New Arkansas Laws (bad news for nurses) ???

[lavarn]

Can anyone tell me if there have been new laws passed recently in Arkansas that will allow MD's in med clinics to hire non medical personnel to give meds/injections.

Thank you.

LavaRN

[dontknowwhen]

Not sure exactly what they can do but here's the bill that was passed.

http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/R/Bills/SB239.pdf

[Jo Dirt]

They already do that here in Tennessee. The doctors can hire anyone they want and call them their "nurse."

Doctor office pay is crappy regardless of your title there. So, let them have at it.

[lavarn]

Thanks for that. I am from Arkansas, but living abroad. My sister was telling me that this is actually new legislature that has been passed.

[lavarn]

Thank you! That was helpful.

[NewPICURN]

this is so frustrating! So what am I getting my RN for? Pretty ridiculous. If this keeps up, my college degree will be unnecessary. I guess all you need is a High school diploma and the right friends now!

[feralnostalgia]

this is so frustrating! So what am I getting my RN for? Pretty ridiculous. If this keeps up, my college degree will be unnecessary. I guess all you need is a High school diploma and the right friends now!

work at a hospital, home care, or some kind of public health thing. I've been told by a lot of people that Dr's offices don't pay you beans. pay in hospitals for new nurses is higher than almost any other new grad college major can expect to make, so don't let dr's office pay get you down!

[nurz2be]

Here in Florida, they are called Medical Assistants and they can, among other things, give immunizations, draw blood, do a basic EKG (not interpret), take vitals and such. In almost every doctor's office there are either entirely MA's or almost all MA's and one or two "nurses." Yes, the doctors call them nurses, which is against state board policies, that is leading patients to believe they are dealing with "licensed" professionals, when in reality they are only certified. they get paid crappy, like 8-10 an hour. You will hear them, foolishly, saying things like, "I should be a nurse, I basically do what one does anyway." Makes me angry but I bite my tongue, not a rule, but have heard it many times. This seems to be the wave of future office environments, it's all about the bottom line.

[twalker]

I am glad that I found this question. I am an APN in a clinic in Arkansas. The doctor that I work for do not want to pay a LPN to do what they are trained to do so he has hired several MAs. They give shots and every thing. They constantly complain about their pay. One day one of them made the comment that she did not know between them and the LPNs and RNs. How dare she compare herself to a RN. She can not spell worth anything and do not care. When she write down medicines it takes 15 minutes to make out what they actually suppose to be and when she calls medicines into the pharmacy it is embarrassing. One day one of them was giving an IM shot with a SubQ syringe. When questioned about it she just said that it would still get in the muscle, it just would not hurt as bad, the doctor just laughed. This made me so mad. Where can I find their scope of practice? This is so dangerous.:angryfire

[Cassaundra]

I'm not real happy about this either. The bill says they have to go through some sort of certification program. Isn't that what we do to get our degree only more in depth? I guess the only good thing about it is the doctor is responsible for that MA's actions. All grievances will go against the doctor's lisence.

This will mean that the first question I ask the person giving me a shot is if they are an RN.

[twalker]

In the clinic they introduce theirselves or when they are talking to patients they say that they are nurses. MAs don't even have nurse in their title, so how can they addrress theirselves as nurses.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

In the clinic they introduce theirselves or when they are talking to patients they say that they are nurses. MAs don't even have nurse in their title, so how can they addrress theirselves as nurses.

check you state laws, if "nurse" is a protected title in you state, call'em on it, tell them it has to stop, or they will face legal consequence