Impersonating a nurse

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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?

15 states now have a title protection clause written into their Nurse Practice Acts or other legislation designed to protect real "nurses" from unlicensed people who would misrepresent their training or ability by using the term.

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Really?? Have you ever worked with a Physician Assistant? Ever researched, not only the role, but the education and competitiveness of even getting in to a program? I agree that the office staff using the title nurse is wrong and illegal in the state of California but no where during this thread did it discuss or attempt to discredit the education and training of Physician Assistants. My BSN along with 19 years of Emergency Room nursing at 30 different hospitals, 10 level 1 trauma centers from Virginia to Hawaii did nothing to prepare me for the amount of material that is pressed upon us in PA school right now. 36 hours physically spent in the classroom, 40-50 hours of study time outside class, giving up weekends, holidays and vacations for 2 years, the 1700 hours I will spend next year on clinical rotations all done so you can compare me to medical assistants, really??

Wow, you completely missed Leslie :-D's point!:eek:

Or maybe proved it, lol.

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Apparently they don't teach irony or sarchasm at PA school. :smackingf:smackingf:smackingf

But yeah, big difference between Physician's Assistant and Physician Assistant.

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Physician's assistant, Medical assistant, Nursing assistant...Lol.Why doesit seem likt there is an assistant for everything?If it's hard,don't do it then.

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We don't wear name tags, which is also illegal in California.

It appears the issue is with the MDs. They know full well that they are trying to

give the patients the idea the MAs are nurses by allowing the MAs to have

the business card that states nurse. Also, if the MAs use the term nurse then they are misrepresenting themselves.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse...and the doctors in this clinic know that.

The owner of the clinic should be reported to the Board of Nursing.

Lots of issues here, the patient documentation must be really interesting

to review..........

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Specializes in ER.
Apparently they don't teach irony or sarchasm at PA school. :smackingf:smackingf:smackingf

But yeah, big difference between Physician's Assistant and Physician Assistant.

I caught the sarcasm in the post and sarcastic or not it serves to minimize the the educational requirement of one profession as compared to another. I take great offense to someone with one degree or certification passing themselves off as something else. When I was an ER tech working my way through LPN school I never passed myself off as a LPN. When I finished LPN school and enrolled in an ASN program I never referred to myself off as a RN. Once I had my ASN and started in the BSN program I never falsely inflated my educational credentials to include the BSN until I finished and had that degree in hand. I've also never defined myself by the degree I hold, only by the level of care I gave when I was working as a nurse and this will hold true when I become a PA.

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I caught the sarcasm in the post and sarcastic or not it serves to minimize the the educational requirement of one profession as compared to another. I take great offense to someone with one degree or certification passing themselves off as something else. When I was an ER tech working my way through LPN school I never passed myself off as a LPN. When I finished LPN school and enrolled in an ASN program I never referred to myself off as a RN. Once I had my ASN and started in the BSN program I never falsely inflated my educational credentials to include the BSN until I finished and had that degree in hand. I've also never defined myself by the degree I hold, only by the level of care I gave when I was working as a nurse and this will hold true when I become a PA.

your good old fashioned snit, proved Leslie's point....It wouldn't fly....

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I caught the sarcasm in the post and sarcastic or not it serves to minimize the the educational requirement of one profession as compared to another. I take great offense to someone with one degree or certification passing themselves off as something else. When I was an ER tech working my way through LPN school I never passed myself off as a LPN. When I finished LPN school and enrolled in an ASN program I never referred to myself off as a RN. Once I had my ASN and started in the BSN program I never falsely inflated my educational credentials to include the BSN until I finished and had that degree in hand. I've also never defined myself by the degree I hold, only by the level of care I gave when I was working as a nurse and this will hold true when I become a PA.

I think you're preaching to the choir..........:)

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rn2pa the poster was saying "what if a medical assistant or other unlicensed staff started calling themselves "Physician Assistant", and "wouldn't that p!ss off PAs?". It's just another comparison. Like what if a practical nurse called themselves a "practitioner nurse" and confused people about whether they were an NP. The poster was not comparing PAs to Medical Assistants at all.

I think you either misread the scenario, or you have had a rough week, or both. Rough week?

If you've worked yourself way all the way from ER tech to LPN to RN to PA, then I'm guessing every week has been a rough week. We all respect those accomplishments, but maybe it's time for a vacation to Cozumel or something.

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.
let me clarify one more thing, they give demerol when its ordered by the doc we have a few pts on it but they don't have a narc log so they don't keep a record of who gave it or what they gave . also they start iv's but they don't push meds through, sorry for the confusion.

"specific authorization" means a specific written order prepared by the supervising physician or podiatrist authorizing the procedures to be performed on a patient, which shall be placed in the patient's medical record; or a standing order prepared by the supervising physician or podiatrist authorizing the procedures to be performed, the duration of which shall be consistent with accepted medical practice. a notation of the standing order shall be placed in the patient's medical record.

other technical supportive services which a medical assistant may perform have been established by regulation and include: applying and removing bandages and dressings, removing sutures, performing ear lavage, preparing patients for examinations, and shaving and disinfecting treatment sites. the regulations governing medical assistants can be found in title 16 california code of regulations sections 1366-1366.4. medical assistants who have completed the minimum training prescribed by regulation may draw blood.

medical assistants are not allowed to perform such invasive procedures as:

  • placing the needle or starting and disconnecting the infusion tube of an iv.
  • administering medications or injections into the iv line.
  • charting the pupillary responses.
  • inserting a urine catheter.
  • independently performing telephone triage.
  • injecting collagen.
  • using lasers to remove hair, wrinkles, scars, moles or other blemishes.
  • administering chemotherapy.

source: http://www.medbd.ca.gov/allied/medical_assistants_training.html

(this is straight from the california medical board.......for further clarification,

what does the medical board do?

the medical board of california is a state government agency which licenses and disciplines medical doctors. the board provides two principal types of services to consumers: public-record information about california-licensed physicians, and investigation of complaints against physicians.

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Okay, I completely agree this is totally wrong, and you need to get far far away. It is illegal for them to be performing nursing tasks, BUT since they aren't putting Registered Nurse on the cards or referring to them as REGISTERED nurses, I don't know if that would be illegal. The word nurse is not reserved solely for the professional title unless the word registered precedes it.

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Okay, I just saw the post with the California law. That's interesting.

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