TMT_P

Thank you everyone for the insightful replies. I especially appreciate those who understood that she may become defensive and to tread lightly. Thank you for giving me tips as to how to approach this situation. An update: I approached her about it and yes, she did get defensive and also blatantly denied that she has ever called herself a nurse. I can attest to this as I was not the only person in the room when she would refer to herself as a nurse. I gave her advice and warned her that what she is doing could potentially cost her her education, if said to the wrong person. She said she knows all of this and that she would never do something like that. I also pointed out that her boyfriend has posted pictures on social media referring to her as a nurse and she has done nothing to correct that. That's wrong as well. Anyway - no judgement please, I'm only letting things off my chest in (what I would assume) a safe and educated environment that nurses and employees in the field can relate to as well. I feel that I've done my part and I can wipe my hands clean of it. Whatever happens next, she can't deny it the board of her college or lie in the court of law. Hopefully it doesn't come to that point, but how disappointing!

My thoughts as well.

Hmm maybe aggressive is not the word I should have used. This is great advice though, as with everyone who has replied. It's interesting to see everyone's insights and how they would personally take on this situation. I'm going to bring it up once with her, see how she takes it, and then you're right - let it go and not let it occupy space. If she continues to do it, then she may one day find herself in a sticky legal situation IF something does go wrong. At that point, I can tell her that I gave her fair warning and advice.

Hi everyone, I'm new here and this is my first post. I'm about to reach my one year as an RN in L&D and it's been very challenging, stressful, rewarding, everything. I know how hard it is to go through school and then the stress of passing your exam and finally trying to get into the workforce and once you get into the workforce, the reality of a career in nursing kind of hits. So I guess after all of that hard work, this situation with a friend bothers me maybe more than it should: Initially, my friend was at the University of Michigan in hopes of becoming an RN. After 6 years and failing her courses, she decided to go into a 2 year LPN course instead and has been successful at it so far. This is her first year into the LPN course and already she is telling people that she is a nurse. For example, when anyone tells her about a sickness or an injury she begins her sentence with, "Well as a nurse, I recommend..." or even "The struggles of being a nurse" as though she has experienced it full on. She has never been paid in any nursing position and again, she is still in school to become an LPN. She'll also say things like "My job [as a nurse] is really stressful but I love it." It makes me cringe but I'm not a very aggressive person and so I don't speak up about it. I just wanted to know your general thoughts on this. Maybe it's my pride as an ACTUAL nurse that makes me irk about this? Should I let it go? Am I making too big a deal of it? I personally feel that it is wrong to call yourself any profession if you are not certified yet. Thoughts?