First name or surname?

[Scooter321]

This wannabe nurse is curious. I've read a few things on this site that lead me to believe a nurse doesn't typically go by his/her surname while at work. I understand that using your first name comes across as friendly and probably puts a patient at ease. What puzzles me a bit though are the comments to the effect that most nurses don't even want their surname known. A security issue, perhaps? I don't get why it is any different to doctors using their surnames, and I've yet to have an M.D. be introduced to me (a patient) by a first name. What gives? Or are the "don't show your surname" people in the minority?

[flightnurse2b, LPN]

As a consumer, I expect to know exactly who I'm dealing with, and I'm the kind of person who always asks for that person's full name. Yup, I take notes. I'm sure I'll one day be referred to as the patient from hell. But I think it's presumputous to expect anyone to accept medication or other treatment from a stranger, no questions asked, simply because his or her badge says, "Jane, RN." And I expect a professional who takes pride in her work to take accountability for that work -- by fully identifying herself.

ok, YOU have good intentions with your note taking. but how do i know that when i give someone my last name, they aren't writing it down for a malicious reason?

the hospital i came from was smack dab in the middle of a very high crime area. our FF's were crack dealers, prostitutes, gang members, inmates, etc. i don't know too many people who would be comfortable handing out their last name in this population.

i once worked with a nurse who had to move away and change her name because a known gang member thought she "turned him in". he even had his friends stalk her at work, drive by her house and call her cell phone and give her messages like "we're coming for you" and "we know where your kids go to school". i used to pick her up everyday from her house, which she sat in pitch black, all day, with a deputy sitting in the driveway, in fear that these guys were coming to kill her and her family. since then, the badges for people who worked in the ED were printed first name and title only. end of story.

when i did my mental health rotation, we spent 3 wks. at a high security psychiatric prison. those guys knew everything about everyone, and the first thing my instructor said was "if your last name isn't covered on your badge, cover it now." the inmates there were notorious for looking people up and sending them letters with revealing information to scare them. they had nurses down to their license plate numbers.

there are alot of really bad people out there... most patients are not serial killers, but there is always that one in a million that is. sorry. i think that people who work in high risk areas that dont feel comfortable sharing their last name with patients, shouldnt be required to.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

I can see the "professional' argument . . .but at the same time I think it should be up to the individual . . . this reminds me of the argument for going back to wearing all white so we can be recognized as a nurse and not housekeeping.

(I disagree vehemently with the "all white" argument. )

I don't think having your full name on your name tag is what determines whether you are a professional or not.

Nursing IS a profession and we are professionals - regardless of what is printed on a name tag.

It ain't that big a deal . . .imho.

I live in a small town and everyone already knows me - but we didn't put our last names on our badges per policy.

steph

[SaderNurse05, BSN, RN]

I consider myself a professional. I think there is a big difference between caring for a patient who is assigned to me vs being employed directly by that person, such as an attorney. I agree that patients have a right to know who is caring for them and the fact that I am a nurse, but I do not think they need to know my last name. I really do think it can be a security issue. Just my 0.02.

[Freedom42]

ok, YOU have good intentions with your note taking. but how do i know that when i give someone my last name, they aren't writing it down for a malicious reason?

the hospital i came from was smack dab in the middle of a very high crime area. our FF's were crack dealers, prostitutes, gang members, inmates, etc. i don't know too many people who would be comfortable handing out their last name in this population.

i once worked with a nurse who had to move away and change her name because a known gang member thought she "turned him in". he even had his friends stalk her at work, drive by her house and call her cell phone and give her messages like "we're coming for you" and "we know where your kids go to school". i used to pick her up everyday from her house, which she sat in pitch black, all day, with a deputy sitting in the driveway, in fear that these guys were coming to kill her and her family. since then, the badges for people who worked in the ED were printed first name and title only. end of story.

when i did my mental health rotation, we spent 3 wks. at a high security psychiatric prison. those guys knew everything about everyone, and the first thing my instructor said was "if your last name isn't covered on your badge, cover it now." the inmates there were notorious for looking people up and sending them letters with revealing information to scare them. they had nurses down to their license plate numbers.

there are alot of really bad people out there... most patients are not serial killers, but there is always that one in a million that is. sorry. i think that people who work in high risk areas that dont feel comfortable sharing their last name with patients, shouldnt be required to.

