Why do Nurse's wear there degree on there name badges?

Nurses General Nursing

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I have never had anyone give me a straight answear to this question, Why do nurses wear there degree on the badge uniforms? I see few other people in the hospital setting that do it except for nurses, why is this? Is it an ego thing? I would understand if you were qualified for various postions ie RN, EMT-P, RRT, but the whole concept of wearing your degree seems to have a I'm better than you attitude. Personnally myself being a military man I find the postion you hold carries more clout than your degree. I have seen ADN's as Supervisors and MSN's doing floor work. Does the degree vs the certification(CEN,CCN) make a difference? As a pre- hospital care worker when I go in the ER or up to a floor the only thing I ever notice is that the higher the degree the less likely that person is to assist you, not always but more often than not this is the case. I would welcome any feed back on this. Thanks Kev

Hey folks,

I am a moderator, but it is only in the Student Nurses forum, so I am assuming that I am still a "free poster" when it comes to topics not posted in the Student Nurses Forum. So, after much thought today (I had a 2 hour drive to "contemplate" the nursing mutli-verse) I decided to post again.

You know what? I dont care if you want to wear your degree on your name tag. I dont care if you DONT want to wear your degree. I dont care if you think many BSN nurses have a superiority complex, I dont care if you have an inferiority complex.

Are you concerned that if I was working in your hospital, and I had Brandy, RN BSN on my name badge and I patient ask me what it stood for, and a said "I have a 4 year degree in nursing", that during your next shift, if they asked you how many years it took to graduate, and you told them it was less than 4, are you worried that they would prefer me over you? Are you worried that the patient will not trust you because I have had more years in school than you? Are you worried that we will make you look bad? What exactly are you so worried about?

Are you worried that your patients will think less of you, if they know that there are nurses out there that have put more time in the classroom than you? Are you against fully educating the public on ALL aspects of the care they recieve?

If you are not worried that it will make you look like "less of a nurse", then why does it really matter to you? Do you feel inferior because you will not be that nurse with a BSN behind your name? If you do, then you really need to ask yourself why you feel that way.

We do not agree, but i do not think less of you because you do not have a Bachelors Degree. I do think less of you because it appears from my standpoint that you have a very closed mind. Since the first day that I joined this BB, my signature has read- "Minds are like parachuttes, they only work when open". Open your mind. If seeing a younger nurse, with less experience, and a BSN on their name tag makes you feel inferior, only you can change that. Go back to school for a BSN, or feel comfortable where you are. We DONT think less of you for being an ADN, do you think less of yourself? If you do, that might very well explain why you are so against a patient knowing that there are nurses out here who have more education than you. In 9 months, I will have a BSN, in 10 months (god willing) I will be an RN, I will be happy about it, and I will want to share my experience. I pray to God that I will work with nurses that understand why it is important to me, and i hope those nurses will hold there education as proudly as I hold mine. I hope that I never run into a nurse in practice that resents me for having a higher degree than they do. Good luck to you all, and my you all find happiness, and respect by whatever means you deem necessary.

Oh, and by the way, if you ever make it to Hannibal Missouri, and come to the hospital, look for me, Ill be the one that has "Brandy, RN BSN" on my name badge.

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Specializes in Pediatric Rehabilitation.

Ok guys, it's obvious this person has a serious problem with his own degree..or lack thereof. I think the best thing we can do is let this argument die. All productivity has been lost and this has become a thread for one person to draw attention. I know as well as you all that you earned the right to wear your credentials. You sacrificed once to obtain them, you don't have to earn the right again. DNR this thread, please.

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The bottom line, ladies and gentlemen, is that the hospitals are responsible for the badges that offended the first guy, that if there is a choice then it should be up to the individual as to what they want on their badges, and the whole tempest in a teapot was caused an ex-military man thought we were showing arrogance because we wore our job titles on our badges instead of the shoulders. End of story.:eek:

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Specializes in CCU, Geriatrics, Critical Care, Tele.

Wow, this topic really has turned into a heated debate ;)

Everyone, please remember to keep the conversation civil and respect others opinions, although they may be different than yours :)

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

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:D Why does a physician sign the MD, pHD, DO and still place Dr. in front of their name? Why don't they just do one or the other? I think it is indeed to emphasize how hard they worked to obtain their degrees- hung on walls in an office. They also place affilliations on their business cards, etc.

