I was reading a post earlier. Normally I love to do that, when I get some downtime I am entertained/educated by posts here and I enjoy it. However I saw something on here that bothered me. It is a recurring theme.
A user said that since a poster was a nursing student and not a nurse she should change her username. I see that a lot here, other users telling posters to change their name because they are students, or CNAs, etc. Does that really bother you??? It's not like it's that big of a deal. If I was a culinary student I would call myself DelaneyBaker and it would be fine. If I was an engineering student I would call myself DelaneyEngineer. It wouldn't be a big deal. Y'all act as if there aren't millions and millions of nurses in the world and are so prideful. It's not that hard to be a nurse. People from dinky little schools are "nurses". People who did things completely online are "nurses". It isn't a big deal.
I don't know why this riled me up so much but it did. Sorry for the rant.
no, she was a CNA. she never misrepresented herself, she had "CNA" on her door. But we all called her nurse. For example, "good morning nurse Sheila" or "Go to Nurse Sheila for a band-aid" and as a child/teen it never made much difference. She took my temperature, patched me up, etc. No "real" nurse ever made rounds. If there was an emergency, of which I remember one or two, EMS were called.
And I understand the issue with somebody in a hospital or office calling themselves a nurse, I wouldn't want that either. It was just that online it seemed so petty. Somebody calling themselves "NurseBetty" when they were a student on a nursing forum seemed cute and unoffensive. I am not so protective, maybe because like a different poster said, nursing school comes easy to some people and it comes easy to me. I work full time as well and it's not an issue. Maybe once I'm actually licensed it will change. :)
I did not find most classes incredibly challenging, but that doesn't change the fact that being a nurse means you possess specialized knowledge that took years to acquire, took a licensure exam to demonstrate competence, and have a legally defined scope of practice. You don't call yourself a nurse if you aren't one because it creates a lie about your qualifications.
I would like to add my two cents as a former law student. While I was in law school I never (nor did my classmates) call myself a lawyer. I was a law student.
A person cannot say they are a lawyer unless they pass a bar exam. They are not even a lawyer when they graduate law school. This is because, as margin stated about the "nurse" title, people cannot give legal advice unless they are a licensed (bar-passing) lawyer. Paralegals cannot even give legal advice. Law students can in very very few circumstances, but generally cannot. So, by law, it is illegal to call oneself a lawyer unless deemed so by the Bar Association.
It irks people because anyone can give legal or medical advice and pretend they are a nurse/doctor/lawyer, but it is illegal if they are actually not those things. They did not spend years in school learning the craft; they did not pass a rigorous state board. People have to be mindful about what "advice" they give when they do not have the authority to do so. It can cause serious harm.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
no, she was a CNA. she never misrepresented herself, she had "CNA" on her door. But we all called her nurse. For example, "good morning nurse Sheila" or "Go to Nurse Sheila for a band-aid" and as a child/teen it never made much difference. She took my temperature, patched me up, etc. No "real" nurse ever made rounds. If there was an emergency, of which I remember one or two, EMS were called.
I'm sure there was an RN that swung by every once & awhile & you didn't see her. The CNA has to be overseen by an RN.
Re: the "school nurse" thing: I went to a very rural K-12, from 7th grade on. The woman who was in the health office every day was a "health aide," and the RN provided oversight for all of the area schools.
Did children sometimes call the health aide "the nurse?" Sure. Do you think they knew better? Why would they? They're children. That's very different than the school district misrepresentating someone....which your school did not, as evidenced by the "CNA" name plate.
no, she was a CNA. she never misrepresented herself, she had "CNA" on her door. But we all called her nurse. For example, "good morning nurse Sheila" or "Go to Nurse Sheila for a band-aid" and as a child/teen it never made much difference. She took my temperature, patched me up, etc. No "real" nurse ever made rounds. If there was an emergency, of which I remember one or two, EMS were called.