Don't think I'm unsympathetic. For years, I couldn't get umbrella liability coverage due to my previous profession. Companies deemed me too high a risk because people were likely to exact revenge. These days, I'm married to someone with a high-profile job in law enforcement. He deals with violent offenders every day. But as he's noted, they all know who he is and where he works. If they want to strike, they know exactly when and where to find him. Calling himself "Bob, JD," doesn't lessen the risk. (Are our names and addresses in the phone book? No. We don't wave a red flag. But that doesn't mean someone with half a brain couldn't find us -- and they wouldn't need the Internet to do it, as someone else has suggested.)

I can appreciate the anxiety that must accompany working in a high-crime area. I can appreciate concern over psychiatric patients (though I wonder how likely they are to track you down if you're not listed in the phone book. How many would make the effort?) But for security purpsoes, I can't see how it matters whether you go by Jane or Jane Doe. Unless you have a body guard, you're vulnerable the minute you start making your way across the parking lot. If there's really a gang member stalking you and making note of your movements, does it really matter if he knows your last name while he's following you around?

[peds_cna]

I am here to provide medical care in a professional and safe manner. I am also here to protect myself. If someone finds me unprofessional due to a lack of revealing my last name, disregarding the heart I put into my work and professionalism in that area, I won't lose sleep at night.

[blueinplaid]

I don't believe that whether I share my last name is a reflection of my professionalism; my nursing care does that for me. My last name is on my badge in the ED, but in small letters. My first name is in bold black and my last name is small print, different font altogether and in white, making it difficult to ascertain just by glance. For those patients who ask my last name, I comply most of the time. Whether it is or not, I personally feel more comfortable keeping that information to myself and not voluntering it.

[jessiern, BSN, RN]

Our hospital just swtiched to no last name badges after much pleading from the nurses.

We did have a patient (he was very disturbed) that was a frequent flier. He used to look us up in the phone book and give us calls to be sure we where okay. He asked us on dates. He even went to one nurses home after finding her address online.

Kinda scared all of us.

[FireStarterRN, BSN, RN]

I prefer to remain more anonymous to my patients because of the intimate nature of the job.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

lol .... whether or not i give my last name to my patient ( which is none of their business) does not mean that i am not a competent and caring nurse. if my patient has a problem with me he/she can see the nurse manager. if they want to sue me then they can get my name from the uppers at that time.

i sure did. i stand by my statement. a nurse who refuses to provide a client with her full name is not a professional, but a cog in a hospital wheel.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I was browsing on my county's appraisal district website recently. I did a search of my name on the site, and my name and address appeared, as well as size of my home, size of the lot upon which the house sits, year built, current tax value, owner information, and property location. Since I'm the owner, my information appeared. In other words, any computer-literate person can find me if they have access to my last name.

Sorry, but the information age is too powerful these days. All you're going to get out of me is a first name.

[Katie82, RN]

I also have a challenging surname, so it makes people more comfortable when I ask them to call me by my first name. I have never equated this with a sign of disrespect between adults. There are other ways to detect disrespect. I usually refer to my patients by their first name, but preface it with a Miss or Mister - Miss Susie. I live in the south, and that seems to work well. As for doctors, if it is someone I have worked with for a while, I call them by their first name and have never had a complaint. I always refer to them as "Dr ____ in front of others, but if a doctor calls me by my first name, he can expect the same in return.

[jojotoo, RN]

At my hospital, the nurses on the floor have first and last names on their badges. But ER nurses and techs do not. We are the first line for any crazy that comes in to the building. It's definitely a security issue.

So why do MDs have their last names on their badges? MDs do not enforce visitor policy. I do. MDs do not restrain combative patients. I do. MDs do not make the calls to law enforcement to report abuse or assaults. I do. I could go on and on. The point is, the MD is not usually the one that angers the patient or visitor. I am. So, I'm the one that needs the protection.