Signatures...

[SweetLemon]

Is it illegal to use a nick name when signing a pt. chart??

[TuTonka]

First initial and last name as it appears on your nursing license then your disipline is appropriate.

[LilPeonNo1]

According to my own BON, you must sign your charts using the signature as it is printed on your nursing license. I did at one point consider this absurd and unneeded as I have a long name and must use a significant portion of a line to sign my name, but as it was pointed out to me by a former supervisor, whom I have the greatest respect for; There may be another nurse with the same first initial and last name as you and could be confused with her or him. Then she provided me with the great "What if...?", What if that other nurse with the same first initial and last name as you gets themself into a legal snaffu, and becomes the target of an investigation? Could you be confused with them? Could you have to disrupt your own life to answer to some court somewhere because you share your "name" with someone else and defend your documentation or whatever because they thought you were that other J. Doe? This has fortunately never happened to me, but it could. Because after she said this to me, I looked it up. There are more than a few nurses out there who have my same last name, and first initial (though not necessarily the full first name). And, some years ago, I was confused with someone else in another type of incident where a constable came to my doorstep ready to arrest me because my name was the same as some other woman who was wanted (he had a warrent) for not paying her vet bill. (Apparently it was a large one). Fortunately, I was able to verify that I wasn't that woman and didn't have to have the cuffs put on me. Whew! And, in another completely different time, my phone got cut off for non-payment because the phone company took my check and paid another woman's bill with it. Yep, she and I shared the same first initial, same last name (which was on my check). It took several calls and days from work to straighten it out. So, I was certainly listening when my former sup. gave me that almost unbelievable scenerio. My advice is to use your full signature on all documentation.

PS: before you say, "but, the signatures would be different". Check with your local bank. It is a known fact that people change their signatures every so often, which is why banks require you to verify it every once in awhile.

[talaxandra]

Fortunately there are only two people in Australia with my surname, and the other one's my father (my mother uses her maiden name and my sibs are all overseas).

I sign my (short) first and last names in full (a whopping eight letters in total), then print my surname in brackets with RN after it. If there's practically no room left on the page I initial (the same as when I sign a drug chart) and print my surname (in brackets) afterward.

[TuTonka]

Most places I work at you sign at the bottom of the page, first print your name then sign your name and disipline. In the nurses notes you can sign your first initial and last name only, however, I have seen people sign just their initials d/t the signature is at the bottom...so it varies greatly between facilities. If I were you I would check with my NM or DON. Good luck

TuTonka

[azhiker96, BSN, RN]

I think it's more important that however you sign, it's the same way every time. I've seen many signatures that look like a rollercoaster track or curly piece of yarn. That's why some documents require a printed name after the signature.

[TuTonka]

It was a hospital policy to sign that way d/t the way their nurses notes were made. Plain and simple.

[diane227, LPN, RN]

Please use your full professional name and title. Don't use slang or a nickname.