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.

I question this.

Not saying it's wrong, but would love some clarification.

If the employee in question is accurately representing communication from the prescriber, what its the risk?And, are there examples of licenses lost for this sort of thing?

How can you be sure they are relaying it accurately? Or that they spoke to the provider at all? How would you know if the phlebotomist, who is already impersonating a nurse, hasn't just gone rogue and is repeating orders that she's given before for other patients? In my state we have laws that's govern delegation. In essence a verbal order is a form of delegation. Technically I cannot re-delegate an order or a task that was given to me even to another RN. When taking orders you can't assume it's accurate you have to know it is. Or else you might find your butt handed to you and your license a worthless piece of paper.

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Specializes in LTC.

I really hate it when medical assistants do this, and then insist it's ok to do. There's a big thread on indeed about it, with medical assistants arguing that it's fine to call themselves nurses.

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I think this is pretty common. It is clearly wrong, and annoying as all get out. But, do you really want to get involved? If so, go ahead and report it. Maybe she'll get a nasty letter or something, but this one instance is just a drop in the bucket.

According to the ANA, its illegal. At least in most states. But I really don't get how this is enforced. You report it to the board of nursing, which has no jurisdiction over non nurses.

It is surprising in some ways this is not taken more seriously. If I am in a bar, and want to impress somebody, I can say I am a lawyer. But, if I say I am a lawyer and give legal advice, that is a pretty big legal problem. Seems the same might hold true in any area in which the weight of a person't words hinges on their qualifications.

It would be interesting if you do file a report- if so, why don't you track the results and post them here.

Criminal/civil charges can be brought depending on the state.

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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.

When I take an order from someone other than the doc, I write "T.O. Dr. Smith via phlebotomist L. Butterfly""

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How can you be sure they are relaying it accurately? Or that they spoke to the provider at all? How would you know if the phlebotomist, who is already impersonating a nurse, hasn't just gone rogue and is repeating orders that she's given before for other patients? In my state we have laws that's govern delegation. In essence a verbal order is a form of delegation. Technically I cannot re-delegate an order or a task that was given to me even to another RN. When taking orders you can't assume it's accurate you have to know it is. Or else you might find your butt handed to you and your license a worthless piece of paper.

I agree that it is bad nursing practice, as a nurse, take orders from an unqualified individual. And, that the likelihood of an error is high, given that that person has no training that will allow them to know if they made a mistake, even if it would be obvious to a nurse. I was recently prescribed ibuprofen. 800 mg tablets. I was told to take four of them, tid. I was told this by a woman who works in an office and owns scrubs, otherwise known, in that environment, as a nurse.

Same office, different experience: I called in post knee surgery with distal swelling, concerned for DVT vs impending compartment syndrome. I figured an ortho nurse would be familiar with what was expected after a surgery, and what would need to be evaluated. Having asked for a nurse, halfway through the conversation, I realized I was speaking to an MA. Nothing against an MA, but she did not have the training or education to help me evaluate the problem.

So yeah- its a problem.

I am just skeptical that there are ever any repercussions.

So- it is illegal in 39 states. How frequently is it enforced? Anybody?

And, from the perspective of one MA:

"WE can legally and effectively perform any and all of the same duties as RNs and LPNs in a clinical setting. We are just as competent and compassionate. It is NOT against the law to call ourselves or for others to refer to us as nurses!! A nurse is any caregiver. It is a general, generic term. The lawbreaking comes in, if we or someone else claims we have an RN or LPN degree. TO ALL RN's and LPN's- YOU DO NOT OWN THE WORD NURSE!!! Their are "nursing" mothers (breast feeding women) There are people who "nurse" their love ones, and numerous other examples of the word nurse. ARE THEY BREAKING THE LAW??...ummm ..NO!!..lol... "

Calling Yourself a Nurse Is a Crime, No Less

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.
So, back to an earlier question:

BON has jurisdiction over nurses. The person in question is not a nurse.

What can they do?

The practice of non-nurses misrepresenting themselves is endemic, and legal in a bunch of states. What can a BON actually do about it?

In Texas The BON refers to local county police department .....charge is nursing imposters

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I am just skeptical that there are ever any repercussions.

I don't know any particular cases of repercussions from taking verbal orders from someone other than the provider. I guess I just feel as a senior nurse I have a responsibility to try to help my younger counterparts keep from shooting themselves in the foot. :nailbiting:

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The internet is a wonderful tool.

"Nurse" is a protected term in Mississippi and it's a misdemeanor to claim otherwise with a whole load of possible punishment if convicted. However, who knows how often the MS BON pursues these types of cases if something agregious doesn't happen?

Link to Mississippi Nurse Law:

Laws

Section 73-15-33 Offenses and Penalties: https://www.msbn.ms.gov/Documents/Laws/22%20-%20Section%2073-15-33%20Offenses%20and%20penalties.pdf

(d) Use any title, designation or abbreviation by which a person presents to the public that he or she is a registered

nurse, a licensed practical nurse or any other type of nurse, unless the person is duly licensed or privileged to practice

under the provisions of this article

I wonder if you could be held liable for not reporting this person especially if something big went wrong?

(h) Willfully aid or abet any person who violates any provisions of this article.

Each violation counts as a separate offense, apparently. I think I might FYI the BON just to cover myself since neither the MD office nor your supervisors have a clue.

And I'm not a lawyer, I don't play one on tv and I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. But I'm sick and can't sleep, so here I am.

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I am just skeptical that there are ever any repercussions.

So- it is illegal in 39 states. How frequently is it enforced? Anybod?

I'm willing to wager that these statutes only come up when something bad happens i.e. someone gets sued or in cases such as these:

Nurse Imposter At UMPC Responded To More Than One Call

Police: Nurse impersonator takes drugs from west Phoenix hospital - ABC15 Arizona

Arrest warrant adds to mounting legal troubles for Colorado nurse impersonator - Denver7 TheDenverChannel.com

I almost have to give these people props for the sheer brazenness of it all, if they weren't, you know, a danger to the public.

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Specializes in ORTHO, PCU, ED.

I GET SO TIRED OF THIS TOO!!!!! Whenever I call the peds office for my 3 y.o. with an illness and don't necessarily need a visit and I ask to speak to the nurse, I swear it's this young 18, 19 y.o. dude that doesn't even wear a badge that calls himself the nurse, or it's the receptionist. I once gave flack to him and her about it. I agree it's so inappropriate.

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Specializes in ORTHO, PCU, ED.
It's not disrespectful - it's illegal.

I guess I am confused on how it's illegal. Because, for example, I have a friend who is not an RN or LPN but she's worked for a gastroenterologist for years, and she calls herself "Dr. Reed's nurse." And he refers to her as his "nurse." She has a degree in accounting (doesn't use this degree). If I called that office and asked to speak to the nurse I wouldn't feel it inappropriate if she came to the phone as the nurse. Yet as I posted above about my son's peds office, it's abused in many situations.

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Specializes in Psych (25 years), Medical (15 years).
I'm willing to wager that these statutes only come up when something bad happens i.e. someone gets sued..

Uh-oh!

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