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.
No, you definitely should not post someone else's email address. That could get you in a LOT of trouble. It does say prior to posting that we are not to post email addresses or identifying information.
Agreed. This is not the route to go.
To the OP:
As laws and regulations vary from region to region, seems like your best bet would be to actually find out the rules for your area, along with definitions and what might constitute proper evidence of illegal behaviors. Is it enough for him to just verbally refer to himself as a nurse or does he have to do it in writing as well? Do there need to be witnesses to his statements? Have any of the residents or family members felt he misrepresented himself?
Once you have the particulars, you can make whatever decisions you feel are necessary.
Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.
I agree with the previous posters. Someone misrepresenting themselves as a nurse could be dangerous if they are trying to pass meds and do clinical procedures etc... If it is a conflict with you (because it does bother some nurses mroe than others) maybe you could've confronted them about it first and then if the problem persists then go to the higher authrities be it the BON or the Retirment center owner etc....
I know here in the US,in the state of NC, if you know the persons first and last name you can go to the NC borad of nursing website and got to license verification and type in their name and it will show if their name is on the registry ad a RN, LPN, or NA II in NC. Maybe something like that is available to you.
I know in the US (at least in NC) it is illegal for one to impersonate or clamim to be a nurse or use the credentialing letters of a nurse (i.e. RN LPN etc...) if your are not licensed as such. No license, no nurse at all in any shape form or fashion.
In some places, "nurse" is a protected designation and just calling yourself by that title without having the proper qualifications can get a person in trouble. That's why I suggested that the OP actually research the regulations in the area where this man works.
Specializes in Labor/Delivery, Pediatrics, Peds ER.
To call yourself a nurse or to practice nursing without a license?
To CALL yourself a nurse.
It's even worse to practice without a license.
Earlier, the OP said that it was a crime with a $10,000 fine in Australia where she lives. Therefore, this person is breaking the law and duping his patients and their families.
Hopefully, someone in Australia knows which authorities she needs to report him to. If I had a loved one in a facility in which the head was pretending he was a nurse, even if he didn't actually attempt any nursing interventions, I would still be upset. I imagine he is doing this in order to instill a false sense of confidence in patients and family members. He's doing this in his official position, not just bragging around to his friends that he is something that he is not.
OP, I would probably start with an inquiry to your Board of Nursing, or whatever equivalent you have.
rn/writer, RN
9 Articles; 4,168 Posts
Agreed. This is not the route to go.
To the OP:
As laws and regulations vary from region to region, seems like your best bet would be to actually find out the rules for your area, along with definitions and what might constitute proper evidence of illegal behaviors. Is it enough for him to just verbally refer to himself as a nurse or does he have to do it in writing as well? Do there need to be witnesses to his statements? Have any of the residents or family members felt he misrepresented himself?
Once you have the particulars, you can make whatever decisions you feel are necessary.