Tech that tells everyone she's a nurse

Nurses General Nursing

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We have a nurse tech who is from Germany. She's forever telling everyone...other staff & patients...that she was a nurse in Germany but the United States won't let her practice nursing here without going back to school and earning a degree here. She is currently in her first semester of an ADN program.

From a lot of the things she says and does, we don't think she really went to the kind of nursing school we have to go to here. She says she spent 4 years in nursing school, being taught by the nuns. I asked her just yesterday if she had to take classes like Anatomy/Physiology. She avoided giving the actual answer, but just said, "maybe our school was a little different than here". So, that told me NO. The other day, she came to me and said, "that patient said they couldn't breathe good, so I turned their oxygen up to 6". I told her to NEVER do that again and explained why. I could go on & on. I (and others) are really getting sick of hearing her talk about being a nurse and how good she is at being a tech. She does get her vitals & baths done quickly and is good about many things AS A TECH. But she also refuses to do anything else with patients that aren't assigned to her. She will sit & read magazines if no one is available to listen to her tell how good she is. I've told her before that they aren't just "your patients/my patients"...that they all have needs and if someone else is tied up with another patient and someone else isn't busy, then that person needs to attend to the needs of the other patients. She also loves to say, "I'm just here to help the nurse with the patient's I'm assigned to. If other techs can't do their work, then that nurse needs to do it, not me."

Anyway, back to my original reason for writing this post...does anyone know if the requirements to become a nurse in Germany is different than in the US?

but isn't it possible, based on what other posters have said about foreign nurse preparation, that she is a nurse? i have seen some nurses who were rns or lpns in the us, passing school and their boards here, who have done some stupid things!

does she try to do tasks that a licensed person must do (aside from the oxygen) or does she just talk about her experience? there's a bit of a difference in that case.

jess

no, i doubt it. the oxygen was just the latest example of why i don't think she's the equivalent of a nurse here. she says all kinds of things that make me wonder. she knows nothing about any medications, she didn't have to take any of the kinds of classes we do here, like anatomy/physiology, microbiology, pharmacology, any of the prerequisites, etc. she just said that the nuns woke them up early and walked with them from room to room while they practiced their skills. from how she sounded, they basically only did all the things that a tech here can do.

she has commented before that a nurse over here is more like a doctor than the nurses in germany.

Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.

At the end of the day if she is a tech working with you thats what she is employed and insured to do. There is no scope for her oversteping what she should be doing.

I do have to be honest I am now very curious about the training and registration of nurses in Germany, this may be a question to ask in the international forum maybe, we must have members from Germany here as well.

Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

If we look at the history of nursing in the united states only recently in the past 30-40 years have nurses had to take classes like A and P, Micro, etc. I believe the reason behind this is that healthcare in America is so law-suit prone that everyone must have to go to rigorous training and teaching.

Many foreign countries nurses take on the more traditional role that was seen in the 1900-1950's, with the white cap and white dress and saying yes doctor, of course. Every country is different and if it serves their current purpose than far be it for me to critizes (sp?) them. After all Germany is ranked higher than the U.S. in healthcare number 25 while we are 37, according to WHO.

But back to the topic, the Tech should not boast herself as a nurse because even though that might be true in Germany it is not so in the US, and she is very fortunate to be in a nursing program because most foreign nurses I know could either not pass nursing school or the NCLEX.

If we look at the history of nursing in the united states only recently in the past 30-40 years have nurses had to take classes like A and P, Micro, etc. I believe the reason behind this is that healthcare in America is so law-suit prone that everyone must have to go to rigorous training and teaching.

Many foreign countries nurses take on the more traditional role that was seen in the 1900-1950's, with the white cap and white dress and saying yes doctor, of course. Every country is different and if it serves their current purpose than far be it for me to critizes (sp?) them. After all Germany is ranked higher than the U.S. in healthcare number 25 while we are 37, according to WHO.

But back to the topic, the Tech should not boast herself as a nurse because even though that might be true in Germany it is not so in the US, and she is very fortunate to be in a nursing program because most foreign nurses I know could either not pass nursing school or the NCLEX.

