For those of you that are a nurse and those of you who call yourself a nurse!!

Nurses General Nursing

Published

OH MY GOSH!!!!

I JUST GOT HOME A LITTLE WHILE AGO, WHEN I LOGGED IN TO FIND OUT THAT THE POST I POSTED ON SATURDAY HAS BECOME QUITE ENGAGING!!!!

I HAVE JUST GOT DONE WITH A 20 HOUR SHIFT!!!

I AM QUITE TIRED, BUT I HAVE TO REPLY!!!!

I WORKED A 20 HOUR SHIFT, ALL OF WHICH IS OVERTIME DUE TO CALL OFFS AND POOR STAFFING!!!

DURING THE PAST 20 HOURS I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FOLLOWING THINGS AS A RN:

--ASSESSING PATIENTS

--EDUCATING PATIENTS AND FAMILIES

--CRITICAL THINKING

--DELEGATING TASKS to unlcensed

--ADMINISTERING MEDICATIONS-IV, IM, PO, VIA TUBE, ETC

--STARTING IV'S

--MONITORING LAB VALUES AND REPORTING THEM TO MD'S

--ANSWERING QUESTIONS WITH FAMILY MEMBERS, ON THE PHONE OR IN THE HOSPITAL

--ASSESSING

--TALKING TO OTHER ANCILARY DEPT: LIKE SPEECH, OCCUP, PHYSICAL THERAPIES, NUCLEAR MED, ECHO, MRI, LAB, PHARMACY, X RAY, ETC

--GATHERING SPECIMENS, BLOOD, URINE, STOOL, SPUTUM, WOUND DRAINAGE, ETC.

--CHECKING THE CHART FOR NEW ORDERS, AND ENTERING THEM INTO THE COMPUTER. CHECKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE UNIT CLERKS ORDERS ARE ACCURATE AND CORREST, AND FIXXING THEM IF THEY ARE NOT

--REPORTING TO DOCTORS, ANSWERING DOCTORS, ETC

--EKG's

--BLOOD DRAWS

--SUPERVISING UNLICENSED

--"HELPING" A INTERN

--ASSESSING

--ASSISTING WITH A BLUE CODE (CPR, AIRWAY, MEDS, ETC)

--DETERMING WHAT TYPE OF HEART RHYTHM MY PATIENTS HAVE AND MAKE THE RIGHT CALL TO FIX THE ARRYTHMIA

--DOCUMENTING WITHIN LEGAL TIMES ON IV SITES, RESTRAINTS, VENT SETTINGS AND PATIENT STATUS, I&O, MEDICATIONS GIVEN, SCHEDULED AND PRN, ETC

--DRESSING CHANGES WITH MEDICATIONS

--TRACH CARE ON VENT PATIENTS

--SUCTIONING TRACH Q 2 HOUR/ PRN

--ASSESSING

--PERICARE Q SHIFT/ CATH CARE Q SHIFT/PRN ORAL CARE PRN/ QSHIFT, ETC

--ASSIST WITH BATHS, (YES I GET MY HANDS DIRTY!! THAT IS NOT BENEATH ANY US!!!)

--CHECKING PLACEMENT OF DUO TUBES, NG TUBES, PEG TUBES, ETC

--ANSWERING CALL LIGHTS

--OBTAINING BLOOD SPEC. FROM CENTRAL LINES

--ASSESSING IV SITES Q 2 HOUR

--EDUCATING STAFF

--FIXING STAFFING PROBLEMSAFTER A CALL OFF (SOMETIMES IMPACTING ON THE LENGTH OF WORK)

--COMMUNICATING WITH THE NURSE SUPERVISOR

--COMPLETING PAPERWORK RELATED TO ANNUAL REVIEW (PATIENT CARE CONFERENCES, REEASRCH AN JOURANL ARTICLE AND EDUCATE THE STAFF, ETC)

--BEING A PRECEPTOR FOR NEW NURSES TO OUR FLOOR

--IS THERE A NEED TO GO ON AND ON AND ON??????????

