Last names on ID badges and retaliation by patients

[ICRN2008]

I am a nursing student who would like input on her school's policy on ID badges. We are currently required to display our full first and last name on our name tags at our clinical sites.

I contend that this is a significant safety risk to me and my fellow students, especially in light of recent incidents of violence against health care workers.

Would you be willing to share your stories with me? I am specifically looking for instances where a patient or visitor found out your last name and was able to harass you as a result. I may share a few of these anecdotes in my presentation, so please let me know if I can include your story.

I am aware of an OSHA document that recommends against the use of last names on ID badges. Do you know of any other news or scholarly articles I can present to them.

Thank you all for your help :)

[lifejourney]

In many states, all persons with a license are listed via electronic database through a website. Thus, if I type in my own name into the license verification database in my state, my home address would appear, as well as my license number and any complaints to the board of nursing that may have been made against me. I made the decision to rent a PO Box for my license address because I felt having the home address for all to see so easily was somewhat upsetting.

I can't imagine having a choice whether or not to display my last name on my badge at work. I don't see why a person would be more at risk posting their full name on hospital badges than anywhere else in the world we live in.... I've even worked at a hospital where the nurses went by last names only. Co-workers addressed one another as Ms. Smith or Mr. Chen, etc., which I thought was very professional and respectful, especially coming from the Docs.

I'm a little confused at why there is such a concern about using first/last names. Maybe those who have voiced concerns could elaborate more....

I've worked in inner city hospitals, taken care of prisoners, mental health patients, and any other patients that might be considered threatening. Only heard of one issue that wasn't really a big deal....

[student4ever]

I work in an ER where our name badges have only our first name and our title (RN, LPN, etc.) on the front. The back has our last name, in case it ever got lost I guess... though there's a picture on the badge, so I don't know how they could mix it up with someone else, but anyways... I really hate seeing hospital badges that have people's first and last names on it. The ER is the only department in the hospital that does not have last names on the employee badges, and I find that to be very disconcerting, as I have experienced situations when I was working in admitting (with both first and last name on my badge) in the ER, and people would come up to me and say, "I know where you live." Generally, they were people who had seen me in my neighborhood because they live close to my house, but now they know my first name, my last name, and where I live, as well as the fact that I work in the ER at the hospital. That is entirely too much in my opinion, when you see as many psycho kinds of people as you see in the ER. I have had patients in the ER threaten "to find and kill" me because they were unhappy with their treatment plans, and one psychotic person threatened to burn down my house because he was being TDO'd for his psychosis. I do NOT under any circumstances want these people to know my last name... it is uncommon, and it would be far too easy to find me and my home, with my loved ones inside. I do this job because I love helping people... but the day that working in the ER threatens or compromises my family and my home life, I will quit in an instant.

[ICRN2008, BSN, RN]

The reason I am concerned for our safety is because nurses are at an increased risk of workplace violence and retaliation compared to other professions.

The OSHA document I referred to can be found at:

http://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3148.pdf

It is very interesting, and I recommend reading it if you are so inclined.

The reference to using ID badges without last names can be found on page 19 of the PDF.

Thank you all for your input so far.

[Lil_Skipper04]

A few years ago a former co-worker had a patient that found out her address and phone number and started stalking her. There really is no reason to have our last names on our badges as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps administration just wants to make sure people spell our whole name right when they make a "customer complaint."

I think that if that's the case, then a special ID # should be given out. That way it saves us from having our last names on our badges, and it still easily identifies us. For example, Joe S. RN #2245.

[Pipsqueak, ADN]

Our first and last names are listed on our badges, but then I work in long term care so I don't think the risk is nearly that of a hospital. When i was doing clinicals in school, our badges had both our first and last names on them, however, during the psychiatric rotation, our instructors had us cover our last name with dark tape. Also the hospital employees did not have their last names on the badges in the psychiatric ward only.

[Larry77, RN]

While at the hospital I work at we do not have our last names on our badges, it is my understanding that, by law, we as RN's and/or LPN's are required to disclose our last names when asked. I have a past in psychiatric nursing where a whole different set of laws is in effect, and where I would not give my last name unless a hospital attorney said I had to.

