Medical Assistants being called nurses

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  1. Are you comfortable with MAs calling selves Nurses?

    • 56
      Are you receiving info in your MDs office from an MA who says they are Nurse?
    • 29
      Is it self to pose as a nurse if you are an MA in MD offices
    • 66
      Why are MDs allowing MAs to pose as nurses
    • 101
      Why is it not being addressed by BNE that MAs can not identify as Nurses
    • 31
      Who should give you diagnostic info if not md an MA?

13 members have participated

I have serious concerns about Md offices hiring medical assistants and calling themselves nurses. They are given diagnostic results and education to pts, but identify as nurses . I have had the experience and new immediately that I was not speaking to a nurse ended up calling 911 b/c the md would not return call, the MA was uncomfortable taking note to md and I was a post op pt. I am RN of 28yrs and out of 7 providers only one hires licensed nurses, were name badges. These other offices refer to the MAs as nurses and really have not seen this address. How long would it take if I said I was an md in an office before it would be addressed as a very serious matter? I think it is perfectly fine that Mds want to hire MAs, but is it ok that they say they are nurses and they are doing nursing duties? How comfortable are you with not knowing who is talking to you at the mds' office? I know it is not legal so why is this not a serious concern?

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

Good on you Anna, and good on your doc for being receptive to what you had to say to him.

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Specializes in Cardiology, ER, ICU.

I have had the same concerns and also wondered why it is not being addressed.

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I have had the same concerns and also wondered why it is not being addressed.

Unfortunately, sometimes it IS addressed, yet the practice doesn't care, or doesn't see it as a problem. My PCP is part of a multi-specialty practice where there are no nurses, but several MAs. They are referred to as "Dr. X's nurse". The front desk receptionist says "one of the nurses will be out for you shortly". The MAs say "just call and ask for a nurse" when the patient asks what they should do if XX occurs.

Brought it to MD's attention, it's not his call, he's an employee of the practice (doesn't like it, but has no pull). Brought it to the attention of the front desk person who uses the term "nurse" inappropriately, she said "oh, we call all the girls here that" (girls? No one is a 'girl' there, but there are certainly 'women'). I ask them both to tell upper management that patients are being misled, and I'm told "they don't see it as a problem, it's just fine the way it is".

I notified the BON, by phone, was told to put it in writing. Put it in writing (email) and got no response. Followed up, and it was pretty obvious they weren't going to bother.

And I like my PCP, so I deal with it; I'm not changing docs because of it. But it's still pretty irritating.

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Excuse my lack of nurse speak as all I have under my belt so far are nursing prereq's!

In CT we utilize MA's and Nurses in doctors offices but unless you specifically ask, they do not introduce themselves with credentials and nurse is not a legally protected title here.

A few years back my newly diagnosed, OCD son came in contact with poison ivy. 75% of his body was covered in rash and he was developing huge blisters. When his face started to swell that night my DH brought him to the ER. On his way out the door I told DH to please make sure the ER Is aware that he had just gotten out of crisis mode and I'm worried about a steroid interfering with his progress. Regardless, they gave him a steroid injection and a script for liquid suspension. They must have believed that the benefit outweighed the risk..That night was heartbreaking. 48 hours later We were back in crisis mode. I called our pediatrician and and the office staff said the Drs "nurse" would call us right back. Two hours later the "nurse" calls and I explained to her that my son needed an alternative medication because of his OCD. I explained his insomnia, night terrors, and his heightened anxiety. Within a few short minutes I was convinced that she was not a nurse. She disregarded my concern, encouraged me to continue with the medication and told me in a nasty tone that it was NOT the steroid and speaking with the DR was not necessary. I interrupted her and asked her if I was speaking to a nurse. Immediately, Dr P's "nurse" took a defensive tone and she said "YES, Mrs. Cream and sugar I am the nurse!" My response was: "are you a licensed RN or LPN"? Silence...

Again she tells me she's Dr P's nurse. At that point I told her since she can't tell me wether she holds a license I do not believe she should be giving me medical advice and I asked her to have the Dr call me back and had her switch me back to the front desk. They confirmed she was a MA. I told them that I want it written in my chart that in the future only a licensed nurse or the Dr is allowed to contact me when I call with an issue regarding my children. Dr P got an ear full. He responded appropriately and at our next routine visit I found out that she was no longer there. I do believe that is was her attitude, not her misrepresentation of being a nurse that resulted in them firing her. I'm sure she's working in a similar setting throwing around her unlicensed medical advice. Most of the time the general public does not think to ask.

