What if.....your Director has falsified his credentials?

[miserere]

I have an unusual problem, that I hope someone can help me with. In the past year, our hospital has had an influx of nurses of all types: travelers, agency nurses, per diems, etc. and our hospital was also recently taken over by a well known corporation which buys up small community hospitals. During the course of the takeover, the Director of our Unit gave her resignation. It was difficult to find a replacement, but eventually a traveling nurse who had worked in other departments was hired to become the director. Recently, a fellow nurse discovered that our Director, who has now been on board nearly a year, is not listed as having a license with our state. In addition, he does not have a certification for CCRN, according to the AACN listings, however he signs all his memos with RN, CCRN, etc. and he also wears that title on his name badge. I would be inclined to forget about this, but now it is starting to worry me. Is it possible that nurses from other states somehow can slip through the cracks so that their history doesn't follow them? Can my hospital be sued in some way by patients who discover this? I don't want to be fired myself, but I want to be able to trust the integrity of the Director.

[miserere]

Thank you, perhaps that is the case here.

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

How do you look up who has CCRN certification? Does AACN keep a searchable database for public access? Let me know because I sure haven't come across it. The fact that someone looked up this guy on the state database of RN licenses sounds suspect. And what makes people assume he isn't licensed? you don't know how his name appears on his state license. Some people have long legal names that they don't use on hospital ID badges simply because all the names won't fit. I would never take part in this "gossip" - can you imagine the consequence if this person finds out? I also find it hard to believe that an organization has not thoroughly checked someone's credentials before a job is offered.

[miserere]

I understand why it looks that way, but seriously, the Director is well liked - if he wasn't, that would be a no-brainer. And no, no one has time to be looking up everyone in the hospital. However, this is important - we are talking about the Director of an Intensive Care Unit. We don't want to find out he was an imposter after the fact.

[miserere]

Appreciate your comments, Yes, there are searchable databases for certification. This is not gossip. It is a matter of someone simply asking "why?" I don't believe the question was asked with ill intent. I agree it is a sticky issue, however, I think its an important one.

[miserere]

I am signing out of this forum now. I have the advice I sought. Thank you to all who took the time to answer. I appreciate it very much.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

You need to be very, very careful and 100% sure before you say anything. It would be EXCEEDINGLY RARE for an RN to get a job without everything being checked. I not only had to provide a copy of my nursing license, but transcripts from my school to verify my degree.

I live in a compact state (have you considered that?) and I also live in a border state. We have TONS of nurses working who are NOT LISTED with our state board of nursing, but the state they live in.

I have also worked with someone who went by her middle name but her first name appeared on the BON website, not her middle name. I also worked with another lady that had her married name on her badge, but never legally changed her name when she was married, and her maiden name was on the BON website.

Another possibility is that she forgot to transfer her license when she moved.

You need to be careful before you say anything and be sure you have covered your bases, because if you are wrong, I can assure you it will be a career ending move.

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

I understand why it looks that way, but seriously, the Director is well liked - if he wasn't, that would be a no-brainer. And no, no one has time to be looking up everyone in the hospital. However, this is important - we are talking about the Director of an Intensive Care Unit. We don't want to find out he was an imposter after the fact.

Yes, they do have time to look up everyone. That is what the Human Resources department does and many even employ outside agencies that do it for them.

[miserere]

I am not disagreeing with you - I was stating that the nurses don't have the time. Obviously, HR has the time. Unfortunately there has been a rapid turnover of employees in HR as well. Thank you for responding.

[miserere]

Thanks for your response. Yes, if you will read back over the thread, I have considered the possibilities and that is precisely why I looked for advice. I am well aware of the ramifications. I have enough information now on how to proceed. Goodnight all.

[ChaseZ]

How do you look up who has CCRN certification? Does AACN keep a searchable database for public access? Let me know because I sure haven't come across it. The fact that someone looked up this guy on the state database of RN licenses sounds suspect. And what makes people assume he isn't licensed? you don't know how his name appears on his state license. Some people have long legal names that they don't use on hospital ID badges simply because all the names won't fit..

Certification Verification Search

Personally, the first name on my badge is not the same as my license. You would not find me if you searched using only that.

[cookiemonsterpower]

You need to be very, very careful and 100% sure before you say anything. It would be EXCEEDINGLY RARE for an RN to get a job without everything being checked. I not only had to provide a copy of my nursing license, but transcripts from my school to verify my degree.

I live in a compact state (have you considered that?) and I also live in a border state. We have TONS of nurses working who are NOT LISTED with our state board of nursing, but the state they live in.

I have also worked with someone who went by her middle name but her first name appeared on the BON website, not her middle name. I also worked with another lady that had her married name on her badge, but never legally changed her name when she was married, and her maiden name was on the BON website.

Another possibility is that she forgot to transfer her license when she moved.

You need to be careful before you say anything and be sure you have covered your bases, because if you are wrong, I can assure you it will be a career ending move.

Exactly what I posted before. The name they registered by could differ. They could have changed their last names due to marriage , or like to go by a different name on their badge or papers. Etc...

because if you are wrong, I can assure you it will be a career ending move.

She took the words right out of my mouth.

[j621d]

I'm thinking there is no ulterior motive, based on what I've read. I've looked up plenty of licenses. The information I get is how long (when) they were licensed and if they hold an advanced license (ARNP). Nothing sinister.