Ever had folks assume you're the Aide not the Nurse????!!!!

Nurses General Nursing

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As a preamble. I have no disrespect for nurses' aides, since I was one myself what 3 years ago. It's a very difficult and financially unrewarding career (disrespected and belittled).

Lately, I do note, at my new place of work I've been mistaken for being an aide and not an RN. Perhaps since I don't hesitate to help out my people to save time with hygiene duties, with meal trays, with vitals...since our aides are lumped with 11 patients each mind you.

An aside note. I don't like it when a nurse over burdens or should I say monopolizes an aide on our unit with everything under the sun...so that when I make a request it gets placed down to number 9 on a list of 8 requests from that SOB (not short of breath) nurse.

Anyway, getting back to the issue at hand. Do we define nursing as wielding power and not lifting a finger to assist patients and chart away me maties? Or do we define it as making the care of our patient's swift and let charting go by the wayside? I hate overtime, please don't get me wrong.

I hate when an aide promises to do something and doesn't deliver. So I find I'm having to follow up with her/him. I don't like being someone's parent. I have patient kiddies to look out for.

I also hate it when I feel picked on by the charge nurse as I'm charting. Get this, answer this call light, where did so and so put this, do you know or could you find so and so....etc etc etc. Sheeeessssh!:argue::argue::argue::sniff::sniff::devil::no::clown:

When I was doing my psych rotation, they told us to make sure the doors closed behind us because they had those folks who wanted to get out. So, I'm going thru a door, and here comes this scruffy, dirty, disheveled woman storming the door. I squeaked and jerked the door shut, with me on the other side. The scruffy woman fishes around in her clothes and pulls out an ID, and says, "I work here, open the door." She doesn't look anything like the picture, and as far as I know, she's just strangled a nurse and took her ID. So, of course, I don't let her out, and she starts yelling at me that she left her keys, let her out.

I swear, I didn't know she was the DON.

Turns out, she'd come in to help on her day off, got into a tussle with a violent pt, and helped staff restrain the person ---and in the course of things, got her hair disheveled, food spilled down her front, etc., and left her keys on the wrong side of the door. And of course, the picture on her ID was 10 years and several hair colors ago...

Gee, and they never interviewed me when they came for career day, wonder why....:imbar

:rotfl: great, GREAT story, nerd.

leslie :yeah:

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everytime i go into a room i state, " i am mrs. smith and i am a registered nurse." its pretty simple. i learned this from reading, "nursing against all odds."

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Specializes in 2 years as CNA.
When I was doing my psych rotation, they told us to make sure the doors closed behind us because they had those folks who wanted to get out. So, I'm going thru a door, and here comes this scruffy, dirty, disheveled woman storming the door. I squeaked and jerked the door shut, with me on the other side. The scruffy woman fishes around in her clothes and pulls out an ID, and says, "I work here, open the door." She doesn't look anything like the picture, and as far as I know, she's just strangled a nurse and took her ID. So, of course, I don't let her out, and she starts yelling at me that she left her keys, let her out.

I swear, I didn't know she was the DON.

Turns out, she'd come in to help on her day off, got into a tussle with a violent pt, and helped staff restrain the person ---and in the course of things, got her hair disheveled, food spilled down her front, etc., and left her keys on the wrong side of the door. And of course, the picture on her ID was 10 years and several hair colors ago...

Gee, and they never interviewed me when they came for career day, wonder why....:imbar

Loved that story! I can just picture it. :chuckle

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Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.

i've noticed that a lot of the time, patients think everyone in the hospital is either a "nurse" or a "doctor." those in white coats are doctors and everyone else, by default, must be a nurse!

a lot of patients don't believe i'm a nurse because i'm 5'1" with long hair in a high-ish ponytail in brightly colored scrubs and don't always wear makeup to work (meaning i look rather young). then i have patients who think i'm far older than i am.

