But she's not a nurse!

[flowerchild]

I just started a new position running a clinic. The clinic is staffed by myself and one CNA. I am so happy to be working with this CNA as she has over 15 years experience working in this clinic and is a wealth of knowledge and help to me. I adore her. She is very nice and cooperative. I only have one problem with the entire situation. Everyone who comes to the clinic calls her, Nurse Judy. All of the employee handouts and printed information and brochures have her listed as Nurse Judy. They have me listed as Nurse Diane. As if we were one in the same. I am a RN and of course her supervisor. She is 20 years my senior and I really do have alot of respect for her. I just can't live with her using the Nurse designation. I know it is against the law and I'm thinking that is the angle I will try and to set the record strait. Other people who work in the company would never let thier assistants be called thier own professional titles. All of the other staff are non medical. They have worked with Judy for years, they trust her and love her. Any ideas on how to handle this?

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

Please no "job bashing." This topic has been round and round several times. Different work titles such as CNA and MA have different parameters in different states.

I was a MA with NO formal training and did all of the above. Some MAs have a 2 year degree.

Just let's leave the word NURSE to the RNs LPNs and LVNs.

[Flo1216]

Oh, give me a break. It is absurd for a medical assistant to compare herself to a nurse or to be called one. My friend is a MA and went to school for 9 months, not even. I personally miss nurses in the doctors office and I don't feel comfortable giving my personal confidential information to a medical assistant. I am not comfortable with the idea of medical assistants, period.It is not meant to offend anyone, it is just the way I feel. It seems like all of these little medical positions are being created to cut costs. My friend was an MA and made $9.50 an hour. Hell of a lot cheaper than an RN or LPN. And as for a CNA getting so much recognition...most of them get treated like crap and are looked down upon as inferior and uneducated. I know because I work as a CNA and put up with it everyday.It's a thankless job but somebody has to do it.

[SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN]

originally posted by susy k

bbelle,

no disrespect, but listing off a slew of monkey skills does not impress anyone....

watch-out-there now...anyone using the dreaded "monkey" word on these bbs knows what's coming :angryfire.... just stick to the point & leave the harsh "monkey slinging" bit to the ignorant souls who truly believes in that term please....thanks :blushkiss - moe. we all don't have to agree but we should at least be civil!!!

[Q.]

Hey, Moe, can't help it. Watching 12 Monkeys on DirecTV right now.....:chuckle

[SKM-NURSIEPOOH, BSN, RN]

i'll forgive you then

[Flo1216]

It's true, though. There is so much more to nursing than simply performing a variety of tasks and it bothers me when non-nurses say, " We do the same things nurses do," Any idiot can give an injection. I may not have put it the way Suzy did, but I agree with her150%.

[StrawberryBSN, BSN, RN]

flo1216...what is your title in the healthcare field? just curious.

s_bsn

[Flo1216]

If you read my previous posts you would know, but I am a nursing assistant.

I am a senior in nursing school and I will soon be an RN. I work as a CNA at the hospital that is affiliated with my school. Why do you ask?

[mark_LD_RN]

i dont care how long they been doing something, if you did not sit for boards and go through nursing school you are not a nurse and should not present your self as one. that is misrepresentation to the patient. clinica and hospitals do this to save money and they should not be allowed to get away with it. as far as a CNA giving an injections, not to one of my patients will that ever happen while i am on shift. The RN is ultimately responsible for her and i would not let them do it. i also make it a point to let them know that they are wrong if i ever hear them tell patient they are a nurse or let the patient call them nurse.

if they can do that I am going to start letting my patients call me doctor after all we do the same work and i did not earn the title but neither did the unlicensed people potraying them self as nurses. after all whats good for the goose is good for the gander.Isn't it?

[Flo1216]

A lot of the CNA'S I work with have previously worked in nursing homes and they did all sorts of stuff there that they weren't supposed to do. I know because they told me. We have one now...lets call her " Sally" who messes with the vents and does trach care. It KILLS me. I am a student and even I don't mess with that stuff, but she thinks it is OK because she has been there 15 years.One time they intubated a pt and had to transport them to ICU. There is usually a resident, a respiratory therapist, an RN and a CNA who transports them.(To help push the stretcher, that sort of thing) Well, I was on the team of the nurse whose pt it was so I had to go. She told me , " I would prefer that "sally" go because she has worked with vents and I really trust her," Trust her to do what? Wipe the pts ass if she poops on the way there? Scary.

[nursing 101]

This question was asked before but never answered... After 2 years of going to school and getting a AAS for Medical Assistant how much does one make?

Not trying to be patronizing just curious...

Thanks

[Stargazer]

Ultimately, the way I see it--and I believe your state BON would see it too--is that this issue is about public safety. Patients have a right to know the educational level and professional licensure of the caregiver who is treating them. While "Nurse" may be an appellation of affection for Judy's patients, and a source of pride for her, it is legally inappropriate unless it is clearly delineated by nametags, brochures, office signage or some other clearly visible means of precisely defining her role.

A small rural doc's office in the town where I grew up has 2 practitioners: an MD and a PA. The vast majority of patients refer to them as "Dr. Bob and Dr. Harold" or otherwise refer to "the 2 doctors" and don't know or understand that Harold is not, in fact, a physician. Harold horribly mismanaged a case that resulted in severe pain and suffering for an elderly woman and a lawsuit for Dr. Bob, who was not adequately supervising Harold.

Judy sounds like a lovely person and a valuable employee. I agree with the actions Flowerchild's taken, but do agree with other posters that that this could have been handled a bit more sensitively and diplomatically by speaking to Judy first and expressing concern for her (and Flowerchild's, and the physician's) legal liabilities. I would certainly talk with her as soon as possible, as NRSKaren suggested, before the new brochures arrive.

Flo1216 said:

No one is saying that "Nurse" Judy should be burned at the stake, humilated or disembowled. Just corrected and the brochures changed. It can be done in a professional manner.

Exactly.