Our admin is adamant that our last names be visible on our name badges. We've all done the cover-it-up-with-tape thing, but she has us remove the tape. Last night made me really think about this policy.
Had a just released inmate from prison who flipped because he couldn't smoke. He started throwing things and we had to call security. Three of us were holding him down while we waited (and waited) for security. He let loose a string of threats that I will try to tone down...to the effect of 'I'm gonna rape you, you f-ing whores, I'll rape you in your *** and afterward I'll bash your brains in, you'll find out what pain really is...blah blah'...this went on for about five minutes, MUCH more graphic than the above.
Now I for one, have an unusual name--there is only one of me in this town. What else can I do besides go unlisted in the phonebook? He could even look me up by name under Florida's Nursing Board, too I think. I hate to over-react, but I'd hate to be sorry later.
Count me among those who would prefer to be alive without my last name on my badge, than professional with it and risk being stalked/raped/etc. .
That's a false dichotomy (the notion that you're at risk of being stalked if you use your full name and aren't if you don't). I am alive/unstalked/unraped and use my last name with each patient I interact with. I understand you don't want to use your last name, I just think it's dangerous to paint it as being what's important in guaranteeing your safety.
Based on many of the posts here, I can understand why some nurses don't want their last names on their badges. However, I don't know if I would personally want to be treated in a hospital by a health professional who won't tell me her name, when that professional knows my full name and address. Don't doctors and hospital/psych social workers have the same personal safety issues as nurses? However, they usually use their first and last names with the public. I am wondering if anyone thinks that nurses who work in other areas besides the ER/psych areas should give out their last names, or should all nurses only be referred to by their first names? Who is to say that potential stalkers only come in ERs? I could say that ANY patient could be a stalker, whether in a doctor's office or a nursing home, therefore, no nurse should give out her last name to anyone. I don't know if it is a good idea for some nurses to be anonymous, while doctors, even female ones, are not.
Based on many of the posts here, I can understand why some nurses don't want their last names on their badges. However, I don't know if I would personally want to be treated in a hospital by a health professional who won't tell me her name, when that professional knows my full name and address...
It's not so much that I would have a problem with a nurse who does not want me to know her last name. The problem I see occurring is when I say to said nurse "I will be requesting my complete medical record because I want to be an informed patient." My past experiences have shown it is not possible to be an informed patient without the complete medical record, and having a nurse who finds this request threatening would not make for a good patient / nurse relationship.
Perhaps I should then ask whether she is comfortable with this request. If the answer is no, then it would be to our mutual benefit to have another nurse who is comfortable about this (having her last name on my medical record).
I'm not dismissing your concerns. I'm just questioning the validity of keeping last names off badges as a practical means to address those concerns. Especially since the act of doing so helps to position us asymmetrically with our allied health peers.
Deborah Tannen, a noted liguistics expert says, "Power governs asymmetrical relationships where one is subordinate to another; solidarity governs symmetrical relationships by social equality and similarity."
See, by setting us up to be 'first name' employees, we CREATE an asymmetrical power disadvantage for ourselves in the workplace. Don't you dare doubt that you going by a first name and the docs going by 'Dr.' is intentional and intended to put you at a disadvantage.
And that disadvantage reverberates further than just those relationships.
In another thread, someone suggested that a Masters prepared PT was treated like a doctor, in that the patients referred to them as 'MY PT', just like they do "MY DR." But, they noted, nurses are not treated that way. We are treated interchangeably, "That nurse".
Language has power. When you DECIDE to be a first name character, your role is that of an 'extra' in whatever script you are acting out.
And that might very well affect your relationships w/ potential stalkers as well. Non-verbal communication is so much more of our conversation than speech. What does a first name only badge say about US? It says we're vulnerable. And, we know it.
In fact, I would think going out of our way to be so vulnerable would only serve to ENCOURAGE the very behaviors you think you are preventing.
You are giving up lots of power to be a first name only character. I think nursing is better served by being Last named professionals and combating directly the situations that make us vulnerable - - instead of hiding from them.
I'm not dismissing your concerns. I'm just questioning the validity of keeping last names off badges as a practical means to address those concerns. Especially since the act of doing so helps to position us asymmetrically with our allied health peers.
Deborah Tannen, a noted liguistics expert says, "Power governs asymmetrical relationships where one is subordinate to another; solidarity governs symmetrical relationships by social equality and similarity."
