I know a CNA who's name badge says nurse!

[RNFROMTHEHILL]

Okay, my relative by marraige is a CNA II. She works for a Dr's office that is owned by a larger hospital coorporation. Since she has worked for this office she has called herself a "nurse" and she does get to administer IM injections and do lab draws, EKG'S, immunizations, and she says she even does patient teaching. Her husband told all the parents on our ball team that if any emergency arose not to worry because his wife is a nurse. This truely irritaes me to no end because I worked my butt off to get through nursing school and sacrificed so much to get my RN. I hate the fact that she has no idea what nursing is all about. Well, the other day she got off work and I saw that her badge said nurse, not LPN or RN just nurse. Not only am I offended that she uses this title but I feel like it is very misleading to patients who see Dr's at this practice. I know there are some good unlicensed health care workers but they still do not have the background, education or right to call themselves nurses. I have not confronted her about calling herself a nurse but I see this happening in the future. Makes me wonder if the "nurses" in the office that I go to are really nurses. I think from now on I will ask, "Where did you go to nursing school," just to be safe.

[mscsrjhm]

The nursing profession has gotten so watered down, the average lay person has no idea of what it takes to be one. This is why you have the situation we are discussing right now- where anybody and everybody can call themselves a nurse!

"Nurse" is a generalized term to many people, including me. As a nurse, I don't care really care how it is used. Obviously, this is a different opinion from many, and I would concede to the majority.

Are there laws in other countries re the term, does anyone know?

[LaneRN]

To the reply that a CMA only works in an office. I will have to disagree with you. I have friends that I graduated with who are teaching MA classes as well as working for the red cross and even working in the hospital in the surgical department in the OR. I am going to school this fall to take my nursing classes and I agree that if you are not a nurse then do not pretend to be one. But CMA's, CNA's and others that help nurses should not be bashed just remember the toes you step on today may be the butt you have to kiss later. One day you may need assistence from one of these and they will not forget the awful things that you have said about them. All of these position are important when it comes to patient care is that not whast being in the medical field is all about the patient not the degree or who knows more or who makes more. Like I said I agree they should not call themselves nurses. But you should not down them either.

[medsurgnurse, RN]

To the reply that a CMA only works in an office. I will have to disagree with you. I have friends that I graduated with who are teaching MA classes as well as working for the red cross and even working in the hospital in the surgical department in the OR. I am going to school this fall to take my nursing classes and I agree that if you are not a nurse then do not pretend to be one. But CMA's, CNA's and others that help nurses should not be bashed just remember the toes you step on today may be the butt you have to kiss later. One day you may need assistence from one of these and they will not forget the awful things that you have said about them. All of these position are important when it comes to patient care is that not whast being in the medical field is all about the patient not the degree or who knows more or who makes more. Like I said I agree they should not call themselves nurses. But you should not down them either.

Once again

An MA is not a nurse.

An MA is not a nurse.

An MA is not a nurse.

I haven't seen any actual nurse "down" an MA on this thread. I have seen nurses comment negatively about MAs who pretend to be nurses. Nurses do not "step on" toes of MAs. Why would a nurses need to "step on" the toes of a MA with whom most nurses have little contact. What "awful things" has any nurse on this thread said about an MA?

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

To the reply that a CMA only works in an office. I will have to disagree with you. I have friends that I graduated with who are teaching MA classes as well as working for the red cross and even working in the hospital in the surgical department in the OR. I am going to school this fall to take my nursing classes and I agree that if you are not a nurse then do not pretend to be one. But CMA's, CNA's and others that help nurses should not be bashed just remember the toes you step on today may be the butt you have to kiss later. One day you may need assistence from one of these and they will not forget the awful things that you have said about them. All of these position are important when it comes to patient care is that not whast being in the medical field is all about the patient not the degree or who knows more or who makes more. Like I said I agree they should not call themselves nurses. But you should not down them either.

Nurses have not bashed CMAs, and not everyone has said that they are limited to the office. What was stated on many of the posts is that if they do receive an opportunity to work in a hospital, it is usually a tech or CNA position where, then, they work under the auspice of the Registered Nurse, and they fall under the umbrella of the nursing department many times. This may be happening because the hospital cannot afford to have unlicensed personnel performing the tasks that some medical assistants do- how can they explain in court that a person with no license has administered a vaccine, IV or even a tylenol?

I have not been rude or awful to them, hey, I was one myself of each, myself-CNA, Phlebotomist, Medical Assistant, Tech, Home Health Aide...and only had my nursing license in 2006. It is the education received and scope of practice that is apples and oranges. I tried to be a valuable one in each of these positions, but I wasn't a nurse.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

And, I want to add, that when you do start nursing school, please discuss this thread with your professors. See what their responses will be...I am sure it would be the same-no disrespect to the title or position, but they will have their own staunch opinions, believe me.

[BinkieRN, BSN, RN]

CMA's, CNA's and others that help nurses should not be bashed just remember the toes you step on today may be the butt you have to kiss later. One day you may need assistence from one of these and they will not forget the awful things that you have said about them. All of these position are important when it comes to patient care is that not whast being in the medical field is all about the patient not the degree or who knows more or who makes more. Like I said I agree they should not call themselves nurses. But you should not down them either.

