I am NOT a Nurse...

Nurses General Nursing

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Greetings all. I have a weird question for ya'll. I work in Home Healthcare as a CNA and often my clients call me a Nurse. I have no idea why, but it irks me. I don't even remotely consider myself a Nurse. I may have begun that journey, but chickened out and haven't pursued it. So my question; when did you consider yourself a Nurse? Were you in school, working as a Nurse or even working as a CNA or the like? Just curious. S

I don't see what the big deal is. You pointed out that your a CNA, what more can you do? If he wants to call you a Nurse that's his choice. Most people outside of Nursing don't obsess over exact titles like Licensed practical NURSE vs licensed vocational Nurse vs Registered NURSE vs Certified NURSE assistant. Before I went to CNA school I don't think I even knew the difference. To them you are a Nurse of some kind doing nursey things. Big deal.

Yes some RNs and LPNs might throw a fit if you don't correct the person every time they call you Nurse, but that's their own personal hangup. Some RNs even get annoyed when an LPN calls themselves a Nurse, because it implies LPN and RN is the same thing when the difference in their scope and education is quite large.

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As long as YOU are not referring to yourself as a nurse, you're not breaking any laws. Clients are going to call you whatever they call you and you can't always control that...I would keep correcting the patient, however, and make sure it's crystal clear to everyone that you are not a nurse nor presuming to be one.

As for when one considers themself a nurse...for me, that was when I passed the NCLEX.

Correct me if im wrong, but would they even be breaking a law if they called themselves a Nurse? If they called themselves an LPN or RN yes, but there is no license that just says NURSE, its kind of a pop culture term. To some elderly patients any female caregiver is considered a Nurse. Back in the day they even had candy striper Nurses, who if I understand correctly were just volunteer Nurse aides.

Don't get me wrong, Im not saying a CNA should call themselves a Nurse, but it seems like a stretch to say they are breaking the law by just using the term, so long as they aren't actually exceeding the scope of a CNA.

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I don't see what the big deal is. You pointed out that your a CNA, what more can you do? If he wants to call you a Nurse that's his choice. Most people outside of Nursing don't obsess over exact titles like Licensed practical NURSE vs licensed vocational Nurse vs Registered NURSE vs Certified NURSE assistant. Before I went to CNA school I don't think I even knew the difference. To them you are a Nurse of some kind doing nursey things. Big deal.

Yes some RNs and LPNs might throw a fit if you don't correct the person every time they call you Nurse, but that's their own personal hangup. Some RNs even get annoyed when an LPN calls themselves a Nurse, because it implies LPN and RN is the same thing when the difference in their scope and education is quite large.

In a majority of states the word nurse is a legally protected title that can only be used by an RN or a LPN. What the general public thinks is irrelevant.

I doubt very much that lawyers would be okay with paralegals being referred to as a lawyer. Or that physicians would be okay with PAs being called physicians. So why on earth should nurses be okay with CNAs or MAs being called nurses? its the exact same thing.

As for some RNs being annoyed about LPNs calling themselves nurses, all I can say is you will have to pry my right to be called a nurse out of my cold, dead hands.

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

Well, if you have your ID badge on, it identifies what you are. If he says it in front of somebody and they look at you askance, just shrug, point to your ID and smile.

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Specializes in Mental Health Nursing.

Honestly, its not a big deal. You corrected him once. Some residents call me the aide and call the aides the nurse. It happens. As long as you introduce yourself as Mary Sue, CNA, you're good. A lot of patients don't even know the difference in the scope of practice between a nurse and an aide. If he calls you because he wants a PRN, then by all means correct him, restate your title, let him know that is the nurse's duty, and go get the nurse. But how many times are you going to reiterate, "I'm the CNA."

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Ok, I was wondering whether the term nurse rather than lpn, lvn, or RN had some legal basis. Again not that I'd ever call myself nurse or want to.

Guess we better stop calling Clara Barton and Florence Nightengale nurses, they never even took the nclex!

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Specializes in Med nurse in med-surg., float, HH, and PDN.

My grandmother was 'grandfathered' into an LPN-ship waaay back in the day.....

