Am I the only one that is bothered by this? I see so many healthcare professionals, nurses, aides, etc. who, either intentionally or unintentionally, wear their name badges backwards. It bothers me both as a co-worker and when I am the patient. I know that some people do it because they don't want people knowing their names, but honestly, how are you supposed to work with someone or be cared for by someone who you don't even know by name? I don't think that last names should be displayed on a name badge, especially in this crazy world that we live in today, but I think that to display your first name, job title, and photo ID should be required. In most facilities, this technically is a requirement, yet still, half the employees will have their name badge on backwards. Call me paranoid, but if someone comes into my room when I'm the patient and wants to do a procedure on me, I want to be able to tell right away who they are and what their job title is. Ditto when a co-worker shows up to take one of my patients somewhere or to assist me with the patient's care.
I've actually always been on a first name basis with the doctors I work with...
I just started a new job and our badges are on lanyards that do dot flip. But because they are around our necks, they get in the way when you bend forward, and since they don't stretch, to swipe the time clock or anything else requiring swiping, I have to hunch down or take the badge off and put it back on.
Why they can't make a retractable, non-flipping, clip on badge is beyond me.
My badge flips all of the time and I turn it several times a shift. Thankfully, my last name isn't on it! I worked in a different facility back in the 90's and had a stalker for quite awhile. How did he know where I lived..... first and last name on my id badge. Why would a nurse want their first and last name out there when we take care of so many different pts and families? First name with last initial along with a pic should do just fine.
At the womens prison it was your last name with first initial. Really, like that's not a safety issue. My last name is very uncommon so I would be easy to find and pay back from some preconceived wrong.
Exactly! It truly is a safety issue. Also take into account that some people are not themselves when they or a loved one are sick and may do something out of character as a result.
I have a pretty uncommon last name as well, and I have had people ask me over the years, "Hey, I see your name is _____. Are you related to Mary _____?" To each their own, but I just don't like that. If you need to know my last name, go to my supervisor, tell him/her why you need that information, and then he/she can come to me to discuss the situation.
Mine flip around all the time, when I notice it's facing in (and blank is facing out) I turn it around. Seems like a really odd thing to bicker about, I'm sure that most times it's not intentional.
Though a good point was brought up, I'd never considered worrying about my full name showing. It's not that I have anything to hide, but you really never know what whack-a-doo is around.
Mine flip around all the time, when I notice it's facing in (and blank is facing out) I turn it around. Seems like a really odd thing to bicker about, I'm sure that most times it's not intentional.
I agree, that's why I clarified what I meant when I started this thread, that it bothers me when people intentionally wear their badge backwards. Most of us find ourselves having to flip our badges around the entire shift when they unintentionally turn backwards, but when people intentionally hide their identity is when I have a problem with it.
I recently worked on a floor where the midnight CNA would always wear her badge backwards, so whenever she went into a room, the patients didn't know if she was an aide, an RN, an RT, or whatever. I don't think that's right. Patients have a right to at least know the job title of the person who is caring for them. I wonder how many times in those cases you read about in the paper where someone dressed like a nurse went into an OB department and kidnapped a baby the person was wearing some kind of badge with no identifying information on it just to make it look like they were an employee. When your name and job title is not clearly displayed on your person, you could be anybody. Scary!
i work in a small hospital; we have our first name in larger font and last name right beneath in smaller font. About a year or so ago we had a male pt in his 70's, alert and oriented decide one of our techs was really cute so much so that he took to calling multiple times during shifts both day and night to see if she would answer the phone; when told that no she wasnt' on shift at this time, he wanted the unit clerk to give him her schedule; when that didnt' get him anywhere he started showing up on the unit at random times looking for her; then after security told him to knock it off he started waiting for her in the parking lot. Keep in mind this young lady is in her mid 20's and totally NOT INTERESTED and is in fact by this point scared to death to walk to her car. We ALL started covering our last names!!
I wear my name badge on a reel type badge holder and when i notice it has flipped backwards i flip it back; if it is flipped over and someone asks i flip it over and give them my name
He already knew where she worked, so the horse was already out of the barn at that point.
I don't know what the answer is for badge holders (stable and unobtrusive, but annoying if you have to pull out the badge to unlock doors), versus lanyards (dangling, getting in the way when you lean over, always rotating backwards). Maybe if the badge worked by proximity, like an RFID tag, rather then using a magnetic strip, a badge holder would be practical.
In the facility I work for, we are provided with a double-sided badge and our last name is not displayed. Also, everyone wears different colored scrubs so the RNs wear a color, LVNs a different color, etc. I really like that about the hospital where I work, it is every frustrating when I go to another facility and everyone wears whatever color and type of scrubs they want to, you have to look at the tiny letters in the badge to be able to tell who is who.
To add on to the story posted above, when I was doing clinicals at a psychiatric facility one of my classmates had a patient look her up on Facebook and add her as a friend, our student badges displayed our last name in larger font and first name in smaller letters underneath it. That was pretty creepy.
Easy fix: I just photcopied my badge, glued it to the back, put it in a plastic badge holder with retractable clip ... DONE ! :-) One less distraction to deal with ! My stethoscope around my neck is enough to drive me crazy !
Ours always turn around but the back card on our badges is about 2 inches longer than our ID and where it sticks out at the bottom it says RN real big on both sides. So the patients know we are an RN whether our badge is backwards or not. And my name is always written on the board in the room.
I do it. Mostly because the supervisor always takes the pt's word over a nurses. I understand she has "save face" and tell the pt's what they want to hear about their complaints, but when the supervisor has no understanding to ME on why the pt is complaining I take issue. I write my name on the white board in their room introduce my first name ONLY. If they forget my name (or I forget to put it on the board) oh well.
I always keep my badge turned around...unless the pt is very happy with me lol
hiddencatRN, BSN, RN
3,408 Posts
I've actually always been on a first name basis with the doctors I work with...
I just started a new job and our badges are on lanyards that do dot flip. But because they are around our necks, they get in the way when you bend forward, and since they don't stretch, to swipe the time clock or anything else requiring swiping, I have to hunch down or take the badge off and put it back on.
Why they can't make a retractable, non-flipping, clip on badge is beyond me.