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.
1- get a safteypin and glue a piece of magnetic sticker/tape to it
2- put a washer in your badge cover.
pin the pin to your shirt at the right spot so it grabs the washer, and it "should" keep the badge from flipping and spinning every time you move.
I would also cover up my last name if it was required to be on the badge. There are a lot of crazy people in this world, and it is really easy in this electronic age to find out anything about anyone. Scary!
From the average PT's point of view, you're a random stranger. How much of their info do you have access to before you ever meet them?
A stranger walking in the room giving you drugs, asking personal questions, or "doing things" to your nether regions Vs a stranger getting your publicly listed phone number, address (if the phone number is listed), finding out what school you went to, or other info if you're silly enough to put stuff on facebook and make your profile public..... which one is scarier?
Don't get me wrong.... I couldn't care less what a persons last name is, as long as there's some way to identify them should the need arise later. A photo and first name and a 3 digit number is fine. (incase the hospital has 752 John's with the last name starting with the letter S working... you don't want to have a huge number to remember... but "John 489" is easy enough)
I think the different colored scrubs idea is kind of cool but in all honesty if I were a patient that would be the last thing I would want to keep track of. "Oh you have on blue pants, you must be my RN. Oh your shirt is green, you must be from lab." etc etc etc.
As I said before, I like knowing the names of people so I can give praise where praise is due but nothing, and I mean nothing, beats a quick introduction "Hi I'm Thelma and I'm one of the LPNs here. I'll be helping take care of you tonight..."
From the average PT's point of view, you're a random stranger. How much of their info do you have access to before you ever meet them?
A stranger walking in the room giving you drugs, asking personal questions, or "doing things" to your nether regions Vs a stranger getting your publicly listed phone number, address (if the phone number is listed), finding out what school you went to, or other info if you're silly enough to put stuff on facebook and make your profile public..... which one is scarier?
When someone goes into the hospital for medical reasons, they trust the facility to hire licensed professionals whose job is to perform those functions. It is a professional relationship inside of a controlled environment. When I have been admitted to the hospital in the past, I trusted my nurses and did not feel the need to know anything personal about them, least of all their last name. If they had done something inappropriate or dangerous, then I would have pursued the information that I needed through the correct channels. But the difference is that when we are not working, we are not going to someone's home and giving them drugs, asking personal questions, or "doing things" to their nether regions, it's just part of our job when we are at work. However, if a patient gets a hold of some personal information about their nurse based on knowing her last name and doing an online search, then they have crossed the border between professional behavior and inappropriate behavior, because their nurse's personal life should be of no concern to them, just as it would be inappropriate for a nurse to go home and look up a patient that she took care of.
BTW, you don't have to be on Facebook to have all kinds of personal information about you available at the click of a mouse. I have Googled my own name before and I am amazed at the stuff, family obituaries, church affiliation, marital status, home address, etc. that is out there for anyone to see, and I quit Facebook a couple of years ago, this is all just random website information. And it's also information that no patient ever needs to know about their nurse.
Specializes in Oncology, Med/Surg, Hospice, Case Mgmt..
But the difference is that when we are not working, we are not going to someone's home and giving them drugs, asking personal questions, or "doing things" to their nether regions,
I am available for this at a reasonable fee, though.
pts can get your last name through their chart. and then look you up online and get your address ,dob, and other things. mylife or whatever it is. i wear a badge with my full name and title on it as policy. sometimes it flips over. i always introduce my self and title when i go into a room whether it is my pt or i am helping a coworker
Specializes in Cath Lab & Interventional Radiology.
My hospital has a double sided badge, with the back just having our name and the hospital mission virtues. This works for all other staff besides the RNs. We have a big red flapper RN badge behind our regular badge, so when it flips over you cannot see the name at all. Since we have to use the badge to get into doors and sign on to the computers, we all have them on extendable badge holders. These tend to flop every which way. I think we all try our best to keep the badge forward facing, but it doesn't always work.
My floor also has a picture name card for every door. The RNs and aids all have their own name/picture cards. This is very helpful to patients, families, doctors and other hospital staff. Then when they are looking for the nurse they know exactly what he/she looks like.
I do not have my last name on my badge, because it is very long. Some of the nurses with long last names end up with their name super tiny on the badge. I preferred to just have my last initial so that my name is larger.
I have to reply to this post, since I do feel strongly. I guess I am one of the "paranoid" ones, but I feel like it is my duty to protect myself.
I work in a Level I trauma center at a county hospital in a very large city that has very high crime rates that are only rising. We get psychs, custody patients from the prison and jail, and just down right crazies, including family members. When putting people in 4-point leather restraints and spit masks, and having to call security for people running around our campus with a knife becomes a daily basis thing, i feel I have the right to protect myself. And if that means my last name is covered up, and my badge is flipped around, then so be it. When I enter a patient's room, I will always introduce myself, and always state my purpose for being in the room. But as a human being, I too have worries about the people around me, and whats lurking in the parking lot when I return to my car after my shift has ended in the dark. I am also not the only one that feels this way in our department. The majority of employees will agree with me, especially the ones that have been threatened with death threats to themselves, or their family members. Yes, not all patients are capable of actually following through on these threats, but it only takes one. Call me crazy, but I think being "paranoid" is a good thing in my setting!
Specializes in Cath Lab & Interventional Radiology.
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 !
What a great idea! I am going to do this! But I guess that means I will have to pull my line draw order & important numbers off the back :)
It's it a requirement by the BON to have your name and title visible at all times? I work in LTC and our facility has ones that has our name on both sides, and at our change of shift meeting the DON, administrator, or whoever else is in charge that day will check that everybody is there and has a name tag, if you left it at home you have to get a temporary sticker. We do have optional polo shirts with our name and title embroidered on it.
Another thing that bothers me, is name badge on the bottom of the shirt! Big issues where I work. (we have double sided so the flipping isn't an issue). As my DON puts it "I don't want to have to look at your crotch to find out your name"
You know a lot of times the badge flips over on its own. That's why at the facility I work at we have two badges. One for the front and one for the back.
If it's just first name, job title, photo, sure, but I always wear mine backwards because my employer prints last names on the ID badges. I'm not comfortable with that. I work with a population where someone could hunt me down or something.
Andy Droid
71 Posts
1- get a safteypin and glue a piece of magnetic sticker/tape to it
2- put a washer in your badge cover.
pin the pin to your shirt at the right spot so it grabs the washer, and it "should" keep the badge from flipping and spinning every time you move.
From the average PT's point of view, you're a random stranger. How much of their info do you have access to before you ever meet them?
A stranger walking in the room giving you drugs, asking personal questions, or "doing things" to your nether regions Vs a stranger getting your publicly listed phone number, address (if the phone number is listed), finding out what school you went to, or other info if you're silly enough to put stuff on facebook and make your profile public..... which one is scarier?
Don't get me wrong.... I couldn't care less what a persons last name is, as long as there's some way to identify them should the need arise later. A photo and first name and a 3 digit number is fine. (incase the hospital has 752 John's with the last name starting with the letter S working... you don't want to have a huge number to remember... but "John 489" is easy enough)