Nurse Imposters

[Nursemccaleb]

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.

[jsnbsn]

This brings to mind one time that one of the Case Management Nurses called an MD-office to obtain an update on her patient. She was given a very thorough report by the person answering the phone. When she concluded the contact by requesting the name and title of the person providing the information, she found out that it was a member of the cleaning crew!! He had found the patient's folder on a desk and wanted to provide the information to be "helpful". Now THAT is a scary thought!! Although he was not pretending to be a health professional, he could have easily done so with the obviously poor security of patient information in that office!!

[gettingbsn2msn, MSN, RN]

It is going on everywhere in my state. I recently went in to get botox at a clinic. I assumed (never assume) that the person giving me botox was a Nurse Practitioner as they said the doctor was not in. SHE WAS NOT EVEN LICENSED. Not an MA. Not a plebotomist. Not a LPN or RN. She was hired off the streets.

This is becoming a trend I believe. Business degree person realizes there is money to be made in medical and hires non licensed staff to do procedures. Business person makes way more money because wages are lower. You can call the BON. All the business will do is reopen under another name. That is what they do here. These are typically "med spas".

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

It is a widespread practice, and the only people who care are nurses.

At the end of the day, am I losing sleep over an MA or phlebotomist calling him/herself nurse? No--there are plenty of reasons I can't get to sleep, but this is not one of them.

My issue is for the MA to be giving out telephone orders under the guise of a nurse, and the fact that the OP's higher-ups seem not to have a problem with it. For me, it really is all about the liability if something goes badly.

[Davey Do]

At the end of the day, am I losing sleep over a phlebotomist calling him/herself nurse? No...

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Not in my state. You cannot call yourself "a nurse" unless you are licensed. It's not necessary to use the word "registered" in order to be in violation of the law.

I live in one of the crazy over the top states on this topic. In WI the title "nurse" is protected and only applies to the Registered Nurse, so legally every LPN in the state is technically breaking the law when they call themselves a nurse. I don't think that ever in the history of the WI Nurse Practice Act any LPN has actually been punished in any way for calling themselves a nurse and I fail to understand why this language hasn't been amended. After all the title "nurse" is clearly in the LPN credentials.

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

Was taking coumadin years ago and had the office "nurse" call to report my INR was 32 and just keep taking the medication dose as usual. After a 2-3 minute argument, I had to insist that it was 3.2 and I wasn't actively bleeding from every hole in my body. This "nurse" honestly never did understand her mistake or why knowing the difference would be so critical.

[TriciaJ, RN]

This brings to mind one time that one of the Case Management Nurses called an MD-office to obtain an update on her patient. She was given a very thorough report by the person answering the phone. When she concluded the contact by requesting the name and title of the person providing the information, she found out that it was a member of the cleaning crew!! He had found the patient's folder on a desk and wanted to provide the information to be "helpful". Now THAT is a scary thought!! Although he was not pretending to be a health professional, he could have easily done so with the obviously poor security of patient information in that office!!

And judging by the opinions of some, why shouldn't that person call himself a nurse? He works in a doctor's office, he was able to read the file and give information over the phone that sounded plausible. He's doing everything a nurse does, except for lower pay! Isn't that the standard refrain?

So for those who think it's "okay" for a non-nurse to call him/herself a nurse: is it okay for anyone to do this, or just those who already have certain credentials? And why would that be?

[TriciaJ, RN]

Was taking coumadin years ago and had the office "nurse" call to report my INR was 32 and just keep taking the medication dose as usual. After a 2-3 minute argument, I had to insist that it was 3.2 and I wasn't actively bleeding from every hole in my body. This "nurse" honestly never did understand her mistake or why knowing the difference would be so critical.

And that's the reason we have anticoag clinics, staffed by nurses whose specialty this is.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Nursing is always towards the top of the "most respected professions" lists. People trust nurses to provide them with correct information. Someone who hasn't obtained the education provided in nursing school but who has a *little* information can be very dangerous, especially given the trust lay people put into the title of "nurse."

[Accolay]

If someone states they are a nurse on the phone, having a conversation as a nurse, leading the licenced nurse on the other end of the phone to believe that they are talking to another licenced nurse speaking about patients as professional licensed nurses would, does this not constitute "practicing nursing without a license?"

As I said before the internet is a wonderful tool Here's the first stuff that popped up, from the Texas BON:

Texas Board of Nursing - Discipline & Complaints - 2

[KatiejonD, RN]

I'm an RN. I would never - EVER - claim to be an APRN, or a Nurse Anesthetist, or a Doctor. It is fraud. I would report this to your State's BON. But let's be honest... we all need to be reporting people who claim to be a "Nurse" that is not. MA's seem to be the worst at claiming they are "Nurses".

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

If, in the act of doing her job (for which she gets paid), she calls herself a nurse, she is misrepresenting herself for financial gain.

Plus, it is totally disrespectful to say one is a nurse if that is not the truth. It would be like calling onesself a doctor when one is not a doctor. Or a professor.

It is a lie, too.