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day, icuRNmaggie:

Yes, in our area, it is extremely common for doctor's offices et al to say "the nurse will see you now" or "the nurse will take you back to see the doctor", etc. I've had this happen in orthopedic offices, general practitioners, doctor specialist offices, And, as I've shared, I will then often ask the "nurse" what type of nurse, schooling, etc., and it is just as common to hear, CNA, MA as it is LPN/RN... in fact, I here the former two far more than the latter two.

Unless there is more and more PUBLIC education about the title differences, there will continue to be problems.

Thank you.

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One day you will post something ignorant, ill-conceived, poorly thought through, inflammatory or otherwise reflecting poorly on yourself and you won't want your manager to immediately identify you. Leave some room for doubt!

I am not quite sure how you can predict that she will ever do this? We should not call other people's realities and make judgments such as that. Thank you.

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Several years ago, I visited a physician for additional tests and symptoms of low thyroid. This was one of the messages I received from the MA:

...The longer you are on the medication, it should improve. We will continue to monitor every 6 months, unless you begin to exeperience some symptoms of low thyroid, we can recheck sooner. I will make sure there is a full copy uploaded on the website. Please let me know if there is anyhthing else that I can help with :)

1. I wasn't on thyroid medication.

2. I was already experiencing ow thyroid symptoms. That was the reason for my visit.

3. Emoticons, such as the " :) " at the conclusion of the message are unprofessional on medical documentation.

I forwarded this message to the physician, mentioning that I was NOT on thyroid meds. No reply. Needless to say, I never returned to that physician.

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Specializes in Med/surg.
One day you will post something ignorant, ill-conceived, poorly thought through, inflammatory or otherwise reflecting poorly on yourself and you won't want your manager to immediately identify you. Leave some room for doubt!

I am not quite sure how you can predict that she will ever do this? We should not call other people's realities and make judgments such as that. Thank you.

I believe the previous poster was pointing out that the OP should consider changing her username to something besides her name, because there is always the possibility that she would post something 'unbecoming' at a later date that could get her in trouble because there is clear identifying information (her username being her name). I don't believe the poster was intending to be rude, only pointing out what gets pointed out many times here-- that it's unwise to have one's real name on a public board.

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I would also like to point out that the majority of medical assistants have had training and are either certified or registered after passing a licensure exam by the state. However, this is not always the case. At the doctors office I worked at, as a certified medical assistant, we also had 3 medical assistants that had not gone to school or been trained by anyone, other than the training they received at the office. How someone can work in the medical field with no training is beyond me. Two of those went on to nursing school and I'm sure will be fabulous nurses. I am currently in nursing school myself and I am thankful for my training as a medical assistant, as it does lay the background for me to understand the concepts I am learning now.

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I believe the previous poster was pointing out that the OP should consider changing her username to something besides her name, because there is always the possibility that she would post something 'unbecoming' at a later date that could get her in trouble because there is clear identifying information (her username being her name). I don't believe the poster was intending to be rude, only pointing out what gets pointed out many times here-- that it's unwise to have one's real name on a public board.

I apologize for going off topic

I've been browsing on AN for a few years now and only recently joined. I can recall off the top of my head at least 3 instances since January where students and nurses were kicked out of school and fired because they were identifiable and just shared too much or vented too often.. So believe me it was good, solid advice!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
I would also like to point out that the majority of medical assistants have had training and are either certified or registered after passing a licensure exam by the state. However, this is not always the case. At the doctors office I worked at, as a certified medical assistant, we also had 3 medical assistants that had not gone to school or been trained by anyone, other than the training they received at the office. How someone can work in the medical field with no training is beyond me. Two of those went on to nursing school and I'm sure will be fabulous nurses. I am currently in nursing school myself and I am thankful for my training as a medical assistant, as it does lay the background for me to understand the concepts I am learning now.

MA's are not licensed. They are certified. There is a large difference.

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They would have to take and pass the CMA exam to use that title. It already is being used by people who are certified.

I've had this discussion on a physician website. When they start to inveigh against "Doctor Nurses," I remind them that many of them use unlicensed staff in their offices and refer to them as "nurses."

I'm curious; how do the physicians respond when you tell them that?

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