How do you feel on displaying your certification credentials on your badge?

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Nurses, How do you feel on displaying certification credentials on your badge or nurses who displays them on their id/work badge? I am proud of them because they were a lot of hard work and time but I also do not want to seem like a show-off.

22 hours ago, Nurse.Kelsey said:

lol dang you are salty.

Haha, I prefer feisty, and only sometimes. Our patients don't know who anyone is. This isn't about ego; it is about clarity for patients and families. Specific verbal identification is probably more important than badges. "I am Dr. --- your Nurse Practitioner" would work.

On 9/10/2019 at 7:19 PM, mmc51264 said:

Our hospital put in a policy where we wear a "dummy" badge over our "real" badge. The dummy one has our first name and "RN" Our real ones, the ones that we swipe with have our full names and credentials (up to 4, I believe). So mine has MSN, RN, ONC (ortho certified), CNIII (we have clinical ladder status). We also have pins designating certification, clinical ladder pins, "champion" pins (many of us are unit experts is an area-mine is diabetes and EPIC).

Some people were very uncomfortable having their names on full display.

Wow, good idea.

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6 minutes ago, mene19 said:

Haha, I prefer feisty, and only sometimes. Our patients don't know who anyone is. This isn't about ego; it is about clarity for patients and families. Specific verbal identification is probably more important than badges. "I am Dr. --- your Nurse Practitioner" would work.

I wouldn’t assume all patients don’t understand the various distinctions. I’ve had some pretty savvy patients. I’m often asked if I’m an LPN or an RN because I don’t have a badge. I work PRN for a doctor owned operating room and they’ve never given me one. I should remedy that, because I think my Nurse Practice Act says nurses should wear badges with their title on it while providing care.

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5 minutes ago, Horseshoe said:

I wouldn’t assume all patients don’t understand the various distinctions. I’ve had some pretty savvy patients. I’m often asked if I’m an LPN or an RN because I don’t have a badge. I work PRN for a doctor owned operating room and they’ve never given me one. I should remedy that, because I think my Nurse Practice Act says nurses should wear badges with their title on it while providing care.

I mean if a NP or pharmacist walks in, with ID that says Dr., and says "I'm DR. so-and-so without clarifying what their position is, patients assume the said person is MD/DO. It's confusing enough in the hospital; I've had patients think the respiratory therapist was the Dr., lol.

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Found it. From my Nurse Practice Act:

Quote

While interacting with the public in a nursing role, each nurse shall wear a clearly legible insignia identifying the nurse as a registered or vocational nurse.

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5 minutes ago, mene19 said:

I mean if a NP or pharmacist walks in, with ID that says Dr., and says "I'm DR. so-and-so without clarifying what their position is, patients assume the said person is MD/DO. It's confusing enough in the hospital; I've had patients think the respiratory therapist was the Dr., lol.

Yes, I think that could be confusing in that context.

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Not in favor. Not in favor of grade inflation, degree inflation, and online programs with few admission standards.

Not in favor of using a Dr title when you have completed a meaningless (my opinion) academic degree. 97% of your patients will find it confusing.

People who have PhD's in academic subjects really are experts in Chinese history, or whatever the case may be.

But the DNP is a joke.

Signed, the grumpy old lady

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17 minutes ago, Oldmahubbard said:

Not in favor. Not in favor of grade inflation, degree inflation, and online programs with few admission standards.

Not in favor of using a Dr title when you have completed a meaningless (my opinion) academic degree. 97% of your patients will find it confusing.

People who have PhD's in academic subjects really are experts in Chinese history, or whatever the case may be.

But the DNP is a joke.

Signed, the grumpy old lady

A Ph.D in Clinical Psychology is a legitimate doctorate-not sure what you consider an “academic subject.” It (or the Psy D) is required in order to be licensed as a Clinical Psychologist and is incredibly rigorous.

I imagine there are doctorate degrees which can be obtained that don’t place vigorous demands on the student. I certainly couldn’t speak with any authority on which ones fall into that category, however, much less identify ones that are “meaningless “.

When my D is working at the hospital (she works with PTSD patients at VA hospitals), she wears identification that clearly states that she is "Jane Doe, Ph.D." But she is well within her rights to sign her name as "Dr. Jane Doe, Ph.D."

