[Italia23]

so, i don't want to sound catty at all. (great way to start a thread lol) anyways, does it bother anyone else when people who are not nurses call themselves a nurse? now i am not talking about when for example a cna is caring for a dementia pt. really they aren't going to say no i am not a nurse i am a cna and then the pt will ask what that is and maybe it will confuse them and that's not good for the pt. i get that! 100% what i don't get is how other people will tell fully functioning people that they are a nurse when they aren't. they aren't even a student nurse. they are an assistant of some sort. i just feel like that isn't right. i am an lpn/lvn student. i would never try and get someone to think i was an rn student you kno? nursing to me is not just a career it's a total lifestyle. i have given up so much to be an lpn student and i am very proud of my chosen path and find no need to represent myself as anything other than what i am. i don't know why people feel the need to pretend to be a nurse? is it just me? i have friends who are ma's and cna's and we will be out to dinner or shopping or whatever and they will tell people they are nurses. im like what?!?! i feel like nurses work very hard to earn the title! and the title "nurse" is protected in my state so it is illegal to say your a nurse if your not. but i am not going to call the bon you kno?!!? how does everyone else feel about this???? i just feel like people should be proud of whatever they are! there is nothing, nothing wrong with being an assistant! what would healthcare be without them?! so i think they should just be proud of who they are. period!

[nurse2b013]

I hear ya!!! I'm a CNA (and also waiting anxiously by the mailbox every day to see if I got accepted into my school's RN program!!!) and I would never tell someone that I am already a nurse. (Dementia patients aside...it is more trouble to correct them and confuse them further)

I have an acquaintance (a friend of a friend) on facebook who is also a CNA, and has been for years. I think she tried to take a couple of nursing pre-reqs, like A&P and couldn't pass, so that was as far as her schooling went. Anyhoo, she has that she is a nurse all over her FB page! On all of her previous jobs listed, she puts "nurse" as her profession. She even made it look like she graduated from college with a nursing degree on her page.

I'm sorry, it drives me nuts!!! Maybe I'm just too sensitive (this girl gets on my nerves in real life too, haha!) but I don't think that's right. Granted, it's just FB...but I've heard that she tells people this in the real world too!!!

[LeO13]

I've never encountered anyone who is like that, if I did it wouldn't bother me at all. You can call yourself a nurse, doctor or whatever you want to call yourself, but when time comes when you're putting your patient's life on your hands then that's when you should know your role.

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

I think its silly. I actually was on f/b today and there was an advertisement that read "Nursing Careers" with a picture of a young sexy girl in the old fashioned hat and low cut cleavage showing t-shirt with a stethoscope around her neck, and I tell you this because this was insulting enough, but then the "nursing careers" that tehy were offering were medical assistant, cna, and medical billing. Wow why I apply to nursing school when you can just go into nursing as a ma, cna, or biller. I also have a cousin thats an CNA and whenever I talk about ns he says oh yeah thats how it is for us in nursing.

[akanini, MSN, RN]

This topic has been discussed so many times on this website and it's sooooo true. I can't stand for people to say they are nurses when they are NOT. It's unethical. PERIOD. I'm not going to say I'm a doctor. I'm a LPN, RN hopeful. I don't even say "nurse" when I'm asked. I say "LPN." I don't want anyone to be confused about my title and capabilities.

[LeO13]

I don't want to sound biased or anything but most of the female nursing students I know, do feel that they are on a different level compared to other people to be more specific, non-nursing students. Heck, even my wife once in a while feel that she needs to chime in once in a while in a conversation and say "Well, I'm a Registered Nurse". While, most of the male nursing students I know could care less about their status, their main objective is to finish school and get a job. I know not everyone feels this way, but most students I've encountered are like this.

[Moogie]

I have an acquaintance (a friend of a friend) on facebook who is also a CNA, and has been for years. I think she tried to take a couple of nursing pre-reqs, like A&P and couldn't pass, so that was as far as her schooling went. Anyhoo, she has that she is a nurse all over her FB page! On all of her previous jobs listed, she puts "nurse" as her profession. She even made it look like she graduated from college with a nursing degree on her page.

I'm sorry, it drives me nuts!!! Maybe I'm just too sensitive (this girl gets on my nerves in real life too, haha!) but I don't think that's right. Granted, it's just FB...but I've heard that she tells people this in the real world too!!!

Maybe I am being overly cautious, but the sort of behavior by this acquaintance concerns me deeply. I'm loathe to make a judgment without knowing her, but I wonder if she would be the type to falsify credentials in order to get a job as a nurse. I think someone who will dishonest on a FB page might be at least tempted to falsify credentials in a job application.

[kenpochic]

Silly but yes I do. I'm in RN school and not to sound like a snob but i dont like it when people call medical assistants, cna etc nurses. there not. I think in general society doesnt realize what RNs do. not to put down med assistants and cnas but we all have our job and we deserve recognitions and respect for it. calling a cna a nurse is like calling a flight attendent a pilot lol

[That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

As tyler durden said "sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken."

[taalyn_1, CNA]

At work if a family member or a resident asks me if Im their nurse or says "Mom wants her meds" I simply say "I am not your nurse, I am your aide but I will let the nurse know you need to see her". Outside of work I tell everyone who asks that I am going to be an RN and am attending school. I guess I am proud to be a CNA/Nursing student and dont want to take on that "Nurse" role until Ive earned it. lol.

[Student KMW]

I am totally annoyed by this! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one :) I am working very hard to earn my title of RN, and I will be very proud of being a nurse when I earn it. I know someone who could not get into nursing school and chose to get her degree as a Medical Assistant. I'm glad she decided to continue her education, but what bothers me is that she calls herself a nurse. I feel like her behavior discredits all of my hard work.

People who know both of us, and much of my family, fail to see the difference in our degrees. I am almost done with my intense four year degree, and it has been hard. She is finishing a 1 or 2 year program, and often boasts about her high grades and accomplishments. People get confused and wonder why I don't get better grades (I get Bs instead of As which I am very proud of!). People also get confused about what our roles are. I will be a Registered Nurse, she will be a Medical Assistant. To me there is a LARGE difference. Neither "better" than the other, because we both have value in the system. But, don't claim to be a nurse when you are not one. I feel like all of my hard work, time, and effort have been belittled by her claiming to be a nurse.

Just my

[lillymom]

I am a CMA and people call me a nurse all the time. I let the pt. know I am not a nurse because I am proud of my title and spent two years getting it (none of the 2 years were pre-req's all major course classes).

I will hopefully be going to nursing school for my RN this year. I cannot predict the future so my mind might change, but I don't think I will ever be offended for people calling themselves nurses when they aren't. This is because I, and a lot of other people, think of nurse as a general term (nurse=someone who provides care or assists a MD).

The part that would make me mad is if they were calling themsevels RN, LPN, CMA whatever else and were not. I am a Certified MA not a MA, and when I hopefully graduate nursing school I will be a Registered Nurse not just a nurse. To me that is what makes the difference.

I also wanted to add that I NEVER assume that the person in a MD's office or hospital is a nurse or what type of nurse they are. If I want to know their title I ask but it is usually printed on their name badge if they have one.