My question is about nursing in 2008. I think we all have had to learn the history of nursing while we were in nursing school.

My main concern with this (other than hearing her talk about it) is that she is misrepresenting herself to patients, who believe that she has the same qualifications as a licensed nurse here and will allow her to do things she should not do. She has also helped herself to giving someone an insulin injection after checking their blood sugar, has turned off IV pumps when they were beeping & forgotten to tell the nurse, and many more things that she should not be doing.

Specializes in Critical Care, Capacity/Bed Management.

Well if she gave insulin coverage and you know that, why has she not been reported?

That sounds so dangerous and so many consequences could follow, wrong insulin, wrong coverage amount, wrong site injection.

The RN's on your unit should inform your NM about her dangerous practices.

Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.
My question is about nursing in 2008. I think we all have had to learn the history of nursing while we were in nursing school.

My main concern with this (other than hearing her talk about it) is that she is misrepresenting herself to patients, who believe that she has the same qualifications as a licensed nurse here and will allow her to do things she should not do. She has also helped herself to giving someone an insulin injection after checking their blood sugar, has turned off IV pumps when they were beeping & forgotten to tell the nurse, and many more things that she should not be doing.

if she is doing all of this regardless of if she is qualified in Germany she is overstepping her bounderies as she is not qualified in the US

You need to deal with her as you would any other tech or CNA that oversteps the boundries.

Report it and document

Specializes in Medsurg/ICU, Mental Health, Home Health.
my question is about nursing in 2008. i think we all have had to learn the history of nursing while we were in nursing school.

yes, but the post went on to explain how american nursing has changed but many other countries' current situations are comparable to the history of nursing in america.

i agree, if she's doing things that require a license to practice in the us, something needs to happen not just because of the law and the fact that you are the licensed one and ultimately responsible but also because of patient safety, which is most important!

jess

I work with an activity aide who was a nurse in Germany. She is so sweet. Once she commented about how we seem like we're always pushing around the meds carts (I work in a LTCF right now) and how back home the nurses did all the care for the patient, the bathing and feeding and everything. I know there are some specialties that still work that way but she described it more like a tech job- I guess that's just what they do over there.

This tech is nuts, though- giving insulin and cranking up O2!! it really sounds like you should be reporting her.

Interesting. I've always wanted to know how nurses practiced over in Europe. Can nurses from the U.S. practice in Germany or in other european countries?

I'm pretty sure they can- this is America!! There may be a special test or something, but I'm pretty sure every country accepts good ole' American education! I know students from other countries who go to school here and plan to go back home to work. I worked with one lady from Liberia whose husband was in the nursing program. She said if he got his RN here he could go back home and open his own free standing clinic.

Specializes in Advanced Practice, surgery.
I'm pretty sure they can- this is America!! There may be a special test or something, but I'm pretty sure every country accepts good ole' American education! I know students from other countries who go to school here and plan to go back home to work. I worked with one lady from Liberia whose husband was in the nursing program. She said if he got his RN here he could go back home and open his own free standing clinic.

Ummm nope that's not quite right.

Check out the international forums and you will see how difficult it can be to work in another country.

In the UK there is quite a bit of red tape to go through, you have to provide morificecripts of your training and even with these you are not guarenteed to be allowed UK registration with our governing body for nursing.

Anyway that's the thread hijack over, sorry!!!!!

spanish is my second language, but it's very rude to speak it around other people who don't know it, especially in a professional setting. i don't blame you one bit for firing her for speaking spanish. my daughter is half mexican and her boyfriend is mexican, but he hardly speaks spanish around us. his mother owns a mexican restaurant in our small town and they never speak spanish, even at home. they came to this country to work and make a living, legally.

sorry getting political again. :no:

Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
My question is about nursing in 2008. I think we all have had to learn the history of nursing while we were in nursing school.

My main concern with this (other than hearing her talk about it) is that she is misrepresenting herself to patients, who believe that she has the same qualifications as a licensed nurse here and will allow her to do things she should not do. She has also helped herself to giving someone an insulin injection after checking their blood sugar, has turned off IV pumps when they were beeping & forgotten to tell the nurse, and many more things that she should not be doing.

How did she get hold of the insulin??

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