I don't think anyone has downed them? I didn't read that anywhere? CNA's work harder than I do. They are kind and compassionate. They are my eyes and ears. I could not do my job without them. CMA's (not all) in my experience work in doctors offices. Many are referred to as "the nurse" and they do nothing to correct it and do answer the phone "this is the nurse". Sorry that is just wrong. The job they do is needed in healthcare but they should be proud of who they are and not pretend to be somebody they are not.

[LaneRN]

Theer are some on this thread who are not fond of anyone who is not a nurse. Or at least that is the impression that I get I agree that the scope of practice is totally different. And being that you were an MA then you know that they work under a doctors licenses not a nurses as does a CNA and at one of the clinics I worked in we had a CNA who gave injections and drew blood she just had on the job training and she also performed PPD's as well. I am not trying to offend anyone I just think some people are not very fond of anyone who is not a nurse no matter whether they try to pretend to be one or not. i always stated that I was an CMA not a nurse. So I am sorry if I offended anyone but some of these post make me feel like that they do not feel that their jobs are important. I also attende school for two years and received my associates degree but I understand that the education is not the same and some of the professors who are teaching our nursing program seem to think that the RN's are lazy and put most of the work on their aids or LPN's.This came from my soon to be instructor who is also a RN. I do not feel that this is always the case because I have worked with RN's who would pitch in when they were needed and do the same things that many of the AIDs were doing such as changing patients or dressing them. She told us that most of the RN's in hospitals and long term care are only med pushers This is sort of hard to believe but I guess we are all entitled to our own opinions. So If i have offended anyone I am sorry because it was not meant to offend anyone.

[medsurgnurse, RN]

I am not trying to offend anyone I just think some people are not very fond of anyone who is not a nurse no matter whether they try to pretend to be one or not.

Like I said show me the post where someone talked bad about an MA. And I will stand corrected. What I have seen is some Registered and Licensed Nurses express astonishment that MAs are being taught that they 'can do everything a RN can do.' By the way I am quite 'fond' of the MAs who worked with me.

[pagandeva2000, LPN]

Theer are some on this thread who are not fond of anyone who is not a nurse. Or at least that is the impression that I get I agree that the scope of practice is totally different. And being that you were an MA then you know that they work under a doctors licenses not a nurses as does a CNA and at one of the clinics I worked in we had a CNA who gave injections and drew blood she just had on the job training and she also performed PPD's as well. I am not trying to offend anyone I just think some people are not very fond of anyone who is not a nurse no matter whether they try to pretend to be one or not. i always stated that I was an CMA not a nurse. So I am sorry if I offended anyone but some of these post make me feel like that they do not feel that their jobs are important. I also attende school for two years and received my associates degree but I understand that the education is not the same and some of the professors who are teaching our nursing program seem to think that the RN's are lazy and put most of the work on their aids or LPN's.This came from my soon to be instructor who is also a RN. I do not feel that this is always the case because I have worked with RN's who would pitch in when they were needed and do the same things that many of the AIDs were doing such as changing patients or dressing them. She told us that most of the RN's in hospitals and long term care are only med pushers This is sort of hard to believe but I guess we are all entitled to our own opinions. So If i have offended anyone I am sorry because it was not meant to offend anyone.

It is not mandatory for Medical Assistants to become certified, nor did I take the course at an accredited program that allowed for MAs to take the certification. So, when I did work as a MA, I did not have that knowledge-that they are to work under the auspice of the physician. However, I worked for an agency as an MA, and I had to report findings and follow directions of the nurse working there on many occasions, because the doctor was unavailable and he told me to follow their orders.

You will discover this hiearchy in the medical field no matter what position you obtain. You'll see Diploma RNs fighting with ADNs, ADNs fighting with BSNs, and then, there are many that believe that LPNs are not nurses at all. There are lazy individuals in all professions. What most of us are saying is that those that consider themselves to be nurses are incorrect, the doctors that introduce them as nurses are wrong.

Again, I didn't see any post that looked down on MAs. What we are saying is that they aren't nurses, and also, if there is a mishap and a nurse is present in the clinic, somehow, she may be held liable, by knowledge of it, possibly not correcting it, or interceding.

[LaneRN]

When I was in school to become a CMA I was taught that we could do anything a LPN could do and the administrative part but I was never taught that I could do the things that an RN can do. So I guess it all depends on who you were taught by My instructor who was the program Head is a CMA, Lab technician and a RN she is no longer teaching but has went back to work as a lab technician for the hospital in North carolina, because of her husband moved his law firm somewhere else. I do think it is wrong to pretend to be a nurse when you are not and the post that I am referring to are on another thread where a RN is talking trash about CMA's as well as CNA. I respected the Rn's that I worked with and most of them respected us because they told us that if it was not for us they would have a hard time getting all of the things that needed to be finished for that shift done. But you do have some nurses who look down on those who are not nurses but I feel that we all have an important job to do. zI apologoze if you got upset by what I said. i did not mean that all nurses bash CMA's and CNA's but some do. But the CNA who referred to her self as a nurse was wrong in doing so because she can cause alot of trouble for the Physician who hired her as well as the patients that she is caring for. I think someone does need to inform her employer of this.

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

I am going to school this fall to take my nursing classes and I agree that if you are not a nurse then do not pretend to be one. But CMA's, CNA's and others that help nurses should not be bashed just remember the toes you step on today may be the butt you have to kiss later. One day you may need assistence from one of these and they will not forget the awful things that you have said about them.

I agree, but I also couldn't care less about someone's "feelings" when the issue is that they are practicing and representing themselves outside the boundaries of the law.