why do many MAs and CNAs call themselves nurses?

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As I was taking care of a pt, she mentions she's also a nurse. I asked what her specialty is and where she works at. She says she works at a clinic as an MA. In my head, in what universe is an MA a nurse?!

Start calling everyone "Doctor." Their attitude will change in a HURRY. :roflmao:

I'm SO doing this. Thanks!

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I would not be friends on FB with someone falsely representing themselves as a licensed nurse, when indeed, they are lying.

I told her to shove it where the sun don't shine in real life (not fb life) but that's a whole different story.

don't even know why they're still on my fb list.

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At a few nursing homes around here their CNA's carry the official title of "Care nurse." Which I feel only fuels the confusion. Thankfully all the aides I have worked around there are very quick to point out that they aren't "actual nurses" and don't really refer to themselves as such.

And if your State is one that has a legal protection for the title of "nurse", then the nursing homes (and the people wearing the tags) are breaking the law.

The protection of the title for use only by those who are licensed as Registered Nurses or Practical/Vocational Nurses came about largely due to a lawsuit in which parents of a (dead) newborn filed charges against an individual and a company that hired the individual, a "baby nurse" by trade. "Baby nurse" was a commonly-used job title for someone who was NOT a nurse, but in actuality just a babysitter. And even then, not a well-prepared one: the "nurse" did not know how to not kill the child, nor how to revive one she had nearly killed. In the law-changing suit, the parents claimed they had no idea that the "baby nurse" had no medical training whatsoever.....and there is now a law against anyone using the title 'nurse' who is not one.

Doesn't mean you can't still find "baby nurses" advertised all over, including States that don't allow the title to be used.

Meaning, in a nutshell, that there are NO TEETH to this law. Complain to the BoN (as I have done, on more than one occasion) and you will find yourself quickly on "Ignore" status.

A law that is not enforced might as well not be there, IMHO.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.

"why do many MAs and CNAs call themselves nurses?"

Plain and simple: because they can.

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[A UOTE=Pangea Reunited;8710842]Some people really do think it's the same thing. For others, it's a self esteem issue. I work with a CNA who claims to be an RN with a BSN on his social media pages. When we tried on uniforms, he tried on the RN color and took pictures of himself in the bathroom. It's bizarre.

Another CNA I work with claims that being a nurse is "all about how you carry yourself, not what education you have".

These are actually good CNAs, too! They would make good nurses if they did decide to go to school ...but instead, they choose to lie. I can't say I completely understand the behavior. It's obnoxious, and yet I like these people on a personal level and feel somewhat sorry for them.

I z

Sorry... Pocket post... Haha

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

I hope you called her out on it!

And the answer as to why they do it? Because they can. REAL nurses don't hold them and clinic/hospital staff who allow it to happen accountable.

As I was taking care of a pt, she mentions she's also a nurse. I asked what her specialty is and where she works at. She says she works at a clinic as an MA. In my head, in what universe is an MA a nurse?!
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Specializes in Education.

Had one who went even beyond what I've seen and heard about. They looked at and (wrongly) interpreted my lab results. And then told me. In a public area.

I'm certainly holding a few different people accountable, from the MA on up to the doctor and office manager. And I know that the doctor hasn't seen the results yet, either.

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When people see me wearing scrubs and ask if I am a nurse I tell them I am a nursing assistant. When a resident or family member at work hollers "nurse" I do stop, tell them I am an aide, and ask what they need. If it's something I can do, I do it. If not, I tell them that I will get the Nurse for them. I won't lie to anyone about what I do. I am at the lowest rung of the nursing profession, but my climb has just started. To me saying that you are a nurse when you are not is disrespectful to those who have earned the title

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My aunt claims to be a nurse any chance she gets. She works in a hospital gift shop and never completed any education post-high school. Close enough. :rolleyes:

I am careful to never overstep that boundary as a CNA because I definitely have no clue how to take on the responsibilities of a nurse.

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Specializes in Hospice, ONC, Tele, Med Surg, Endo/Output.

Actually, people like this CNA, I do as follows: I mention to them to consider the LVN or RN program. To that I have heard over and over, each time I ask a CNA to do this, "No way; way too much responsibility. You guys are responsible for EVERYTHING and are treated badly." But, I "guess it's how you carry yourself." So glad I don't have to put up with their flippant attitudes in acute care anymore. It's been 10 glorious years since I left acute care. Hospice HHAs are awesome; they get their work done and move on to the next patient; no time to sit on their butts watching the nurses bust their butts, like the hospital aides.

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I got a good one for you guys. My girlfriends exfriend who was in MA school claimed to be in medical school to get his MD. 😒

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Specializes in Hospice, ONC, Tele, Med Surg, Endo/Output.

Because you haven't blocked them yet.

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