Is it legal to have RN's use full name on badge?

nitrorocket · Dec 12, 2014

Lol, oh boy...

We should be immune from any crazy patient being able to seek information or retaliation on us on their own terms. There should be a record by them having to request our info through the facility that employs us. This would stop RN's from being harassed , stalked, or put at risk unless our info is needed for improper conduct. Yet one of the 50 million things gone wrong with nursing over the years.

How we are treated as a profession is insulting and Im amazed more dont speak up. They will talk between eachother all day long, but thats where it ends.

nitrorocket · Dec 12, 2014

I dont wanna argue or be insulted. I just want a flawed system to be improved a little... Thats all.

caliotter3 · Dec 12, 2014

Lol, oh boy...
We should be immune from any crazy patient being able to seek information or retaliation on us on their own terms. There should be a record by them having to request our info through the facility that employs us. This would stop RN's from being harassed , stalked, or put at risk unless our info is needed for improper conduct. Yet one of the 50 million things gone wrong with nursing over the years.
How we are treated as a profession is insulting and Im amazed more dont speak up. They will talk between eachother all day long, but thats where it ends.

Having been on the receiving end of 'harassing, stalking, at risk behavior' due to my job, I can certainly agree with what you say here. Unfortunately, as I observed, all the individuals had to do was to lie in wait and follow me home. It does not take much effort to get the drop on your victim.

The sickening aspect of this is the attitude of the employer when one attempts to protect themselves from this.

dishes, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2014

Referring to patients as "mentally instable, freaks or crazy patients" says more about your attitude, than your working conditions and is more likely to result in a patient filing a complaint against you than your hospital's lack of resources.

skyler20 · Dec 12, 2014

At my hospital the only people that don't have their last name on their badge are those that work in psych, and ER.

caliotter3 · Dec 12, 2014

At my hospital the only people that don't have their last name on their badge are those that work in psych, and ER.

Well, why?

elkpark · Dec 12, 2014

Lol, oh boy...
We should be immune from any crazy patient being able to seek information or retaliation on us on their own terms. There should be a record by them having to request our info through the facility that employs us. This would stop RN's from being harassed , stalked, or put at risk unless our info is needed for improper conduct. Yet one of the 50 million things gone wrong with nursing over the years.
How we are treated as a profession is insulting and Im amazed more dont speak up. They will talk between eachother all day long, but thats where it ends.

This has nothing to do with nursing specifically, and nothing to do with us being "insulted" or mistreated. As already noted, it's about being a responsible, adult professional. Plenty of other professions operate with much higher risk than nurses and would never consider not using their last names. Police officers, physicians, attorneys, parole officers, judges, social workers, etc., etc., etc. Can you imagine being arrested (or even just stopped on the street) by a police officer who wore a badge that said "Bob" or "Sally"? Would you go to a physician who was reluctant to let you know her/his last name? Can you imagine being on trial in a courtroom presided over by "Judge Jill"?

Lots of people in nursing seem to want the money and respect that comes with being a responsible, accountable professional but don't want to have to do the "heavy lifting" associated with that kind of responsibility and respect. I have plenty of concerns about how nurses get treated as a group, but whether or not I can hide my last name from the clients I serve is not one of them.

IMO, the reluctance to use our last names is one of the things that keep nursing from being taken seriously. In our society, only children and pets don't have last names -- responsible adults have last names, and use them. If you're the client lying in the hospital bed, and standing around your bed discussing your situation are Dr. Brown, Dr. Smith, Dr. Jones, and Sally, what does that tell you about Sally?? It tells you that Sally doesn't really matter. I work in psych and that's where the whole "using first names at work" thing started, decades ago (for good reasons at that time and in that setting), but I'm disappointed nursing has embraced it so wholeheartedly, and I believe strongly it works against us (but the cat is out of the bag now, and it would be v. hard to go back to being addressed as professionals).

nitrorocket · Dec 12, 2014

The big issue with mentioned above, is we don't make big money, 25 bucks an hour is not a very good income considering we deal with about 10 times more things than most careers. Most hospitals now took away time and a half, holiday pay, weekend differential, etc. Many hospitals have done wage freezes, that's not fair to us considering the high standards we have compared to most fields.

I work with many nurses as does everybody, I just feel as a whole we are very taken advantage of by the healthcare field and hospitals.

We all know the way and direction the world seems to be going, I just feel that we should have more protection for ourselves and our families when most of the time many nurses deal with some pretty unstable patients, that's why they end up in the hospital in the first place, you know?

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2014

The big issue with mentioned above, is we don't make big money, 25 bucks an hour is not a very good income considering we deal with about 10 times more things than most careers. Most hospitals now took away time and a half, holiday pay, weekend differential, etc. Many hospitals have done wage freezes, that's not fair to us considering the high standards we have compared to most fields.
I work with many nurses as does everybody, I just feel as a whole we are very taken advantage of by the healthcare field and hospitals.
We all know the way and direction the world seems to be going, I just feel that we should have more protection for ourselves and our families when most of the time many nurses deal with some pretty unstable patients, that's why they end up in the hospital in the first place, you know?

Police officers, parole officers, social workers, teachers and the like, often get paid much less than nurses and are often at greater danger, while they have significant responsibility. Yet, they are expected to be known by full names.

The more professional one is the greater the responsibility, the more likely that one's last name is used. You do not have to like it, but when you chose this profession, this is part of the responsibility that is required.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2014

Boy, nursing seems to get more ridiculous every day

Why? Because we have to put our last names on our badges?? Patients have right to know their caregivers names. They have a right to know their doctors' last names. Outside of healthcare--they have the right to know the name of the police officer who pulled them over. Criminals have the right to know the name of the person who is accusing them. They have the right to know the last name of the judge trying them...etc, etc.

In my state it is the law to have first and last name visible on one's badge. It has been that way for a long time--it is not some new ridiculous standard for nurses.

psu_213, BSN, RN · Dec 12, 2014

MD's and RN's are a COMPLETELY different, we don't prescribe as well as many other things.

True, there are many differences between RNs and physicians. While the RN does not write the order, he/she carries them out. That means treatments that are uncomfortable to the patient and pushing IV meds/hanging drips that are outright dangerous if done incorrectly. I think the patient has the right to know the full name of the person who is carrying out these orders.

liberated847 · Dec 12, 2014

I work in a hospital where we have our first and last name on our badges. Patients look up our legal records, and try to look us up on facebook. Isn't this a HIPAA violation? That is invasive to our personal lives which has NOTHING to do with work.
The way I see it is that patients have no right to know or first and last names. That is unsafe to us, and our families, I have many mentally instable patients!

I share your privacy concerns, that's why I don't use Facebook or similar platforms.