Nurse Impersonators

[NancyRN]

Am I the only one who resents the "nurse impersonators" who abound in the health care field?

Everyone who works at a doctor's office or in a hospital wears scrubs and seems to pass themselves off as a nurse. Of course, the hospital doesn't mind. Visitors and patients don't realize how few nurses are actually on the unit if the unit clerks, nursing assistants, housekeepers, and technicians are all wearing scrubs.

It seems harmless enough, this generic flowered jacketed scrub outfit, until you think of the harm it does to nurses' reputation as a whole. I just wonder what people think when they see two or three "nurses" ambling around the hallways or sitting at the nurses station while their family member waits for pain medication!

I have to think the doctor's offices are the worst. The doctors will actually refer to the medical assistant as "the nurse". I wonder if a doctor would appreciate an employee passing himself off as a doctor?

Last month I was in a doctor's waiting room with my son when a man came in holding his hand wrapped in a towel. He announced that he'd cut his hand and needed to see the doctor ( ok- dont ask me why he didn't go to the ER!) . The "nurse" told him to have a seat. The waiting room was crowded and it was obvious he was in for a very long wait. I saw the towel becoming saturated, and I couldn't help going over to him and telling him to hold his hand above heart level, apply pressure, try some deep breathing, etc. I told the "nurse" to let him go in and be seen, but she said, "He has to wait his turn, it wouldnt be fair to the patients who had appointments."

Driving home, my son asked, "Why didn't that nurse help that man?" I told him, "Because she's not a nurse!" But I wonder how many people in that waiting room went home with the story of the nurse who wouldnt help a bleeding man.

I know nurses don't want to go back to the days of wearing caps (even though I love my cap), but shouldn't we be more concerned about people in scrubs making us look bad? Shouldn't a nurse on duty be as easily recognizable as an EMT, a Firefighters, or a Police Officer?

[RNKitty]

I left a hospital last year after only 4 months due to their dangerous and scary staffing policies. One of the lastest right before I left, was to eliminate a title from the name badge. Everyone just had "Clinical Services". This was the same hospital that thought I should be able to float from L&D to ICU and ER with no training. They really didn't want the patients to know that the staff taking care of them could be unqualified to perform the care!

[AngelicNurse2B]

You took the words right out of my mouth, Traci...and said it so much nicer than the way it would have come out of me!

I'll be a CNA soon and going to school to get my ADN. Though my goal is to be an RN, I hope that while I am working as a CNA the nurses don't view me as some kind of idiot, interchangeable with the janitorial staff! I understand the importance of people not impersonating nurses but come on, lumping CNA's in with housekeeping and cafeteria workers seems a more than a little bit rude. Are they not working beside you at the bedside, caring for patients? I can't believe the comments I am reading. I guess I am really in for it when I start work as a CNA. Incredible that I will take a class and a state test to be certified for a position in which nurses, of all people, will look at me and think, "Uneducated moron."

[RNKitty]

We don't think of CNA's as uneducated morons. They are Certified Nurses Assistants, not Nurses. The RN behind our name also carries responsibility and liability. I'm glad you will work with patients before you go to the ADN program - I wish I had! It would have helped me a lot.

[Huganurse]

Not uneducated. Less educated would be more correct. The difference is about 3 1/2 years. The difference is college and university education vs vocational training. In my state CNA's are not considered professionals, RN's are professionals along with doctors, lawyers, and other occupations that require degrees. Doing nursing duties and being a nurse are two different things. If you are not a nurse then you have no idea what you don't know. A good RN knows this and also that there is much that they (the RN's) don't know either. I'm always amazed when immature people think they are more than they really are for the sake of thier own ego.

P.S. To all my CNA friends, I'm not trying to downplay what or who you are nor am I trying to lump everyone into a group. There are some excellent aides out there and I have met a few who have as much on the ball as any nurse I know but I also know that you are not a nurse or a professional. I do respect what you do and how open you are to learning about nursing and physiology. I know you love working with me since I do all the lifting for you, take my own vitals, give baths, and I wipe butts too.

[NancyRN]

The point is: Employers are getting away with dressing everyone alike. They like it because that way the public has no idea how few NURSES are working there. The point is: We NURSES sign our name to legal documents and put our license on the line, taking LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY for our patient. The point is: NURSES take hours and hours of Continuing Education courses, not only to KEEP that license, but to ensure quality of care for our patients and the general public.

I consider sacred the trust placed in me as an educated health professional. That trust can be shattered in an instant by NON NURSES who look like nurses but don't have the level of training it takes to give quality care and correct information to those in need.

[pebbles, BSN, RN]

I haven't worked with LPN's but I have worked with Certified Nursing Assistants. My experience is that they can be very professional and provide excellent care. They can also be task-oriented people who don't think about the hows and whys of what they do. It depends on the person. I am always prepared to accept a co-worker as an equal based on what he or she shows me of their professionalism. Because even things that are designated as NA responsibilities are things I see as part of the big picture of "nursing". But with non-RN staff, I watch closely, and I try to assess the person's level of understanding until I get to know someone. After the initial get to know you period, I relax. Because after all, I am still responsible for the patient's care that day.

There are reasons why we have LPN's, and RN's. Clarifying that to the public doesn't have to be an issue of professional snobbery. The fact that this discussion is even taking place speaks partly to the way we all treat each other in the workplace. Educating the public about the difference between professional classes can only be a good thing. Asking that other designations of health care professionals clarify themselves and enforcing the importance and value of RN's in health care does not mean we think that anyone is dumb.

