Published
I only sign my initials in places where initials are designated, such as on an MAR. I always sign my full name...never thought of it as a big deal...then again, I don't deal with the crazies in the ER. :chuckle Anyway, if they want our full names, can't they just read them off of our name badges?
I do home health and have to schedule my own visits. I make all those calls from my cell phone. That way, patients who have caller ID won't be calling me at home. It only happened once, but I learned my lesson. I can always turn my cell phone off. You know, I feel bad saying that...obviously our patients need us...but I also have a life of my own.
Well, I believe my signature would hold up in court and that all of my supervisors and coworkers could recognize it. However, I don't think any of my patients would be able to decipher the garbled mess of vowels that occurs in my last name the way I sign it!
Of course, I've been b*tching about it being on our name tags since I started there.
Heather
I believe that just the first initial is fine anywhere. You are already identified in the patient's chart numerous times. If you have a signature legend in the chart, and you have signed it, that identifies you well enough. It's not so much that the patient knows who you are...it's more so that you are identified in the medical record. My thoughts...
We sign our names with the first initial and last name, then RN, etc...however, vouching only for myself, I attempt to make my last name as illegible as possible...
Our name tags have first name, last initial, and title.
Guess you could always put the two together to get someone's full name, eh?
shannonRN, BSN, RN
322 Posts
a couple of weeks ago i was discharging a patient, a fellow nurse. when she saw that i signed my full name followed by rn on the paper she said i just sign my initials followed by the rn. she said she didn't want all of the crazy people she dealt with in er to know her full name. is this legal? can we really get away with only signing our initials followed by lpn or rn?