EMS is going to be called for any true medical emergency, even if there is an RN on campus. "Nurse Sheila" may not be put herself into jeopardy by allowed people to call her a nurse, but the school is taking on a whole bunch of liability by giving parents the impression that a nurse is assessing an ill child. While children may not care, I'm sure it matters to parents, especially if there is some undesirable outcome.
If someone wrote earlier, this is a private website and they make the rules...well, there has to be enforcement of the rules for people to follow.
Does everyone read the "terms" when they join every site, hell no! They are joining for a specific reason and could care less whether their use of a title is "allowed or not".
I know what I went through to earn my RN degree, so "NO" I would not want someone to use a nursing title in their user name if they have not earned the right. (my two cents)
I guarantee there was an RN who made the rounds at the school if a CNa was working in the health aide office. I worked at a school as an LPN and the RN would visit the school once or twice a week ( she was in charge of six schools). I know there was talk that they would get rid of the Lpn's and just have one of the teachers obtain her first aide cert from the Red Cross and designate her the aide. The teachers and the RN were wholly against it. AS if teachers don't have enough to do! I am sure that is in the cards though as budgets get cut. Anyways, I am sure the Cna working as a health aide was definately not alone. An Rn was probably supervising just not in the building 5 days a week.
Speaking about the title. I wouldn't call myself HistorylovingRN if I wasn't an RN. Maybe historylovingstudentRN. Presenting yourself at work as a nurse when one clearly isn't -illegal.
I am getting my Masters degree in statistics currently..not going to change my name to historylovingLPNSTATMS....until I get that paper! (that's a mouthful!)
Titles of professions online that you haven't obtained? Just bad internet etiquette.
Not that hard, huh? Should we say that to the student who came up to me when I was in school (I was wearing scrubs for some lab that day) and lamented that she hadn't gotten in (yet)? Or to the long list of friends, relatives, and visitors where i work who say 'I couldn't do what you do'?
(At the same time, am I the greatest? Do I have a big head? No, no, no ... just disagreeing with the 'it's not that hard' statement).
no, she was a CNA. she never misrepresented herself, she had "CNA" on her door. But we all called her nurse. For example, "good morning nurse Sheila" or "Go to Nurse Sheila for a band-aid" and as a child/teen it never made much difference. She took my temperature, patched me up, etc. No "real" nurse ever made rounds. If there was an emergency, of which I remember one or two, EMS were called.
And I understand the issue with somebody in a hospital or office calling themselves a nurse, I wouldn't want that either. It was just that online it seemed so petty. Somebody calling themselves "NurseBetty" when they were a student on a nursing forum seemed cute and unoffensive. I am not so protective, maybe because like a different poster said, nursing school comes easy to some people and it comes easy to me. I work full time as well and it's not an issue. Maybe once I'm actually licensed it will change. :)
Nursing school was pretty steady for me. Not too hard, not too easy. I had the top grades, food loads of volunteer work, and mentored some freshmen in my program. I graduated from a small rural program, class size 9 people.
I still reported the MA that gave my mother and I erroneous post-procedural advice regarding use of aspirin and ibuprofen for pain control (despite my mother's borderline kidney function).
I don't like people who take all the glory and shirk all the responsibilities.
Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
So then the CNA wasn't the school nurse. The CNA was an aide that helped out the school nurse. LVNs can't even be called the school nurse, only RNs.
Often they are titled "health office clerk" or "health assistant" but people call the person nurse and they choose to not correct the assumption.
Many states restrict the title of school nurse to RN. My state substitute school nurses can be any RN but a full time school nurse must be credentialed by the state department of education, and a minimum of RN + BSN + graduate level certification (most just take the extra 6-9 credits and get a MSN)
NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN
791 Posts
I did not find most classes incredibly challenging, but that doesn't change the fact that being a nurse means you possess specialized knowledge that took years to acquire, took a licensure exam to demonstrate competence, and have a legally defined scope of practice. You don't call yourself a nurse if you aren't one because it creates a lie about your qualifications.