See, by setting us up to be 'first name' employees, we CREATE an asymmetrical power disadvantage for ourselves in the workplace. Don't you dare doubt that you going by a first name and the docs going by 'Dr.' is intentional and intended to put you at a disadvantage.
And that disadvantage reverberates further than just those relationships.
In another thread, someone suggested that a Masters prepared PT was treated like a doctor, in that the patients referred to them as 'MY PT', just like they do "MY DR." But, they noted, nurses are not treated that way. We are treated interchangeably, "That nurse".
Language has power. When you DECIDE to be a first name character, your role is that of an 'extra' in whatever script you are acting out.
And that might very well affect your relationships w/ potential stalkers as well. Non-verbal communication is so much more of our conversation than speech. What does a first name only badge say about US? It says we're vulnerable. And, we know it.
In fact, I would think going out of our way to be so vulnerable would only serve to ENCOURAGE the very behaviors you think you are preventing.
You are giving up lots of power to be a first name only character. I think nursing is better served by being Last named professionals and combating directly the situations that make us vulnerable - - instead of hiding from them.
~faith,
Timothy.
:Melody: :w00t: Fly a flag and strike up the band, Timothy. Finally I agree with you totally. In the "old days" nurses were known to all and sundry as Mz. Splashalot, and if you were a close co-worker, you were permitted to gtt the Mz. Very good friends might call you "Splashy", but only in the break room or lockers. We had an aura of professional intent, and when a patient made an inappropriate response, a long cold look was usually suficient to shut him up. If it was not, he got the cold shoulder from all of us, until he grew up or got DC'ed. I have always had a private number, and worn my unusual ethnic name for 42 years of psych nursing. I also wear a "I'm at work" attitude, and have been told "You are the first professional I've met here." Name carry power. Keep it. Keep it strong.
There's a catch-phrase going around about standing up for who you are:
"Speaking truth to power". It means that we are not merely "yes men/women", but we stand up for who we are and our beliefs.
Part of that power is 'owning it'. That's why your opinions simply don't matter if you don't back them up by your name and reputation. Try writing a letter to the editor of your local paper WITHOUT using your full name.
IF we deny ourselves the POWER of being our full fledged professional selves, how can we ever expect such power? Such power is never yielded, it is claimed.
"Speaking truth to power" is about standing up for the truth of who you are. It is empowering. And it just can't be done when you cower behind the ability to grasp what is yours.
Only pets and children only have first names. We all have last names. When we don't use them, we disempower ourselves. IT is not merely semantics but the powerful legacies that such semantics create.
That kind of disempowerment is, in part, what leads to stalking, and workplace violence, and simply, the ability of TPTB to dismiss you for YOU. I'm not saying that if you use your last names, such things won't or can't happen. I'm saying that by be being AFRAID to use our last names, we have made a statement, and it is a disempowering statement, at best.
And it is THAT disempowerment that lead to nurses being treated the way we are. Dr's have the same risks that WE do from those we care for. THEY use their last names. Why? Because they understand, AS A PROFESSION, that empowering themselves and owning it goes far to disenfranchise those that would attempt to out-power them.
Each of us have in our minds the kind of profession that nursing should be. But, until we can fully claim it, such a profession will never be.
You cannot claim such RIGHTS by being anonymous. Power simply goes to those that stand up and grasp it. And standing up means being noticed. You can't have it both ways.
If we are too afraid to use our last names, we only invite those that prey on fear to act. And I'm not just talking about stalkers.
It's fully time for nurses to 'Speak truth to power'. And own it.
It's not so much that I would have a problem with a nurse who does not want me to know her last name. The problem I see occurring is when I say to said nurse "I will be requesting my complete medical record because I want to be an informed patient."
Where I work the NURSE is NOT able to give the complete medical record to the patient or family. They have to go through the proper channels just like anyone else through Medical Records-show ID, sign,etc. and the request will be filled later that day or the next day-I'm not 100% sure on the time frame. I can't legally give them ANY part of their medical record unless it is signed for.
Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.
Tim, I know you are making a point for the thread, but TOS DOES prohibit full names here for security purposes, and there is a good reason for that. I would ask you edit our your full name here, for that reason. You are opening up for a WHOLE world of people here, and it's quite different than using your full name for professional purposes in your place of business/work.
