There is a person I "met" in several online nursing communities. We became online friends. As time went on, the things she said seemed less and less true and very inconsistent. I began to realise that she was a liar and a faker, and had lied about many aspects of what she told me. She posted fake pictures, lied about her lifestyle, her boyfriends, car, etc. She even lied about her dad dying.
It's awful.
But. She was also lying about being an RN, and she continues to lie about that fact even after being confronted. She is actually a DESK CLERK. Most of the other lies she has dropped or at least makes things seem less glamorous than before.
She gave medical advice to people in an online community while claiming to be an RN - my own board of nursing says that giving advice online does still count as practising nursing.
She is not doing that any more. She is just telling people in her online journal and in communities that she is a nurse and playing up the martyrdom aspect of things. "I work such long hours, and people are so nasty to nurses, they have no idea how hard I worked to get where I am...." type stuff.
She has claimed to be a CCRN, to be an RN in the ER, the ICU, Oncology, public health clinic settings, and now says she is going to apply for a pediatric nursing position.
The board of nursing does not have her listed as having a license. I also found out from someone who works at her hospital that she is actually a desk clerk in the ER.
This is all happening on the site livejournal. The administrators don't care, and they say it would be a matter for the police and courts.
The board of nursing in her state has been notified. She has been confronted about her lies numerous times and has not stopped.
So. She is no longer "practising nursing without a license" as she stopped giving advice. But she is still online falsely claiming to be an RN.
She seems like a very mentally unbalanced woman who needs to make up lies to feel better about herself. Her journals are also filled with over the top drama.
She said she had been fired from one job as an ER nurse both for sleeping with a married co-worker, and then because a co-worker found her online journal and printed it out for the boss. After she was fired, she threatened to sue the hospital. They were so afraid of her suing for wrongful dismissal and having it all become public that they paid her out with $80,000. That kind of over the top. She may well be a clerk who gets fired from jobs or quits and starts new jobs in all these areas.
I'm upset because I was deceived (and she used me to get info about my job to make her lies more realistic!). I'm also upset because she continues to deceive people. And because it's very serious to claim to be an RN when you're not. There is a reason for the RN practice acts and laws that govern who can call themselves a nurse.
Some people say "everyone lies about themselves online". I don't feel that way. I wish there was something I could do to make her stop. I also think she should face some consequences for her actions.
So what do you think should or can be done about this faker?