Saying "hi, I'm the RN responsible for your care, and I will be working with ___, who is an LPN" is polite, clarifies who is who, and allows the patient to understand that there are differences in the people who are caring for him. I think the patients deserve to know who is caring for them and how the care will be structured. Not so that they understand any type of workplace power structure (do patients really care about our workplace politics?), but so that they can best utilize the system to get the care they need.

Better nametags and personal introductions and explanations are a nicer way to identify different types of staff. Avoids creating an obvious power structure, and allows us freedom to choose what we want to wear. I know wards where the manager mandates that the RNs wear professional street clothes and lab coats so as to be on the same level as the doctors. I think true professionalism takes things beyond what you wear. It's an attitude. I wear scrubs for convenience and practicality, not because I need that uniform to identify me as a nurse!

[ChristenLPN, LPN]

Unfortunately Susy K has described my current OB-GYN office precisely. We do have 2 triage nurses who sit on the phone all day and call in scripts, fax orders, obtain PAs, etc. I am the only nurse working with patients and surrounded by MAs who have no idea how insulting it is when they introduce themselves as nurses. There is one MA in particular who really thinks she is the cat's meow. Just a few weeks ago she roomed a pt for me while I was starting an IV, and when I went into the room to do her assessment, this pt told me that the "other nurse" had YELLED at her for her marked weight gain. Her mother confirmed this for me. What the MA had not bothered- or probably even known- to check out was pitting in her legs and ankles, a severe headache, and had not mentioned a word about her BP being 142/96. I am amazed that people will introduce themselves as nurses and take it upon themselves to lecture patients, all the while having no clue that something serious is going on! Does it not occur to them that they may be asked to provide information that they don't know? We do have a safety net in that this pt would never have gotten out of the office without the Dr dx'ing her properly, but it infuriated me that this shy young girl was yelled at like a child and made to feel ashamed of her weight gain. This MA was not even reprimanded for misrepresenting herself, nor for her totally inappropriate treatment of a patient. What MAs don't seem to realize is that nobody walks up to you and hands you a license because you know a little about nursing and medicine. The licenses we hold are ours as a direct result of years of sacrifice, hard work, and studying. Incidentally, in all that time I spent in school, I did manage to learn a few things as well! It amuses me that I've seen a number of references to nurses always wearing their name badges, but not the MAs. There is one MA in my office who wears her name tag. All three of the nurses do. I think our only saving grace is that, unlike the hospital, unlicensed personnel are not under our supervision, so if an MA gives inappropriate medical advice to a pt, or performs a procedure out of their range of skills, we are not held responsible for that. Thankfully, no one has tried to assign me to assisit an MA yet!

[WalMart_ADN]

CNA's are NOT professionals...at least not in my state. here anyone can apply for a CNA job and get on-the-job-training..with no other background. No college education, there might be a test but as far as i know it's not a state licnesing exam...and they get paid to be trained, as opposed to paying dearly to get training. A friend of mine from high school got a CNA job..as a SUMMER JOB. NOT a professional in my book....but what do I know, i'm just an SN.

[old-master]

I am a SN, and I work in a Detox center. The techs must wear regular clothing. While our nurses wear scrubs or nice clothing. Many times, while I am working with our DO, the clients mistake me for a Doc, all time! Due to my clothing and manners! I always correct them. It amazed me that clients in need will put a title on anyone to help. It is a danger for clients to mistake Do, MD, techs, and RNs. And for those semi-medical people that are not ready or trained to overstep their bounds, is a danger to us.

I would support a patch on the scrubs, but no caps, I am a man!

old-master has spoken......:imbar

[thisnurse]

nursing is what we do.

when a mom takes care of her sick child, she is nursing her.

but she is not a nurse.

thats how ma's can advertise as a private nurse. that is incorrect tho...they are performing private nursing, but they are not a nurse.

i could wear a blinking light that says "nurse" on my head and hold a large sign saying NURSE, and the patients will still point at any female wearing any kind of white and call them nurse.

same with the males. to many patients male=doc, female=nurse.

best you can do is introduce yourself and your assistant when you meet the patient.

female docs go thru the same thing.

[Jessy_CA26]

Woah ok.. First of all Im a C-MA and I work for a Plastic Surgeon and yes they call us "Nurses"

As a MA I do both front and back office work as well as a Surgical Tech for my Boss. (Yes, MA's can do that) I love being in the surgery room helping out and have decided to further my carear to start taking RN courses so I can eventually get into Surgical Nursing.

There is a lot of lab work Urinalysis to Microscope, Hematocrit etc, CPX, Venipuncture, and Injections, Ear lavage, .. I also do Drug Calculations, and Patient Education, Charting, and everything else that a Clinical Nurse does. As well as billing and collections. Its a big hat. In fact the only diffrence between a LVN and a MA is a MA is not allowed to do is catheterizations.

Im petitioning at the end of this year. After two years of being a C-MA (not just a MA) you can petition the LVN board for a licence. And if you have the C-MA they will let you on board.

I have never had a doctor look down on me for "just being a MA" In fact they are very happy and greatful that we are there. My MA program was twelve months long and I had a externship (whith the same doc Im with now) It seems as if the only people who have probs with MA's are RN's. I have no idea why.

Dont knock MA's I know there a lot of half ass people out there but there a lot of good ones as well. More Clinics are hiring C-MA's rather then MA's to weed out the bad ones though. But then again there are bad ones in every level even RN's

[joannep]

What I really hate is ...

when I am introduced to someone and they mention they are a RN. Then, when I say "Oh, where do you work" they say, "Well, I haven't actually worked for 15 or 20 years (or whatever) since I had the kids, but I am still a RN".

Joanne