Impersonating a nurse

[Elleveein]

So I'm a new grad vn (taking nclex 4/2) I decided to go back to medical assisting in the mean time since jobs are hard to come by for new vn's. So I landed a job at a Urgent care and didn't tell them I was a new grad because they wouldn't have hired me. On my first day they introduced me to the head nurse and then she took me to nurse's station and I met the rest of the nurses at least that's what they called themselves, I asked them "Are u lvns or rns?" And they replied "we're ma's" I was shocked they even had business cards that said nurses they tried to give me some to give my pts in case they needed to call me, that's not even the worst of it even the docs says "my nurse" this is a huge practice 10 + docs and not 1 licensed nurse. These ma's are giving Demerol and I.V's I really don't know what to do, who can I anonymously report this to?

[JDPBSN]

yeah, i hear this too. i work on a surgical service and i am the only rn- all ancillary staff are ma's. although i have not directly heard a ma refer to themselves as a nurse- the md's do to patients.

legally, the rn is a protected title and credential. calling oneself a rn without the dully granted license is illegal period. i recall post graduation we were instructed that until we passed nclex- we could not present or refer to ourselves as nurses.

the bon has strict policy regarding this. i would recommend holding a staff meeting, and addressing this. if reported, there could be an investigation conducted, were the entire clinic and md's can be reprimanded or action taken.

as far as pushing drugs, to my knowledge ma's cannot, but i'm no expert in ma scope. i do know that with training- some techs can start iv's.

i am flabbergasted that the ma's have cards with the rn credential- is that what you are saying? if this is their policy- to impersonate health care personnel, then i would report and get out of there before you are dragged down with them. if law suits were to happen and one of these “nurses” were to testify, you could be held liable for aiding in the practice without a license.

i do know that it is difficult to find employment and the market is tight, and you may need the job. but, at the end of the day you will have the license you worked hard for and you can find other jobs…

good luck- protect your profession!

[Elleveein, LVN]

The business cards have the clinic info and at the top it looks like this:

NURSES___________

[alabamaparamedic]

Forgive me for this, as I'm not a nurse, but I worked 2 years as a medical assistant. Never called myself "nurse", and would always correct patients who referred to me as such. I don't think very many patients understood the difference, although I tried. To the majority of the uninformed public, if a woman in scrubs checks their vital signs, administers immunizations, and schedules their next appointment, they are automatically "nurses".

Just to clarify: a medical assistant is an unlicensed position. It used to be performed by personnel who were not professionally trained, and only received "on the job" training by the MD. Since there isn't a licensing requirement, there is no real scope of practice. If the doctor is willing to train his MA to perform a procedure (and since MA's don't have their own license of any kind, the doctor is completely liable for any/all mistakes), and the doctor is willing to assume liability for said MA, then the MA can perform said procedure.

That being said, there ARE actual medical assisting training courses now, and most MA's tend to stay within what they were taught in class.

At the federal IHS clinic I worked at, I could work interchangeably with the LPN's that worked with me...only they got paid more (and deservedly so!), and they could start IV's :)

However, since in nearly every (if not all) states, "nurse" is a protected title, I'm sure there's someone who would be very interested that the MA's are misrepresenting themselves as nurses.

[KrysyRN, BSN]

try emailing the ca bon. i just got this off of their website:

licensee services & general information

for questions regarding license renewal, license verification, rn name and address changes, continuing education, and all other inquiries.

fax: [phone]

email: [email protected]

[tiredstudentmom]

As there isn't anything wrong w/ being an MA, I agree that each professional practice w/in their scope, ya know? I myself was an MA for 5 yrs. I had to know meds, phlebotomy, learned phone triage, and even charge entry...however, I NEVER called myself a nurse. Talking to the BON is dang good advice. Anonymous would be the way to go, though...

[Elleveein, LVN]

I'll try that website, thanks.

[P_RN, ADN, RN]

One other time this came up here, the doctors had a web site where they had a picture of their staff. They captioned it as "our nurses." The members here notified the medical board of that and they were reprimanded for fraud and had to post a retraction. I don't remember the whole story after all this time, but is your doctor group aware of the fraud they are putting forth? Is the medical board of your state? As MAs work under the license of the doctor, that is who will get in trouble, not the MAs as long as they don't use those business cards etc. IMO.

[JenniferSews]

I'm sorry, but isn't there some sort of education in medical school about who is able to take off/impliment their orders? I see this post over and over. I had to know the scope of practice for my CNA's as well as LPN vs RN. Shouldn't docs know the basic difference between nurse and medical assistant? The name alone should be a hint for someone able to make it through so many years of school. I bet they'd be up in arms in someone decided to call themselves and practice as a Dr who had a certificate.

[Elleveein, LVN]

ALL 11 doc's say "nurses" our office is electronic medical records so all the correspondence from the doctors starts out with "nurses please call pt john does and tell him blah blah" it's the craziest **** I've ever seen. How have they gotten away with this for 20 yrs?

[Chin up]

I'm sorry, but isn't there some sort of education in medical school about who is able to take off/impliment their orders? I see this post over and over. I had to know the scope of practice for my CNA's as well as LPN vs RN. Shouldn't docs know the basic difference between nurse and medical assistant? The name alone should be a hint for someone able to make it through so many years of school. I bet they'd be up in arms in someone decided to call themselves and practice as a Dr who had a certificate.

Of course they know. It is much cheaper to hire MA's than RN or LPN's. Why they do it.

[CaregiverGrace]

Of course they know. It is much cheaper to hire MA's than RN or LPN's. Why they do it.

It really come across as offensive and ignorant of the Docs to confuse Nurses with MAs. It shows a complete lack of understanding and respect by the doctors of what a real nurse is.

[SeeTheMoon]

I know I have nothing to stand on here, as I'm still a student, but if and Pray God WHEN I finish this, I don't think I'll be none too happy hearing of assistants being called nurses. No offense, I know they work hard. But that's not fair. I know all of you who are experienced remember how tough nursing school is. You earn the right to be called nurse, you shouldn't get it handed to you!