Someone calling themselves a Nurse when not.Help please!

[ProudofmyNursingart]

I am going to post this in the Australian section as well, but wanted opinions on this problem.

My problem is this;

I was working at this Retirement Village. I'm not anymore.

A male who is the manager of a retirement village where everyone lives indivdually in their own units.

He does NOT even hold a basic first aide certificate.

Yet he is calling himself in the workplace and out 'Head Nurse.'

Like I said this guy doesn't even have a 1st aide certificate, let alone have a degree in nursing, is breaking the rule/'law' of not calling yourself a nurse when you are not.

This guy also spends his lunchtime break at the pub!

What would you do?

If I report him, who would it be too? The Nurse's Board. Which is now a all State/Territory Practiitioner Board?

It makes my blood boil when I hear PCA's calling themselves 'nurse's' when they are NOT.

God bless the PCA's you make our jobs that much easier.

I worked so hard for so long to gain the right to call myself 'Nurse'. And here is this bloke just throwing around the title, and a major title at that, like it's nothing.

He is not only deceiving family and residents at the Village. But new residents, family, and visitors.

He is putting people in danger with calling himself this.

[ceridwyn]

I do not think it is illegal until he calls himself a Registered Nurse....theres no point calling the National Board as they have no jurisdiction over him at all.

This is the trouble I do not think you need a qual to be a manager of a retirement village. If they have ageing in place, then they would then have to have Registered nurses or EN's.

If he is doing personal care then maybe report the organisation that runs the retirement place to the department of ageing....do not have it with me now, but google go to state government, then ageing as this is state and federal funded. Good luck.

[sairin8]

I'm not sure on Aussie law. I know NZ law is that he cannot call himself a nurse if he is not. You could always give the nursing board a call or an email to clarify what the law is there...

Interesting side note, there was a case a number of years back in Christchurch where some chick who turned out to be a male (or was it the other way round? Can't remember) pretended to be a nurse and would turn up for work etc. S/He didn't get paid for it or anything as s/he wasn't on the payroll, but still went to court for it. One of my tutors was called as one of the witnesses.

[sairin8]

Bogus nurse...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10426266

[ghillbert, MSN, NP]

Maybe try consumer affairs to get advice?

[celticcare]

My understanding of it, is if the person is professing to be an RN, then he is under the accusation of impersinating a registered health proffesional and is accountable under the HPCA act 2003.

Anyone, in the general dictionary sense, can be a "nurse" its down to what they are doing and what the risk is to family and friends and other patients. I would probably contact the nursing council for advice mainly to just ascertain what is the right path of action. He may have been an ex nurse struck off the registry for all we know.

[Heinz beans]

I have always considered anyone involved with the direct nursing care of their clients to be nurses, including PCA's and students, just as a generalisation. Residents don't usually remember everyones professional title and usually use nurse. When specifying your title you should never introduce yourself as something your not and make people aware of what is you do. I think this guy should mention he is a manager since he isn't really a nurse.