Rock on Timothy!!! I realize we hold some pretty different opinions, but I agree with you here 100%. My parents were big on the use of last names and I still connect that with respect in some situations. I usually use my first name with people who I also call by their first name. That's an equal relationship. I would be offended if someone wants to be called by their title/last name but then calls me by my first name. To me, that's them being overly familiar which is rude.
There's a catch-phrase going around about standing up for who you are:
"Speaking truth to power". It means that we are not merely "yes men/women", but we stand up for who we are and our beliefs.
Part of that power is 'owning it'. That's why your opinions simply don't matter if you don't back them up by your name and reputation. Try writing a letter to the editor of your local paper WITHOUT using your full name.
IF we deny ourselves the POWER of being our full fledged professional selves, how can we ever expect such power? Such power is never yielded, it is claimed.
"Speaking truth to power" is about standing up for the truth of who you are. It is empowering. And it just can't be done when you cower behind the ability to grasp what is yours.
Only pets and children only have first names. We all have last names. When we don't use them, we disempower ourselves. IT is not merely semantics but the powerful legacies that such semantics create.
That kind of disempowerment is, in part, what leads to stalking, and workplace violence, and simply, the ability of TPTB to dismiss you for YOU. I'm not saying that if you use your last names, such things won't or can't happen. I'm saying that by be being AFRAID to use our last names, we have made a statement, and it is a disempowering statement, at best.
And it is THAT disempowerment that lead to nurses being treated the way we are. Dr's have the same risks that WE do from those we care for. THEY use their last names. Why? Because they understand, AS A PROFESSION, that empowering themselves and owning it goes far to disenfranchise those that would attempt to out-power them.
Each of us have in our minds the kind of profession that nursing should be. But, until we can fully claim it, such a profession will never be.
You cannot claim such RIGHTS by being anonymous. Power simply goes to those that stand up and grasp it. And standing up means being noticed. You can't have it both ways.
If we are too afraid to use our last names, we only invite those that prey on fear to act. And I'm not just talking about stalkers.
It's fully time for nurses to 'Speak truth to power'. And own it.
~faith,
Timothy RN, BA, CCRN. And proud of EVERY part of that title.
Timothy,
You have some very interesting points. However, I re-iterate that we have plenty of docs who go by Dr. Bob or Dr. Joe or even Dr. "G" (first initial of the last name if the last name is hard to pronounce) and it doesn't seem to affect their professional status in the least. Professionalism is how we conduct ourselves, how we treat our pts and each other, it is integrity and dignity...it is not our names. Secondly, I daresay that you have the luxury of being male, and I would wonder how many times you've been in the position of being groped, be teased about your 'rack', manipulated into giving a bedbath for less than upstanding reasons, had marriage proposals, gotten comment about your 'birthing hips', have had former patients call you at work to 'chat'...indeed, in critical care, I would think that most of your patients barely have the strength to even look at your name badge let alone take it upon themselves to follow you home from work. Psych is a different animal altogether. But I do see your point and I appreciate your comments...they are very thoughtful indeed!
moderator note: edited out reference to member's full legal name.
I'm a girl (with a rack and birthing hips to boot) and I agree with him for what it's worth. I don't think names alone denote professionalism, but I do think they are a part of it. Critical care patients aren't usually strong, but trust me their family and friends are the ones who can scare us at times. I've had more than a few parents get out of hand, requiring security to come to the unit. Gang bangers are scary when they're being treated in the ER, and they are just as scary when you are treating their premature baby in the NICU. I realize psych is different that ICU units, but security is a concern everywhere.
I'm a girl (with a rack and birthing hips to boot) and I agree with him for what it's worth. I don't think names alone denote professionalism, but I do think they are a part of it. Critical care patients aren't usually strong, but trust me their family and friends are the ones who can scare us at times. I've had more than a few parents get out of hand, requiring security to come to the unit. Gang bangers are scary when they're being treated in the ER, and they are just as scary when you are treating their premature baby in the NICU. I realize psych is different that ICU units, but security is a concern everywhere.
fergus51
6,620 Posts
That's a false dichotomy (the notion that you're at risk of being stalked if you use your full name and aren't if you don't). I am alive/unstalked/unraped and use my last name with each patient I interact with. I understand you don't want to use your last name, I just think it's dangerous to paint it as being what's important in guaranteeing your safety.