i also think a problem is the titles we have. there are rns, lpns, gns, gpns, nursing students, pcts, snes, nps, and cnss in my hospital system (add in stuff like rnc, bsn, adn, ccrn, etc. and you have even more alphabet soup-induced confusion). other hospitals have cnas and pcas, among other titles. so it's confusing as to what title goes with what practice and role. i had a patient who thought nps were those without licenses.

i always started off with, "hi, i'm jess and i'm going to be your nurse overnight (or whatever, but medsurg for me was usually 7p-7a) and karen (or whoever the pct/sne assigned to that patient) is going to be working with me tonight."

jess

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Specializes in psych. rehab nursing, float pool.
lpns are nurses.
yes, i am aware of that. :rolleyes:

the way i stated it was for the benefit of a prior posting which posed people dressing in such a way as to misrepresent themselves. i do not recall who posted it.

:smokin:

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I always introduce myself and tell my patients that I am going to be their nurse. They must not pay attention or don't remember because of all the pain meds they are taking, because later on in the shift some patients will ask me if I am a student. Must be cuz I look young! :clown:

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Specializes in Psychiatrics.

Let me start off by saying I have been a CNA for 2 years...worked as a LPN for 7 months...and have now been an RN for over 2 years now. A couple of months ago I walked into a nursing home...(I work for an agency and the nursing home that I walked into I had never been to before) and one of the nurses immediately assumed I was a CNA...she told me I was going to be working with so-n-so... another aid. I hadn't even had the chance to even say "Hi...I'm elizabeth....the nursing from....(my company name)" When I stated that I was the nurse....she said...."Uh...no you're not.:confused:" Like I didn't know what I was....like I was the one confused. I again replied..."Yeah...I'm the nurse...my name is elizabeth....I work for... and my shift is (I don't remember the shift)". She still didn't believe me. :banghead::banghead::banghead: I finally asked...."Do you want to see my license? I have it with me." I actually had to show it to her before she would give me report. I finished my shift there and have never returned.

So yeah...I have been confused with being and aide....but most of the time it doesn't bother me.....this is the one time that it did.:rolleyes::nurse::rolleyes:

elizabeth8503

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Specializes in Peds.

I had that happen A LOT! I look about 16, not 23. I actually had someone tell me they haven't had a nurse all day. I had been in her room ALL DAY. I explained I was her nurse, a RN. she insisted I was a student, not a "real" nurse. I finally gave up.

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Specializes in med surg, LTC, ER , OB, PSYCH.

hi, i also just do what ever is needed and although i've had funny looks and comments for doing tech work,it doesn't bother me in the least. with that said, i do mind that people can't seem to see the rn on my badge verses the pct on the tech's badge and refers to us all as nurse !

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Specializes in med surg, LTC, ER , OB, PSYCH.

i generally just do whatever needs done whenever there is time without paying too much attention to titles;:nurse: but it is easy to become agravated when people call everyone nurse;:banghead: especially if the tech has upset them and they are complaining !:no:

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Specializes in neuro, critical care, open heart..
When I was doing my psych rotation, they told us to make sure the doors closed behind us because they had those folks who wanted to get out. So, I'm going thru a door, and here comes this scruffy, dirty, disheveled woman storming the door. I squeaked and jerked the door shut, with me on the other side. The scruffy woman fishes around in her clothes and pulls out an ID, and says, "I work here, open the door." She doesn't look anything like the picture, and as far as I know, she's just strangled a nurse and took her ID. So, of course, I don't let her out, and she starts yelling at me that she left her keys, let her out.

I swear, I didn't know she was the DON.

Turns out, she'd come in to help on her day off, got into a tussle with a violent pt, and helped staff restrain the person ---and in the course of things, got her hair disheveled, food spilled down her front, etc., and left her keys on the wrong side of the door. And of course, the picture on her ID was 10 years and several hair colors ago...

Gee, and they never interviewed me when they came for career day, wonder why....:imbar

That was freaking hEEEEEEEEEElarious!!!!!:yeah::yeah::yeah::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::roll

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Even after I introduced myself as his nurse, assessed, gave a med, and discussed his plan of care, recently one of my pt's thought the aide working with me was his nurse! I'm not sure what he thought *I* was.

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