I had a curious encounter at the doctor's office today. When I went in for my physical, a woman in scrubs came in ahead of the doc. She was wearing scrubs but no name tag. We hadn't met before, so I asked if she was a nurse. Yes, she replied.
I then presented her with paperwork outlining the shots I needed for school. As she looked over the paperwork, she volunteered that she was not a nurse but, in fact, a medical assistant. Oh, really? I replied. Where do you go to school for that? (I was genuinely curious.)
Well, she replied, she didn't go to school. She wasn't a "certified medical assistant," in her words, but "had a lot of experience." In fact, she'd been a CNA for 16 years, but this particular medical practice, as she explained it, "isn't like a hospital and doesn't care if you're ceritified." Hmm. Later on, the doctor sent her back to draw blood.
What would your reaction be? Obviously, she called herself a nurse, and she isn't one. (I wonder if she would have volunteered that info had she not seen my paperwork.) She called herself a medical assistant, then volunteered that she wasn't credentialed. I know nothing about MAs. Is that kosher? And what level of license does someone have to hold to be allowed to draw blood? (For what it's worth, this is the only person I've dealt with in many years at this doctor's office who wasn't wearing a name tag with credentials. Is there any kind of identification requirement?)
I think the assistant or whatever she is should be cautioned against using the term "nurse" so loosely. Of course it's offensive to us because we know how hard it was to get through school and how hard it is to be a nurse. My problems with this are: 1. She shouldn't be calling herself a nurse. 2. Does she really understand how important sterility and cleanliness is? 3. She has no right to be giving medication (if she did so) 4. Using unlicensed personnel to do nurse jobs is only opening the door for RNs to be undervalued even more and eventually someone will get the bright idea that untrained persons could give meds to hospitalized pts and have an expanded role in the care of such patients.
its not a matter of being judgemental .i have good friends that are ma ,cna lpn etc .and yes the recruiter is wrong to be telling these students that when they grad they are nurses.someone should straighten him out .i don't know your friend so i certainly was n't calling her stupid.however ma and cna go to medical asst training /school when they grad they are ma or cna .when a person goes to nursing school then grad they have a degree then sit at exam ,pass the test and gets their license to practice as lpn/rn a nurse.yes the public has no idea what we as nurses do and thats partially nursings fault for not educating the public .yes many people do think any person in mds office is a nurse.but just because they think that does not make it right .and we as nurses have a responsibility to educate people about what we do . i am a nurse for 20 yrs i have earned this title and am proud of it. when someone misrepresents themselves purposely as a nurse when they are not it angers and upsets me.that is my opinion and i have a right to it.
Yes indeed. I was just commenting on the tone some posters seemed to take. Maybe I took them the wrong way, but some seemed "holier than thou" and I was pointing out that while a doctors role is glamorized, the word "nurse" has become very generic, so you can't really jump on people for using it.
I don't see how anyone who went to a school that is called "medical assisting school" who has books that say "medical assisting handbook etc...", who has an I.D. for school clinicals that says "student medical assistant" etc...can be that confused. There might be a small minority that are that dumb, but if you can read then you SHOULD be able to understand that if you went to medical assisting school then you come out as a medical assistant. If it were a nursing school then there would be no need for the title of medical assistant. Now I have met plenty who have represented themselves as nurses and upon further discussion it comes out that "oh actually I'm an MA...but that is just like being a nurse and we have the same education etc..." but they knew full well that they weren't really a "nurse". The OP met one of these because she back-pedalled when the discussion went deeper. Just be who you really are.
I hate to mention this but maybe she is working for one of those older docs, and she is older, and she was just grandfathered in. Maybe she truly meant no harm in saying she was a nurse, maybe she just gets asked it several times a day, or people automatically assume she is, and so she just said yes. And she may be the best darn plebotomist out there, due to her experience. I know I would rather someone with no phleb certification draw on me if they had 10 years experience, than someone who is certified and had a days experience. As about 6 years ago phleb cert. was pretty much unheard of.
As about 6 years ago phleb cert. was pretty much unheard of.
Not true. My ex husband worked as a phleb in the early 90's and the hospitals around here would not take anyone not certified.
As for the part about being grandfathered in, very possible. That still doesn't give her the right to call herself a nurse. And it's deliberately misleading when she tried to backpedal after finding out she was talking to someone who knew better.
in our area, it wasn't spoken about til then. anyway, who knows what intentions this lady had, maybe in her mind and in the dr's mind for that matter she was his nurse. Although she may not have been a "nurse".
anyway, who knows what intentions this lady had, maybe in her mind and in the dr's mind for that matter she was his nurse. Although she may not have been a "nurse".
I've been doing my husband's financial records for years. I suppose I could say that in his mind and mine, I'm enough of a money whiz to be an accountant, but I surely don't refer to myself that.
Not educated as an accountant, just brushing the edges of what they do. Can't call myself an accountant. The MA was not educated as a nurse, perhaps giving her the benefit of the doubt she brushes the edge of what we do....but that's it. She can't call herself a nurse.
At best her mis-statements are ignorant. At worse, they are fraudulent. Neither is a good quality in a medical office employee who works closely with the public.
Specializes in ub-Acute/LTC, Home Health, L&D, Peds.
UGH!!!!
No one here is disputing the fact that the public needs to be educated for goodness sake. We have known this for a LONG time! That issue is not what we were disputing. It was with the MA in the OP's first post.
the word "nurse" has become very generic, so you can't really jump on people for using it.
More public education is certainly in order.
If it has become generic it's because people like that MA are using it falsely. When people stop lying about the fact that they are a nurse, the term won't be so generic anymore! And I would hope that most of us that are RN's and LPN's will continue to "jump on people for using it" until we get the message across! If we sit back and say nothing, then we certainly look like nothing. I know I will continue to speak up.
I don't see how anyone who went to a school that is called "medical assisting school" who has books that say "medical assisting handbook etc...", who has an I.D. for school clinicals that says "student medical assistant" etc...can be that confused. There might be a small minority that are that dumb, but if you can read then you SHOULD be able to understand that if you went to medical assisting school then you come out as a medical assistant. If it were a nursing school then there would be no need for the title of medical assistant. Now I have met plenty who have represented themselves as nurses and upon further discussion it comes out that "oh actually I'm an MA...but that is just like being a nurse and we have the same education etc..." but they knew full well that they weren't really a "nurse". The OP met one of these because she back-pedalled when the discussion went deeper. Just be who you really are.
Well, for one thing, the school isn't called medical assistant school. I don't know if I can say the name here or not. I never attended, but I don't think there is one book that said medical assistant on it.
Some people really do think, LPN,registered nurse, MA, CNA are the same despite your experience.
Hey, I thought RN's just gave out pills when I started. I don't even think I knew they assessed you. I didn't know you had nursing judgment to not give pills or that they had nursing diagnoses.
And I would hope that most of us that are RN's and LPN's will continue to "jump on people for using it" until we get the message across! If we sit back and say nothing, then we certainly look like nothing. I know I will continue to speak up.
Lisa CCU RN, RN
1,531 Posts
ITA...