Fake Nurses

Nurses General Nursing

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I was watching the David Letterman show and actress Minka Kelly stated that she was a scrub nurse. I'm like yeah, go girl. Then I look it up on the Internet then combine her statement that a scrub nurse told her it takes one year to be certified and I come to the conclusion that she was actually a scrub tech!!!!***. Awhile back my 7 year old nephew tells me his mom is a nurse like me!!! I said, "no sugar, she's a nursing assistant". My brother was convinced that his wife was an RN. So when his wife came home I asked her. With my line of questioning she had to admit she was lying and was actually a nursing assistant. Come on man, why lie? I worked hard for my degree so I hate when people go around and lie on my profession. You're an aide, what's wrong with that? I used to be an aide. I was unsatisfied so I continued my education and became an official nurse. If you're unhappy, do the same.

I'm wondering, isn't this one of the reasons that professional nursing is so misunderstood by the public?

I'm only a student, and I bet if I introduced myself to a pt in clinicals as simply "their nurse", I'd be corrected faster than you can say vital signs. And not just by my instructor.

As said by many, an NP, PA, RN, whatever would fry like bacon if they introduced themselves as a physician. So why is it ok for someone to pose as a licensed nurse? I'm having a hard time understanding this double standard.

Specializes in ED, Telemetry,Hospice, ICU, Supervisor.
I'm wondering, isn't this one of the reasons that professional nursing is so misunderstood by the public?

I'm only a student, and I bet if I introduced myself to a pt in clinicals as simply "their nurse", I'd be corrected faster than you can say vital signs. And not just by my instructor.

As said by many, an NP, PA, RN, whatever would fry like bacon if they introduced themselves as a physician. So why is it ok for someone to pose as a licensed nurse? I'm having a hard time understanding this double standard.

In my clinical site your butt would fry as would mine if I ever introduce myself as a nurse when clearly my uniform and name tag says RN student. I would get chewed out so fast it would make my head spin for trying to represent myself as an actual licensed RN. On the med surge floor we have CNAs and the LVN/RNs all refer to them as aides. There is a clear cut distinction of what a healthcare worker can call themselves. When blood draws are ordered the Phlebotomy techs come in and they are referred to as techs.

We always introduce ourselves like " Hello Mr/Mrs/ms (insert name) I am (insert name) and I will be your RN student today".

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

I think it's murky to call one's self an "RN student." The patient could hear the "RN" part and not the rest/be confused about what you really are.

We were identified as "student nurses."

Specializes in ED, Telemetry,Hospice, ICU, Supervisor.
I think it's murky to call one's self an "RN student." The patient could hear the "RN" part and not the rest/be confused about what you really are.

We were identified as "student nurses."

The hospital has LVN Students and RN students so we have to differentiate ourselves from them as well. We also wear all white bright blinding uniforms which is another dead give away we are not regular staff RNs, and we have yellow name tags that scream RN STUDENT printed in bold. Yes we do wear those god awful all white uniforms. The LVN students wear green uniforms, respiratory techs students wear blue, and physical therapy students wear street clothes.

Trust me my patients know I am an Rn student. You can spot us a mile away... literally :)

Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.
The hospital has LVN Students and RN students so we have to differentiate ourselves from them as well. We also wear all white bright blinding uniforms which is another dead give away we are not regular staff RNs, and we have yellow name tags that scream RN STUDENT printed in bold. Yes we do wear those god awful all white uniforms. The LVN students wear green uniforms, respiratory techs students wear blue, and physical therapy students wear street clothes.

Trust me my patients know I am an Rn student. You can spot us a mile away... literally :)

Yup, we had to do the nasty all white scrubs too (clearly, this dress code is chosen by a post-menopausal person in charge). Also, our photo ID's look NOTHING like staff ID's. We were identified as NURSING STUDENTS and there was never any confusion. Our names also went up on the wipe board in each clients room after the STUDENT: __________ spot.

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
The hospital has LVN Students and RN students so we have to differentiate ourselves from them as well. We also wear all white bright blinding uniforms which is another dead give away we are not regular staff RNs, and we have yellow name tags that scream RN STUDENT printed in bold. Yes we do wear those god awful all white uniforms. The LVN students wear green uniforms, respiratory techs students wear blue, and physical therapy students wear street clothes.

Trust me my patients know I am an Rn student. You can spot us a mile away... literally :)

We had LPN students as well; student nurses were student nurses. I guess I'm not doing a good job of communicating using "RN" in your title when you are not an RN (or LPN, as the case may be).

My husband thinks he's Superman; I don't tell him otherwise.

I signed up to add something to this discussion from a nonmedical perspective, regarding fake nurses.

I worked for a nonmedical care company whose owner conspired with one of our employees for her to perform RN duties. She was in pre-nursing school at the community college, but of course--she knew as much as any nurse...! She was really good at faking it--and could rush back to the office, look things up, research, or call one of her three sisters who actually WERE nurses...she was an excellent fakir.

The owner and she made thousands of dollars over a period of a few years by billing clients for "nurse visits"--things like wound care, dressing changes, shots, med setups and administering meds, even starting catheters, going with clients to doctor visits (allowing doctors to believe she was a nurse), calling in meds, changing meds, etc.

One day a client fell, and hit her head severely. The "nurse" was busy, and blew off the repeated calls from the care provider and family to see the client. Everyone put their trust in the "nurse"---if she didn't think it a big deal, they were going to trust her judgement.

Three days later FakeNurse finally gave in and went to the client---and promptly called the ambulance because the client had a severe brain bleed that was obvious even to her untrained eye.

The neurologist said the client would have had a much better chance of surviving had she received prompt treatment the day she fell. The family NEVER HAD A CLUE that their loved one was not being treated by an RN, or that they'd paid thousands of dollars for RN visits to an unlicensed pre-nursing student.

The client died two days after being admitted to the hospital.

In my experience working for that company and others in the same field, there are always wannabe nurses. CNAs or not--who will use the term "nurse" really loosely. Allowing them to do that, is so risky! It's also an insult to people who work their butts off going to school and getting the proper licensing.

my .02

I get extremely annoyed in my urgent care clinic when a patient comes in and the x-ray tech runs up and grabs the chart before I can and says "Hello Patient, my name is ----, I'm going to be the nurse taking care of you today." And when the doctor walks out of a room and says "The nurse will be in with your shot in a few minutes," and then tells the x-ray tech to do it. Is that even legal?

Funny though, whenever there is a true emergency, NO ONE wants to be the nurse. :D

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