Nurse Imposters

Nurses General Nursing

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Hey there! I'm a nurse from Mississippi. I recently called a doctors office from the nursing home I work at and asked his receptionist to speak with the nurse to relay a message to the doctor in regards to the patient's care. Instead of letting me speak to the nurse she transferred me to the phlebotomist who answered "this is Doctor Bolder's nurse Jamie. Can I help you? I know her personally and am aware she is not the nurse and requested again to speak to the nurse. She replied "this is the nurse" i just ignored it and said ok well can you let the doctor know about this concern. She called me back a minute later a third time identifying herself as the nurse with a new medication order. She sounded confused as she was giving said order bc she said the medications name and gave no further details. I asked what dose? how often? How long? She sounded as if she was making it up as she went. This whole thing has made me uncomfortable. I was wondering your thoughts on this issue. I find it very disrespectful to claim you are a nurse when you have not underwent the amount of training, passed a licensure exam, and all the many other things it takes to be able to call oneself a nurse.

It might be illegal. It really depends on the state. It's not illegal in my state.

fraud is illegal in any state. what state are you in?

This wasn't that big of a deal that I feel I have to report it. It's not like she wanted to start someone with a GI bleed on a high dose of Coumadin with no pt/inr. This was a topical itch cream. I am aware it's illegal but do I want her locked up like a criminal? No. It just rubbed me the wrong way bc I love nursing. I put my heart into it and I feel there's a chain of command between medical professionals. I don't get why she lied either when she knows I know the truth.

Mississippi. The most backwards place in the US.

Oh andddd there's a big part of the story I initially left out. The way I know her personally is... she's my husband's ex and my step child's mother. She always wanted to be a nurse but was too stupid. She applied to nursing school 3 times and kept getting rejected so she gave up and has been working at this clinic for a couple years and I guess the dr likes her and gave her a "promotion" to "nurse" my 9 yo step daughter who is skinny as a stick, very athletic, no s/s of puberty was having pain & scant amount of bleeding during urination and she told her it was fine, normal and she had started her period. Poor thing had a uti but she wouldn't take her to get it checked out and it got so bad.

I did accepted the order after speaking to my supervisor. Her response was "I didn't know Jamie wasn't his nurse. She gives orders from him all the time." I spoke with our nurse practitioner also and she said it's ok to accept orders from medical assistants and other non licensed clinic workers but it was wrong of her to identify as a nurse.

Two things:

1. No it isn't "okay" to accept verbal orders from someone other than the person authorized to give that order. It is illegal. I cannot take a verbal order from another RN much less a phlebotomist. You could find yourself in a heap of trouble when, not if, but when something goes wrong and you're the one being thrown under the bus.

2. The "quote" button is your friend. On this site hitting "reply" doesn't link your post to the one to whom you're replying. Without the quote (as seen in this response to you) it's very difficult to follow your responses.

1 Votes
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Oh andddd there's a big part of the story I initially left out. The way I know her personally is... she's my husband's ex and my step child's mother. She always wanted to be a nurse but was too stupid. She applied to nursing school 3 times and kept getting rejected so she gave up and has been working at this clinic for a couple years and I guess the dr likes her and gave her a "promotion" to "nurse" my 9 yo step daughter who is skinny as a stick, very athletic, no s/s of puberty was having pain & scant amount of bleeding during urination and she told her it was fine, normal and she had started her period. Poor thing had a uti but she wouldn't take her to get it checked out and it got so bad.

I think this part of the story is what you should have LEFT out. Suddenly, your whole concern seems to be more about messing with your husband's ex than about a very real need to get accurate medication orders from a licensed provider.

I see how it might look like that I messing with her bc I don't like her but the truth is I'm concerned for our patient's safety. She failed to recognize classic symptoms of a uti and identify that she clearly needed antibiotics for this infection of her own child. Why is someone that incompetent pretending to a nurse? And giving out telephone orders on a doctor's behalf? And the doctor is cool with it as is my supervisor. I'm pretty upset about it.

1 Votes
Two things:

1. No it isn't "okay" to accept verbal orders from someone other than the person authorized to give that order. It is illegal. I cannot take a verbal order from another RN much less a phlebotomist. You could find yourself in a heap of trouble when, not if, but when something goes wrong and you're the one being thrown under the bus.

2. The "quote" button is your friend. On this site hitting "reply" doesn't link your post to the one to whom you're replying. Without the quote (as seen in this response to you) it's very difficult to follow your responses.

Thank you and sorry I'm new here. I joined to have a safe place to discuss important topics like this.

I wouldn't accept a verbal order from her, and would make her document it on the order sheet. To my knowledge, it isn't an arrestable offence if you report her, often what happens is a fine is posed to the individual and a notice on the BONs website says "x" is calling herself an RN and she isn't.

Honestly, I think you'd be doing her a favour; she is setting herself up for litigation if she makes a mistake, and she won't be covered under any insurance as she is practicing outside her scope.

1 Votes
Thank you and sorry I'm new here. I joined to have a safe place to discuss important topics like this.

No need to apologize but I'm concerned that you don't understand you are putting your license on the line accepting orders from a phlebotomist. It doesn't matter that your supervisor is "okay" with it. The BON and the law isn't.

Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.

If she is being employed and working under the direction of the physician she can call herself anything she wants to. She can't violate any nurse practice act, since she isn't a licensed nurse, unless she duped the physician into thinking she is. If the physician knows she doesn't have a RN or LVN license using the term "nurse" in and of itself is simply to make those employees sound more of a medical professional than they are. At all the local pediatric offices MAs are referred to by the office/staff as "nurses."

Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
No need to apologize but I'm concerned that you don't understand you are putting your license on the line accepting orders from a phlebotomist. It doesn't matter that your supervisor is "okay" with it. The BON and the law isn't.

Yes, I wouldn't act, in this case, until I received the order signed by the physician.

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