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Specializes in BSN, RN-BC, NREMT, EMT-P, TCRN.
7 hours ago, MrNurse(x2) said:

I agree that education is important, but experience is importanter (kinda scared autocorrect didn't come on) and from a patient standpoint, I would want to see RN, no letters. Bedside, give me the nurse who had thousands of hours bedside before graduation than one with a hundred or so. That is the downfall, those nurses who worked at their education through their career may be viewed as less experienced than others by informed clientele. Other than advanced practice, little taught at BSN levels matters to knowledge base.

1. "More important", not importanter

2. "Their", not there.

You want to see just "RN, no letters."? "Thousands of hours bedside..." Don't know what you are since there's nothing identifying your level, but the RN with RN-BC, CEN, CCRN, TCRN, etc., has lots of hours, MORE expertise/experience than the average nurse. Are you an RN? Do you have a board-certification? Are you a BSN?

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
59 minutes ago, Horseshoe said:

When my D is working at the hospital (she works with PTSD patients at VA hospitals), she wears identification that clearly states that she is "Jane Doe, Ph.D." But she is well within her rights to sign her name as "Dr. Jane Doe, Ph.D."

And I would address her as Dr. Doe, just as I would refer to my brother-in-law as Dr. D when he finishes his PharmD program (in person I will probably just call him by his first name, lol). Your D sees patients, they are expecting to see her, so her position shouldn't be a source of mystery. But in an ER setting, as was my example, when someone is expecting to see a physician, it would be confusing to them if someone referred to themselves as Dr. X when they are an NP with a DNP. Don't get me wrong, I love advancing one's education, I am a fan of board certs, and I put them on my badge when they apply. I keep flirting with various terminal degrees (can't decide), but with ER patients, even if I had a doctoral degree, I would just introduce myself as Pixie.RN. Those patients have enough confusion as it is!

Congrats to your daughter, by the way. A good friend of mine did the same thing (PhD in clinical psychology) after she already had a PhD in English lit. Omg, the years of school!!

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12 minutes ago, Pixie.RN said:

And I would address her as Dr. Doe, just as I would refer to my brother-in-law as Dr. D when he finishes his PharmD program (in person I will probably just call him by his first name, lol). Your D sees patients, they are expecting to see her, so her position shouldn't be a source of mystery. But in an ER setting, as was my example, when someone is expecting to see a physician, it would be confusing to them if someone referred to themselves as Dr. X when they are an NP with a DNP. Don't get me wrong, I love advancing one's education, I am a fan of board certs, and I put them on my badge when they apply. I keep flirting with various terminal degrees (can't decide), but with ER patients, even if I had a doctoral degree, I would just introduce myself as Pixie.RN. Those patients have enough confusion as it is!

Congrats to your daughter, by the way. A good friend of mine did the same thing (PhD in clinical psychology) after she already had a PhD in English lit. Omg, the years of school!!

No, I get that completely. I’m more responding to comments that insinuate that only physicians have the right to the title of “Doctor.” I agree that in an acute situation such as seeking care in an ER or environment where one is only expecting to see medical or nursing professionals that the ambiguity of a “doctor nurse” could be confusing and possibly purposefully disingenuous behavior by the holder of the non medical doctorate degree. If I were an DNP, I would make sure that my patients understood that I was a nurse practitioner.

And thanks about my D. She just received her physical diploma in the mail, and when she sent me a photo of it, I almost started bawling. It has been a 7 year road of grad school, and she's still not completely finished (doing her postdoc fellowship this year). She once wanted to be a physician, but gave up on the idea because "it takes too long." Lol.

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Specializes in Cardiac TCU /tele/SDU.

I've been a nurse for more than 15 years, a lot of nurses have that capacity to tear down each other and they do, a lot of people tear down younger nurses instead of helping and mentoring them, Seriously some nurses are jealous and bitter and they sure do horizontal bullying very well. Check your selves people.

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The last hospital I worked at if you had a certification you displayed certified with an extra red tag, it was hospital wide. I liked the idea. Where I am now they don't do any at all. Just RN

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