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Back in the day they even had candy striper Nurses, who if I understand correctly were just volunteer Nurse aides.

No, Candy Stripers were not volunteer Nurse's Aides. The duties included filling water pitchers, handing out reading material, transferring patient's via wheelchair to different areas of the hospital and maintaining floral arrangements in the patient's room.

Most people outside of Nursing don't obsess over exact titles like Licensed practical NURSE vs licensed vocational Nurse vs Registered NURSE vs Certified NURSE assistant.

A Licensed Vocational Nurse and a Licensed Practical Nurse are the same thing Texas and California use the term LVN. The others use LPN.

The ANA website has a list of the states and what the status of the legally protected term "nurse" is in each of them.

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I wouldn't sweat them calling you nurse if I were you. They see you taking care of them in some sort of capacity so that's really what a nurse is. Just legally you don't have the title of Nurse. I didn't consider myself a Nurse until I saw my license number posted but as a student, pts called me nurse all the time because they saw me giving them care and trusted me. Id just go with the flow when it comes to that. Or you could just say you aren't their nurse and you're there to assist the nurses, if it bothers you that much. You should become a nurse tho, its very rewarding in more ways than you can imagine.

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.
Correct me if im wrong, but would they even be breaking a law if they called themselves a Nurse? If they called themselves an LPN or RN yes, but there is no license that just says NURSE, its kind of a pop culture term. To some elderly patients any female caregiver is considered a Nurse. Back in the day they even had candy striper Nurses, who if I understand correctly were just volunteer Nurse aides.

I also realize that "nurse" can be a pop-culture term, but in many states, the term "Nurse" is protected...so yes, given that the OP is working in healthcare, they could potentially be breaking the law if they called themselves a nurse when they are not licensed as a RN/LVN/LPN.

Title "Nurse" Protection

Mind you, Joe Patient can call the OP whatever he wants and that's perfectly legal--the OP can't be held liable for that.

But I'm cautioning the OP to be sure that, for their own protection, there's no appearance of them pretending to be a nurse when they are not...so no one can call the BON to report them.

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Specializes in mental health / psychiatic nursing.

Most people outside of healthcare are not going to understand or even know about all the different roles in the healthcare team so if you are there and getting things done in competent fashion and not their doctor you must be a nurse, even if that isn't your title or role.

One of my residents frequently calls me his nurse or even his doctor. I calmly correct him and move on with things. No matter how many times I correct him he'll slip up again -His grasp on reality is a little tenuous so I don't get worked up over it, he also is a joke-a-minute character and likes to come up with silly names for people even if he does know their name and role. So I think sometimes he just wants me to throw out a silly name or title for the day that he can use. I try to keep things very lighthearted and humorous with him.

Another resident is a former military medic and will sometimes call me "Doc" as a sign of respect. It is very clear to both of us that I am not a doctor or even a nurse.

I've also frequently been called nurse at the hospice center I volunteer at - I make it clear that I am a volunteer only, not the nurse, and either help with the issue if it is something with in my scope or reassure the family/patient and go find the appropriate personnel to help them out.

It is a bigger issue when other healthcare providers mistake me for a nurse - I make sure to clarify that immediately! I don't have that license or scope of practice.

In your case I wouldn't escalate the issue to management, unless he's he's somehow misrepresenting you to other providers and pulling you into the healthcare team as someone you are not - which doesn't sound like the issue here.

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I'm not saying we should be jerks and lecture patients every time they call the phlebotomist "my nurse". And I understand we are all too busy to make it our priority.

It just bugs me that it's considered okay by so many for UAP to walk around being addressed as 'nurse' because "who cares", or "it doesn't hurt anything."

When MDs protect their title or lawyers theirs that's considered natural and normal. When nurses do the same, we're considered to be petty and melodramatic. That irks me. The word 'lawyer' is every bit as much a part of our vernacular as the word 'nurse'. But we don't just go around willy-nilly calling everyone working in the legal profession a lawyer. Actual lawyers would be highly offended by that. And rightfully so. So why is it acceptable to call anyone in scrubs a nurse?

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