I NEVER INTENDED MY POST TO CREATE SUCH RAGE .

BUT AFTER I STARTED TO READ ABOUT HOW NA's believe that they are "nurses" since the term nurse is used in their job title, I WAS EVEN MORE MAD THAN WHEN I HEARD THE NEWS STORY THAT STARTED THIS HOT TOPIC!!!!!

HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF A NURSE~!!!!!

CAN YOU STATE THAT YOU HAVE DONE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING THAT I HAVE JUST GOT DONE STATING FOR THE MOST PART!!!!

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY NURSING EDUCATION? THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE FIELD OF NURSING GETS NO RESPECT AND WHY WE ARE AT WIT ENDS TO GET MORE NURSES AND KEEP THEM IN NURSING!!!!!

I UNDERSTAND THAT SOME OF THESE THINGS ARE CARRIED OUT BY UNLICENSED BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT, I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU DOING THESE TASKS!!!

IT IS MY LICENSE AND UNTIL YOU HAVE ONE, YOU WILL NEVER KNOW THE ENTIRE RESPONSIBLITY THAT WE AS NURSES HAVE!!! WE WILL BE THE ONES THAT GO TO COURT AND GET SUED!! YOU WILL ONLY LOOSE A JOB AND MOVE ON TO THE NEXT IF THAT HAPPENS AT ALL!!! WE WILL LOSE OUR CAREEER, THAT WE WORKED SO HARD FOR!!!

I ALSO THINK THAT THOSE OF YOU ARE REFERRING YOURSELF AS NURSES, MAY SUGGEST THAT YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE BENEATH CALLING YOURSELF A NURSES ASSISTANT OR A NURSES AIDE!!!

IT IS YOUR JOB TITLE!! ARE YOU NOT PROUD TO BE ASSISTING THE NURSE AS WELL AS THE DOCTOR!!!

I TREAT EVERYONE I WORK WITH THE MOST RESPECT. THIS INCLUDES ALL NURSES AND ALL UNLICENSED.

I WOULD RECCOMEND THAT IF YOU HAVE ANY HURT FEELINGS OVER THIS, THEN GO TO SCHOOL AND BECOME A NURSE IF YOU WANT TO BE CALLED A NURSE!!!

IF NOT GET OVER IT AS THE SONG SAYS!!!

ALSO, IT WAS NOT INTENDEd in my first posting TO SAY THAT NURSES WOULD NOT MOLEST OR RAPE A PATIENT!!! We are all human!!!

I WANT TO CLARIFY THAT I COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT THE MEDIA DID IT AGAIN!!!! A NURSE???? A NURSE IS NOT A PERSONAL CARE AIDE!!!

IF YOU DO NOT GET IT NOW, PLEASE GET a "CLUE"

AND BEFORE ANY UNLICENSED WORKERS GET ANY RESPECT, NURSES WILL NEED TO GET SOME FIRST!!!

I DO NOT PRESENT MY SELF AS A 'GLORIFIED' (BECAUSE I HAVE A "LICENSE") "ASS WIPER" AS SOME OF YOU HAVE CALLED YOURSELF!!!

HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT YOU DO NOT EVEN RESPECT THE JOB THAT YOU DO ON A DAILY BASIS????

MAYBE YOU COULD START GAINING MORE RESPECT WHEN YOU STOP CALLING YOURSELF------------

AN "ASS-WIPER"

PLEASE REPLY IF YOU DISAGREE!!!

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU AND DEBATE THE ISSUE~~~!!!!

FOR ALL NURSES OUT THERE, I WOULD URGE YOU TO TAKE ACTION WHEN ANY ONE TAKES OUR CAREER FOR ADVANTAGE!!

WE NEED TO SHOW THE PUBLIC WHAT WE REALLY DO IN OUR CAREER!!! THIS WILL EVENTUALLY HELP THE NURSING SHORTAGE!!!!