[directcare4me]

The reason I am concerned for our safety is because nurses are at an increased risk of workplace violence and retaliation compared to other professions.

The OSHA document I referred to can be found at:

http://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3148.pdf

It is very interesting, and I recommend reading it if you are so inclined.

The reference to using ID badges without last names can be found on page 19 of the PDF.

Thank you all for your input so far.

I think you are being proactive in a situation that makes you uncomfortable, with good reason. You're correct that workplace violence is increasing, and thank you for the OSHA article. Both I and my co-workers have experienced the angry frustrated family member who says something like, "you better watch out when you're walking to your car", or "I've got a 2-by-4 in my truck, I'll go get it". I'm not making these up, and yes I know that stressed people say things that they don't mean, but there really isn't any need for them to know my last name.

It isn't as if we are providing anonymous care, our names are all over the chart. I can honestly think of no productive reason for me to wear a badge with my whole name on it, walking all through the hospital as I go to X-ray, pharmacy, etc. I might as well wear my name badge at the mall.

However, since my facility requires this at the present time, I wear my badge either backwards, or clipped inside a pocket. As do many of my co-workers. That way we have it on our person, but our names are somewhat protected.

And, anecdotally, I do know one nurse who worked in our unit some years ago, who was almost assaulted in her home by a phlebotomist who had seen her name on her tag. She was fortunate to run away from him, and since she recognized him, he was caught by the police. That is what he apparently told the police, as to how he came to her house; he thought she was "cute". This is when many of us began turning our tags around.

Good Luck.

[URO-RN]

First name, last name initial. That's all the patient needs from his/her nurse.

I work at a hospital, where my dh, who's a cop, drops off patients. .... I don't need someone knowing that I am the wife of the cop who brought you in.

[grannynurse FNP student]

Like another poster said, if you're a home owner anybody can find out your address (even though your telephone number may be unlisted) via public documents...it's kinda scary.

Believe me, unless you are in federal witness protection, you can be found by someone who wants to find you. And even federal witness protection is no guarentee.

Grannynurse

[Mandarella]

My hospital name tag has my pic, my first name last initial and position.

My school ID-same institution, same HR dept has full first & last name and my student title.

I don't like this at all. My last place of employment I did have an unstable man who's grandfather died on our floor, harass me.

I don't like the last name on tags period. Safety issues. If it is a necessity, the first name should be in HUGE BOLD CAP letters and the last name be in regular print type, so the first name is more distracting making the last name harder to see.

I am in upstate NY by the way. All of our area hospitals do it differently. I like ours, just the last initial. That's enough needed for identifcation, along with a description of the hc worker, if there was a problem they could be identified.

[nursemomruns]

I think the patients need to be protected as well. They have a right to know the first and last name of the person caring form them, imo. I realize there are a lot of sicko patient out there and understand your concerns.

In 14 years I personally have never had a problem with someone knowing my last name.

Can you link the document where OSHA recommends first names only?

If someone wants to stalk you or cause you trouble or harm, they are going to do it regardless if your name is on the nametag or not.

Indeed, the would-be stalkers will find you wherever you go. They can watch you going out to your car. They can go to medical records and get a copy of the chart and get your last name from there. I do not have a problem with patients knowing my last name. I worked in a prison where the patients had to call you by your last name - first names were considered fraternizing. I've not had anyone come to my home. My ex-husband is a psychologist. Our home address and phone number were in the phone book, which freaked me out at first, but in 20 years no one has ever sought out his home. Also, depending on the state laws and where you work, patients can find out more about you than you'd ever want to know. For instance, they may be entitled to know your degree, your salary, and years of experience depending on circumstances.

[HeartsOpenWide, RN]

At my school we only put our first names. This is for safty reasons. We live in a small community and if a patient could know your first and last name they could easliy find out where you live, your phone # ect. That is none of their business, and you never know what a person would do with too much information...