Medical Professional?

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

There was a conversation at work on who is considered a "medical professional." Specifically are CNAs considered a health-care or medical professional? One nurse at work stated that CNA are health-care professionals, while the another nurse disagrees because a CNA doesn't require 2-4 years of education?

[RN1989]

There is no hard and fast rule and you are going to irritate someone no matter what you call them. I have heard CNAs called "allied health professionals", lumping them in with CMAs, dental hygienists, etc. There are many who do not consider nurses to be "professionals" especially if they are LPN/LVNs. Some people think that only bachelors prepared nurses are professionals. And still there is the other camp that does not believe that any nurses are professionals because we do things like wipe butts for a living and belong to unions. Just depends on who you talk to - and it usually brings up a disagreement every time.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Unlicensed assistive personnel (CNAs, MAs, techs, phlebotomists, etc.) are considered "paraprofessionals" and "allied healthcare workers."

However, professionalism is not all about educational level. It is interspersed in the way you present yourself to the public.

[jb2u, ASN, RN]

Well, I guess in some way they are both right???

1) we do use "professional" to mean a degree required job. However...

2) we also call a professional one that gets paid for what they do, such as a baseball player, golfer, writer, house painter, etc etc etc

3) we also say, he did a professional job. We are not saying he did it like he had a 2-4 year degree. We are saying that he did the job conforming to a certain standard and ethic.

That being said, let CNAs call themselves health care professionals. I do not see the point in playing semantics. They are in health care...they do get paid...and should act professionally.

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

One definition of "profession" that I saw once stated a profession is an occupation with enough responsibility and education requiring members to regulate their peers. Those outside of the particular profession would not be able to regulate members due to lack of specific knowledge and experience. This makes sense to me. For example, lawyers serve on their state bars to regulate their members, same with medicine, nursing, engineering, insurance agents, and teaching, etc.

Under this definition, CNAs would not be professionals because their peers, other CNAs, do not self-regulate and license fellow workers.

In the end, feelings tend to be hurt about this sort of thing. So I certainly wouldn't discuss this very much at work. Some might misinterpret the parsing of correct semantics to be a lack of respect for CNAs.

[lindarn]

There is no hard and fast rule and you are going to irritate someone no matter what you call them. I have heard CNAs called "allied health professionals", lumping them in with CMAs, dental hygienists, etc. There are many who do not consider nurses to be "professionals" especially if they are LPN/LVNs. Some people think that only bachelors prepared nurses are professionals. And still there is the other camp that does not believe that any nurses are professionals because we do things like wipe butts for a living and belong to unions. Just depends on who you talk to - and it usually brings up a disagreement every time.

CNA's, Medical Assistants, CMA's, and other career fields like that, are considered unlicensed assistive personnel. They are in NO WAY "health care professionals", or even "allied health care professionals". Nurses, even LPNs/LVNs have at least a college education, that leads to a professional license. Training courses for CNA's, Med Techs, MA's are, for the most part, on the job training. I consider it nothing more than delusions of granduer for these individuals to consider themselves to be "health care professionals". If you want the title, than go to college and earn it like the rest of us did.

Sort of like CNA's calling themselves, "nurses", and becoming offended when they are corrected. If that wasn't bad enough, now they have gone past calling themselves, "nurses", and considering themselves, "health care professionals". I suppose that the boy scout who knows how to bandage cuts should call himself a surgeon. What next?

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

CNA's are your co-workers in a professional setting. IMO they should not be bad-mouthed but looked at as team players. Team players get the already stressful job done together with health professionals.

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

CNA's, Medical Assistants, CMA's, and other career fields like that, are considered unlicensed assistive personnel. They are in NO WAY "health care professionals", or even "allied health care professionals". Nurses, even LPNs/LVNs have at least a college education, that leads to a professional license. Training courses for CNA's, Med Techs, MA's are, for the most part, on the job training. I consider it nothing more than delusions of granduer for these individuals to consider themselves to be "health care professionals". If you want the title, than go to college and earn it like the rest of us did.

Sort of like CNA's calling themselves, "nurses", and becoming offended when they are corrected. If that wasn't bad enough, now they have gone past calling themselves, "nurses", and considering themselves, "health care professionals". I suppose that the boy scout who knows how to bandage cuts should call himself a surgeon. What next?

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Spokane, Washington

I certainly didn't feel delusions of granduer when I was scrubbed in for heart cath studies and assisting as a Certfied Mdical Assistant working amongst my peers. That's quite a gerneralization you've made. Perhaps shorten the legs of the chair you might be standing on?:angryfire

[LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN]

CNA's, Medical Assistants, CMA's, and other career fields like that, are considered unlicensed assistive personnel. They are in NO WAY "health care professionals", or even "allied health care professionals". Nurses, even LPNs/LVNs have at least a college education, that leads to a professional license. Training courses for CNA's, Med Techs, MA's are, for the most part, on the job training. I consider it nothing more than delusions of granduer for these individuals to consider themselves to be "health care professionals". If you want the title, than go to college and earn it like the rest of us did.

I have every intention of going to nursing school, I have been to college have earned two degrees. I was not calling myself a "professional" nor I have never presented myself to be a nurse, when patients refer to me as a nurse I inform them that I am the nurses aide. This was a discussion between two nurses in my department, and I was curious as to what other nurses thought on the subject.

[Miss Mab]

I have every intention of going to nursing school, I have been to college have earned two degrees. I was not calling myself a "professional" nor I have never presented myself to be a nurse, when patients refer to me as a nurse I inform them that I am the nurses aide. This was a discussion between two nurses in my department, and I was curious as to what other nurses thought on the subject.

I think different nurses are giving their thoughts. I interpreted LindaRN's "if you want the title" to be referring to the royal "you"--not you personally.

I think her take was spot on. We all have a role--and important ones each. But it is a reality that we have those delineated roles for a reason. Unlicensed personnel are definitely part of the team but are not considered "health care professionals." I hope they do bring a sense of professionalism to their job, though. I hope we all do.

But sometimes that's a different story :)

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

I have every intention of going to nursing school, I have been to college have earned two degrees. I was not calling myself a "professional" nor I have never presented myself to be a nurse, when patients refer to me as a nurse I inform them that I am the nurses aide. This was a discussion between two nurses in my department, and I was curious as to what other nurses thought on the subject.

I am a licensd nurse with 2 degrees as well. If my posts have mislead you, I apologize. I still believe with or without licensure we all who work with "patients" derserve the respect of all co-workers for the best care of the patient as much as possible. I came up through the ranks by my situational choice. I always kept my respect intact for those with less or more education than I.

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

Delusions of granduer is a rather harsh descrpition in a loosely generalized aspect of the health care field, IMO. Yet I do agree other's may feel less compssionate about this form of disrespect than I, I still stand with my origianal posts. Working in a health care environment, one should act as a professional employee. As a previous poster declared there are professional painters, contractors, etc. My dh is a journeyman and graduated after 5 years of school and "on the job training" as an apprentice: Yet, I do not hear the disrespect as he talks about training his now appentice, rather how well the training is going. I believe folks can be comfortable in their chosen shoes without having to disrespect others. I find it intolerable, IMO.