:)

[ May 21, 2001: Message edited by: StaceRacer1 ]

Well I have a LPN license and I also graduated from the Registered Nursing Program and I am currently taking classes towards my BSN but I have not yet taken the boards so I am still working at my current job under my LPN license because I refuse to work RN/LP so when someone asks me "Are you a RN?" I proudly and kindly tell them " I am a graduate nurse and I will soon take my boards to receive my license then I will be a RN. I will be able to assume my RN role in time so until then I stay within my scope of practice and I proudly press on as I know my hat will change very very soon........

Here in Ontario, Canada, we have Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurses. Both designations have "nurse" in their titles. The general public take "nurse" as a generic term equivalent with caregiver, especially in hospital and long-term care settings.

It does really bother me, however, to hear RPN's referred to as "just" RPN's. I don't think as an R.N. I'd be happy to be "just" an R.N. when compared to another professional.

Lynda

Originally posted by RNPD

All my point was is that if you are mistaken for a nurse, you "JUST CORRECT EM AND MOVE ON." No one is asking for a personal crusade. I explained why it is always in a patient's best interest to know who they are dealing with. It is also a matter of professional pride that only a licensed nurse has the title of "nurse". Maybe you're right- you need to be one to understand.

respect I think it boils down to.....all the way around, but people do have different job titles and expectations of these job titles.............

I don't know about you, but some laypeople in my family still think nurses are just magazine fetchers and readers, give a tylenol and again and well you know.........

dark, dark ages.........

yikes, I need a vacation.........:chuckle

micro:p :p :p

to all of you esp 321ctv who don't hold the title RN. Keep up the great work As an RN I am greatful for all the work you do to make my job easier. I'm not beneath giving a bedbath or cleaning some one up, but with all the shortages nowadays, it makes my job and life at work easier. I sarted as a HCA then an RNA now an RN so i've had my feet in all waters. Yes I went to school and passed provincials and when I'm working am responsible for those who work with me. I'm happy that I work with a multitude of health professionals, all with their own scope of practice, they all do great work.

No matter what your title as long as you are working within your realm and are not attempting to do work you are not qualified to do my hat goes off to you.

Yours in Nursing:rolleyes:

Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

THis thread was started in 2001, added to in 2002 + now 2003. Keep that in mind.

LOL, seems like alot of resurrection of old threads! Making me think I'm closer to the edge than I usually am!!!!

Originally posted by NRSKarenRN

THis thread was started in 2001, added to in 2002 + now 2003. Keep that in mind.

Thanks Kare, I didn`t notice that fact, and was wondering how I missed the thread the first poster was responding to.....

:D

Originally posted by 135ctv

Well I am "just a CNA". I don't think that what I do is insignificant or unimportant. I just don't define my importance by a job title so it doesn't matter to me if I'm called a CNA or NA or aide or PCA or UAP. Just don't call me anything with profanity in it, I find that offensive. I don't want to be called "nurse" because I'm not a nurse. I do know UAP's who do refer to themselves as nurses, but it is illegal................

What really gets my goat is that we (in Nursing) have so many names for those who assist us, and those who assist us are often calling themselves, "just an aide" or something similar. I have seen the same in EMS, where Basic EMT's refer to themselves as "just a Basic", despite the fact that at least 90% of all the stuff done on patients in the field is done at the BLS level.

I am amazed at all the names and titles given to those who help us to do what we do so well by doing what they do so well. We (as a group) refer to them as "Unlicensed Assistive Personnel", "Paraprofessionals" and all sorts of long darwn-out names that are inaccurate at least, and, at worst, are really quite derogatory.

I don't know about the rest of you, but where I work (16-bed ICU in a smaller, but growing, hospital), the Unit Secretaries, Nursing Assistants, Critical Care Techs, etc. are professionals. Without them, things would either not be done, or world not be done as safely nor as efficiently. These are (along with the nurses) the people who make it happen "24/7" and we appreciate them.

