NA's not professionals

[Jabramac]

I was the recipient of a complaint yesterday from another employee. An NA told me she had been called off before her shift and told on the phone that instead of having her work, the floor would run with "3 professionals." She took offence at the notion that she was being referred to as not being "professional." While I understand the callers true meaning was RN's and had nothing to do with "professionalism" it non-the-less offended the NA.

I then wrote an e-mail to all the people who may be calling staff off and informed them that this might be offensive and we should monitor ourselves with what we say and to whom. I got a response back from a manager stating that this is an industry term and the NA needs to be "talked to." She also asked me to provide the name of the NA.

Personally I know it that the meaning of "professionals" was not meant to be offensive and only referred to RN's. But, perhaps it's more offensive then I think? I would like to hear from some NA's if they would find it offenses that RN's are referred to as "professionals" and NA's are not.

Tonight I have to decide how to respond to the mangers e-mail with out turning it into a huge issue, but still respecting the NA.

[Atheos]

I do not understand why you are taking offense. By definition, the nurse is a professional. No emotions connected, just fact.

I've been a CNA and was taught that from the get-go.

Could you please explain why you are offended by that?

pro-fes-sion-al

1. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people.
   
2. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior.

[*]Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer, a professional caretaker.

[*]Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football.

[*]Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job.

n.

1. A person following a profession, especially a learned profession.
   
2. One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation: hired a professional to decorate the house.
   
3. A skilled practitioner; an expert.

It's like me telling a nurse their job is easy. Shrug. Why would you insist on demeaning someone's work? While many people may respect CNA's or techs, they don't respect us enough. Without CNA's nursing would grind to a halt. I have seen CNA's that are better with patients than a nurse or doctor. So when you insist that because we are not as 'educated' as you we are not professionals it is offensive.

I assure you that just because your job is more technical than ours, it is not harder. Not physically, mentally or emotionally. It is different but that's it.

I am a professional. A professional caregiver, a professional human being and soon a professional nurse.

Remember that the biggest 'facts' of the previous generations are almost always the nonsense of the next generation. Because you were taught a thing does not make it fact.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

I think I am getting the answer to my question. Some of our colleagues who take offence at the notion that they may be refered to as not being a professional.

I think they do not understand the adjective professional vs the noun professional.

CNAs can be the adjective, but not the noun. RNs are the noun and may or may not be the adjective.

Referring to staff as either licensed or unlicensed avoids a lot of misunderstandings.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

pro-fes-sion-al

1. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people.
   
2. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional behavior.

[*]Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: a professional writer, a professional caretaker.

[*]Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football.

[*]Having or showing great skill; expert: a professional repair job.

n.

1. A person following a profession, especially a learned profession.
   
2. One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation: hired a professional to decorate the house.
   
3. A skilled practitioner; an expert.

It's like me telling a nurse their job is easy. Shrug. Why would you insist on demeaning someone's work? While many people may respect CNA's or techs, they don't respect us enough. Without CNA's nursing would grind to a halt. I have seen CNA's that are better with patients than a nurse or doctor. So when you insist that because we are not as 'educated' as you we are not professionals it is offensive.

I assure you that just because your job is more technical than ours, it is not harder. Not physically, mentally or emotionally. It is different but that's it.

I am a professional. A professional caregiver, a professional human being and soon a professional nurse.

Remember to that nursing is a learning career. The fact of the previous generations are almost always the nonsense of the next generation. Because you were taught a thing does not make it fact.

I was a CNA for years, and I used to think that, too. Boy did I eat my words and learn how wrong I was. So will you. Give it time.

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

"Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: lawyers, doctors, and other professional people= noun.

"Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: [/b]a professional writer, a professional caretaker= adjective.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I was a CNA for years, and I used to think that, too. Boy did I eat my words and learn how wrong I was. So will you. Give it time.

:yeahthat: :yeahthat:

[Atheos]

When I was tramping around the desert interpreting Arabic and avoiding IEDs if a nurse told me she was a professional because she went to school and I wasn't I would've smacked the hell out of her.

If being a tech is not professional because nurses work is harder, then I would venture to say nurses aren't professional because being a surgeon is harder.... Yeah, it's not right is it? It's offensive too.

I could say anyone that doesn't serve their country isn't a true citizen and doesn't deserve much of a say in anything because I was taught that. Does it make it right or less offensive?

