miserere

Thanks for your response. Yes, if you will read back over the thread, I have considered the possibilities and that is precisely why I looked for advice. I am well aware of the ramifications. I have enough information now on how to proceed. Goodnight all.

I am not disagreeing with you - I was stating that the nurses don't have the time. Obviously, HR has the time. Unfortunately there has been a rapid turnover of employees in HR as well. Thank you for responding.

I am signing out of this forum now. I have the advice I sought. Thank you to all who took the time to answer. I appreciate it very much.

Appreciate your comments, Yes, there are searchable databases for certification. This is not gossip. It is a matter of someone simply asking "why?" I don't believe the question was asked with ill intent. I agree it is a sticky issue, however, I think its an important one.

I understand why it looks that way, but seriously, the Director is well liked - if he wasn't, that would be a no-brainer. And no, no one has time to be looking up everyone in the hospital. However, this is important - we are talking about the Director of an Intensive Care Unit. We don't want to find out he was an imposter after the fact.

Thank you, perhaps that is the case here.

No, no one has time for that. This is a valid concern.

I appreciate this information, but it is not a federal facility. Small community hospital.

It's not a compact state.

I do appreciate all the responses. To clarify: this is not gossip around the water cooler. A new nurse went to the Board of Nursing site to check to see her own listing for expiration date. She absentmindedly decided to check the director's name, and there is no listing. We are not a compact state and the director is not from a compact state. There is no "ulterior motive" here. The Director is a nice person - however, the Director also does not show up on AACN as having CCRN certification, which is also claimed. These are facts. Maybe there is an explanation, so I think we should follow the wise advice that has been given, and leave it to the hotline folks, anonymously. We don't have time for this, our concern is that our hospital is safe from lawsuit. This is not a large facility, and I am not sure who in HR checks on licensing. This nurse came through a traveling nurse agency into our hospital, and then applied for the director position. Thank you to everyone who posted. I appreciate your help.

P.S. it takes every bit of a year to feel as though you halfway know what you are doing in ICU. And that is when you realize how much more you have to learn! Personally, I love it. Check everything you do - don't be intimidated by those who seem 'superior'....because everyone makes mistakes. Know your patient through all the information you can find in his chart, and you will find that people trust your reports, and appreciate them. I wish you all the best.

It takes a while to earn the trust of "those who eat their young!" But don't give up, and don't let them fluster you. You worked hard to get your license. As you show your determination to learn and assist your patients on the path to wellness, you will become stronger. You can learn something from every patient you care for. Let your focus be on them, instead of on co-workers. You will find your silver linings. Never give up.

Thank you, I appreciate your help very much. This has started to burden me and I did not know who to talk to about this.

I have an unusual problem, that I hope someone can help me with. In the past year, our hospital has had an influx of nurses of all types: travelers, agency nurses, per diems, etc. and our hospital was also recently taken over by a well known corporation which buys up small community hospitals. During the course of the takeover, the Director of our Unit gave her resignation. It was difficult to find a replacement, but eventually a traveling nurse who had worked in other departments was hired to become the director. Recently, a fellow nurse discovered that our Director, who has now been on board nearly a year, is not listed as having a license with our state. In addition, he does not have a certification for CCRN, according to the AACN listings, however he signs all his memos with RN, CCRN, etc. and he also wears that title on his name badge. I would be inclined to forget about this, but now it is starting to worry me. Is it possible that nurses from other states somehow can slip through the cracks so that their history doesn't follow them? Can my hospital be sued in some way by patients who discover this? I don't want to be fired myself, but I want to be able to trust the integrity of the Director.