Many of the names (UAP, etc.) have appeared in the infamous magazine article, so they get a lot of exposure and we are unwittingly emulating their style. Then we have some of the nurses organizations that attempt to make the public believe that an LPN is not a real nurse. There was a radio ad a few years ago advising the public to "demand a real nurse". This sort of stuff is shooting us in the foot (and biting us in a location superior to the feet) more than we may know, and it needs to change. As a RN, I refuse to support that organization.

We (the nurses and those who assist us) are the people who make the hospitals work, and we need to recognize that within our own ranks. Nobody else (government will not help... they got us into a lot of the mess to begin with.... thank goodness we do not receive all of the government that we pay for) will do it for us.

In the movie "Spaceballs", the character played by Mel Brooks explained that, "the secret is marketing." We have obviously not been effective in marketing ourselves and our skills to best advantage.

Ok I know this is an old thread and an even older issue, but i need to put my two cents in.

In my first clinical rotation, we had a lot of wonderful aides. I learned a lot from them. But there was one in particular who insisted on calling herself a nurse. I had a a patient with severe edema. This particular aide told the patient to stop drinking fluids and the edema would go away. I found out about it, told the patient otherwise. she ended up back on IV fluids because the "nurse" had told her not to drink.

As far as I know, this aide is still dispensing advice about which she knows nothing. (Yes I did mention this to my instructor who in turn talked to the staff). The patient thought of her as a nurse, and assumed she had the educational background. Giving advice to patients without the proper education is downright dangerous. There was a case, I think in PA where an aide told someone to take an OTC med, and the patient died.

Titles do mean something to patients.

Originally posted by RoaminHankRN

It's nice to see people working 20 hour shifts, doing there part, taking one for the team, yada yada yada. But guess what... that's your job and you choose to do it. If you don't like what you do.. Taco Bell is hiring:)

As for the CNA/RN relationship... we need to treat everyone equally and with respect. There are too many nurses who crap on techs. RN's don't forget where you came from.

There are people who were kick A$$ techs and go on to be RN's and think their you know what don't stink. You've seen em.. maybe your one of them.

Quit asking people to respect nurses and start respecting yourself and others. Good things will come to you in return.

:kiss Go Hank, Go Hank!!

I cannot believe that after all the hardships nurses endure (

RN and LPN's) that we now have to fight for our own title or credentials. This infuriates me. I didn't even read this whole thread cause I became so irritated. I think giving a CNA or HCA or whatever you call them in your area the name " nurse" that is misrepresentation. Nursing is a profession just like being a physician is a profession or a physical therapist is a profession. We all had to go to college and earn a degree, sit for licensing and all paid big bucks to obtain these things not to mention the work and practice to be proficient at our "PROFESSION". I think nurses aids or assistants need a completely different name since some have become so confused at what their job titles are. I can't even imagine there being a thread on MD's bulletin board having to contend with nurses or Physician's assistants saying they should be called doctors or physician's. This is where nursing is....disrespected by other nursing staff and the world in general. Why is it no one seems to know what nurses go thru, the education you must have. I haven't figured it out yet but I am certainly going to think good and hard at how nurses can get the professional recognition they deserve....how can we get it out there what is involved in being a nurse. I may write a letter to my local newspaper and see where that goes. We are nurses...here us roar!!!!!!!

Does anyone have the actual law that states impersonating a nurse is illegal?

Because I see some grey areas here. Most of the people you describe aren't going in to a room and stating " hi, I'm your nurse." It is the other way around. The patient calls them a nurse, which, technically, regardless of whether they are corrected or not, is not impersonating a nurse, it is being mistaken for a nurse.

As for the administration puting NURSE on a CNA's badge, that is a whole other thread!

Sooooooo, I wanted to read the actual law to see if it says if being mistaken for a nurse and not correcting the person is illegal. Somehow I doubt the lawyers went into that detail.

Leigh

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