If someone finds something you say offensive, it is, and you need to avoid it for the same reason as harassment. If you say something offensive, whether you believe it is or not doesn't much matter. The person who is offended is the only one whose idea counts. Just like sexual harassment. Ahem...

I am an unlicensed professional. You can think different but to say it would be offensive. Shrug

Offensive is offensive. Someone telling you something offends them should be enough.

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

The only true "professionals" in nursing at are the practitioners, regardless of whether it says "registered professional nurse." Professionals do not punch time clocks. Professionals do not need to obtain orders to exercise their judgment. They do not need a pretend taxonomy to create a bogus sphere of their own "practice." In this very thread we have a BSN implying that she's professional because she has FOUR years of schooling even though ADN's are registed professional nurses.

And the RN's need to get over looking down on the LPN's who need to respect the CNA's. And everyone needs to quit playing this stupid semantics game.

Get offended where offense is intended. Life's to short to look for reasons.

[ShayRN]

The fact that you still think merely having a degree makes you a professional show that you still need some experience in this world. A BSN or MSN, while a good accomplishment does not mean all that much. :) Experience and maturity make one a professional.

Also remember nursing is blue collar (READ: an occupation/vocation). It has never been white collar (READ: a profession). Except maybe administration. *SHRUG* Technicalities.

First of, Thank you for your service to our country, it is appreciated. I in no way mean to insult CNA's. That is not my intent. However, in this case you are wrong. I am not saying that my education makes me better than any person, I am saying because I have my education I am a professional. I did make a choice to postpone things in life and sacrificed a lot along the way to be where I am today. Insulting me isn't going to change that nor will it change my mind on this position. Saying you spend more time with your patients than I do is way off the mark as well. I am a Hospice nurse. I can spend 3 hours in a patient's room and it is expected. I treat the family as well as the patient, Holistic, compassionate care is my goal. My aides love me because they know if they need help turning, lifting or cleaning I do it. Many times I do it without them there. Can you do MY job? One of the aides I work with dropped out of nursing school because she didn't want the responsibility of my job. She said that she loves being an aide because when there are issues in the family or concerns about the medication she says I don't know, I am the aide, let me get the nurse, and it is no longer her problem.

[MikeyJ, RN]

Some of you are taking this "professional" title way too personal -- as one of the posters say, there is no emotions, it is what it is.

Do RN's respect LVN/LPN, CNA, NA's? ABSOLUTELY! There is a seasoned LPN on my floor that knows far more than most RN's.

HOWEVER, for a profession/career to be considered "professional", it needs to meet certain criteria. I had to take an entire class my first semester of nursing school on the RN profession and how it is finally making headway into the "professional" world. There is actually a national committee that has a criteria set forth as to what distinguishes a professional profession from a nonprofessional profession.

And I found it interesting that CNA's, LPN's, MA's, and NA's are not considered a professional profession. They are considered nonprofessional professions. It has nothing to do with how professional they are, but rather they don't meet certain requirements (the poster who posted from wikipedia earlier stated it very nicely). IT IS WHAT IT IS -- so I am not sure why people are getting so huffy puffy over it. No one is attacking other professions, and no one is stating that an RN is any better than other nursing profession's (in fact I along with many others have commended other nursing professions), but once again, IT IS WHAT IT IS.

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

When I was tramping around the desert interpreting Arabic and avoiding IEDs if a nurse told me she was a professional because she went to school and I wasn't I would've smacked the hell out of her.

It's not "a nurse" telling you; it is the accepted definition of the word "RN."

Yes, I am a professional nurse because I went to college and passed NCLEX.

Your failure to understand this is only slightly less disturbing than your violent reaction to a statement that is a well-known fact and one that every nursing student should know.

With that, I have said all that needed to be said regarding this issue on this thread.

Buh-bye.

[sirI, MSN, APRN, NP]

i would respectfully ask everyone to avoid accusations of trolling. report posts that violate the terms of service, and ignore those for which you don't have a constructive response. if someone is trolling, responding similarly is just chumming the waters.

[Jabramac]

Your failure to understand this is only slightly less disturbing than your violent reaction to a statement that is a well-known fact and one that every nursing student should know.

Isn't that taking the approach again that NA's are really nurses in training and should thus understand our thought patterns? I'm not arguing either way, but I do believe that part of getting more education is learning more about interpersonal communications and how different things are interpreted differently by different people. As nurses, it should be our responsibility to continually promote better relationships with our colleagues.