Nursing Jewelry

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Specializes in Telemetry/Cardiac Floor.

Do you guys think RN or BSN, MSN jewelry is corny? I bought a BSN necklace and now I'm embarassed. What do you guys think? My job doesn't put the credentials on the badge, stating that if they start, people will want to change their badges everytime they get new credentials. :(:nurse:

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All anybody needs to know is name and RN (or LVN, CNA, whatever).... I look at it from a personal privacy thing. It's fine to be proud of your accomplishments, but I keep stuff to myself. My school pin is safe in my jewelry box. It's too precious to risk losing, or falling in a pile of who knows what.... JMO :)

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Specializes in Cardiac Stepdown.

It's all about personal preference. If you want to wear your credentials on a necklace, go right ahead.

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Specializes in MCH,NICU,NNsy,Educ,Village Nursing.

OP--your place of employment doesn't list "RN", "LVN" etc on name badges???? Or, do you mean credentials such as "CCRN", "BSN", that sort of thing? A nurse is supposed to be identified by their license status on their name badge, unless JCAHO has changed that ruling.....but I don't think they have.....

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Specializes in Telemetry/Cardiac Floor.
OP--your place of employment doesn't list "RN", "LVN" etc on name badges???? Or, do you mean credentials such as "CCRN", "BSN", that sort of thing? A nurse is supposed to be identified by their license status on their name badge, unless JCAHO has changed that ruling.....but I don't think they have.....

BSN etc...

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It was tradition in my nursing program for the juniors to purchase nice name pins for the senior classmembers. The big decision for each person was always whether to include BSN as well as RN with their name. Always big discussions surrounding it and the usual " I worked hard and I'm proud, blah blah ".

For me, I don't think it is relevant on a name badge. Never felt the need to advertise BSN, RN is the pertinent piece for that. I will include BSN when my name is used in printed materials and with my signature.

It's a hold over from my earliest nursing professor, she discouraged it. She drilled it in our head that we significantly lagged behind diploma grads in clinical skills etc for at least the firs six months. Admitted that they would run circles around us for a while and that nothing good was going to come from us going around acting like we thought we were extra special when we really didn't know squat.

Felt that way ever since.

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Specializes in ICU.

Nurse "pins" are supposed to be worn on the lapel of a lab coat. Most of us no longer wear lab coats like that; we wear scrubs with a scrub jacket, instead of white lab coats with lapels. Since most of us no longer wear white nursing caps, there is no other place to display nursing jewelry, except a necklace/pendent, earrings or ring. (I used to wear my white nurse cap with "RN" emblems on each side of the black velvet band.) So, I say wear your BSN necklace if you want to. I don't know why you would feel embarrassed; you are a BSN so why should there be a problem? The only thing to consider is that a confused patient might grab it. I once had a patient yank my earring out, so I never wear anything but studs now!

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Specializes in 1 day correctional and military nursing.

Can you post a site on where to find this jewelry ?

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I think it is unprofessional. Do you see Dr.s, or PharmD's, or Lawyers wearing such things. Nope. But you do see rappers and wannabe thugs sporting their bling. By trying to show your peers that you are better than them because you have your BSN you are making yourself , and likely the other nurses in your hospital (GBA) look less than professional in the patients eyes.

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Specializes in ER, progressive care.

a nurse is a nurse is a nurse, whether you have a diploma, ADN, BSN, MSN or PhD. Yes, there are some nurses better than others, but an ADN-prepared nurse can be just as good at their job as a BSN-prepared nurse. Our ID badges do not have our credentials on them except for "RN." All I really care about is that RN!

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Specializes in CEN, CPEN, RN-BC.

I have one of those CEN sticky stitched things on my badge. One of the hospitals I work at just has "RN" and the other hospital has "RN, BSN." I never asked for them to put my credentials on the badges, they were just there when my educator gave me them.

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I have a coworker that only had "RN" on her badge and an old senile patient made some sort of comment like, "You're just an associate degree nurse!" That comment even got ME heated, I can't imagine how she felt. (Even though she's one of the best nurses I know, it still is a hurtful thing to hear.) She just explained to him that we all take the same test for certification.

Just an example of showing credentials on name badges can cause problems. But I hate saying this being on the side that you shouldn't be embarrassed to wear any type of jewelry like that to work.

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