So, nurses should feel OK with emphasizing their hard-won degrees as well, if they wish. I am usually too busy to sign everything with my BSN and certs, but I would like it to be on my badge -it's not.

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Problem is, new nurses would have a very difficult time gaining experience if the patients were able to say, "I want another nurse, one with more experience."

The anxiety related to a patient's confidence level of nurses with no mention of "years of service" or not many years of service could elicit a self fufilling prophecy of performance problems.

Although experience provides an opportunity to grow, there are some who have not grown in knowledge or competence. Those individuals would be faced with more work while less experienced, more competent nurses' careers languished.

Now if these younger (or less experience nurses) decided to hang around, eventually, they too would be able to list some impressive number of years on their name badge. However, the quality of their experience would be inferior to previous generations of nurses because of the time spent waiting for trust and credibility, without actually performing the same level of work as those nurses who gained their experience before the "years of service" number was attached to their nametags.

Imagine getting into a cab where there is an emblem on the driver's jacket "One Week Safe Driver." Now imagine if that emblem could be seen even before entering the cab. That driver may eventually gain the "(whatever) X Years Safe Driver Award" without taking anyone anywhere!

It is not unusual for me to try and assemble something first or try making something work, then consult the instructions later. In the same tradition, I responded to the original message before reading all the posts. If my message content is redundant, I apologize.

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You betcha girl! I DO have my BSN degree tattoed, not to my forehead, but on my shoulder....very proud and relieved to have accomplished this! I designed a tattoo especially for the degrees I have....a triple rose vine around a caduceus. One bloomed when I finished my AA, the other two where buds. When I finished my BSN I had the second bud bloomed out, then when I finish my Masters I will have the third bloomed out. I have BSN tatooed in small letters above the 2nd bloom and RN at the bottom on either side of the caduceus. It has a great deal of meaning for me and will have until the day I die.

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The tattoo makes far more sense than nose and brow rings! Truly, it is okay to be proud of one's accomplishments!

Are you currently working on your Masters?

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Haven't started on it yet. My oldest is in college right now and have 2 more teenagers and a grandchild living with me. I thought I wanted to go back to be a midwife, but I have recently had to leave L&D (tears flow) and take a management/QA positition (tears dry, better $$) due to some physical limitations. SO......maybe I will go back for my Masters but in Health Care Management? Undecided. That is the great thing about nursing....there are always options. My tattoo isn't going anywhere! It will be there to work on even if I am 90 before I complete my Masters in whatever thread of nursing I choose.:D

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Originally posted by nurs4kids

Ok guys, it's obvious this person has a serious problem with his own degree..or lack thereof. I think the best thing we can do is let this argument die. All productivity has been lost and this has become a thread for one person to draw attention. I know as well as you all that you earned the right to wear your credentials. You sacrificed once to obtain them, you don't have to earn the right again. DNR this thread, please.

You assumed wrong. I'm not a "he" and I'm proud of my achievements in the nursing professions including attending practical nursing school and working towards my degree in nursing. It was a debate and I never look to draw attention to myself. I had the minority viewpoint which simply had more messages in contrast to my opinion.

What a stretch to think otherwise.

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First, I'm going to say I have no opinion either way on this topic, whatever makes you happy works for me. I do have a couple comments though.

I don't really understand why a military person has a problem with people wearing credentials on their uniform. Doesn't the military do this all the time? Everyone in the military is correctly referred to as Private, Corporal, Sergeant, Captain, etc. and these titles show different levels of experience and expertise. Many variences are made in uniform to signify special credentials - drill sergeants have different head gear, pilots have their jumpsuits, Rangers have the spiffy beret - and you know what a hissy fit Rangers threw when these precious black berets were made standard issue Army wide, so apparently members of the military like to "stand out" in some way and be recognized for their accomplishments. Right? Why should it be different for nurses, or for anyone else?

Brandy, some of your comments are cause for concern as well. I can't believe it would actually make a difference if your nurse had a 2 or 4 year degree! That's so judgemental, unfair and just plain wrong! It's the equivilent of someone saying of you, "I don't want that kid taking care of my grandmother...I'd rather have an adult nurse." It's wrong to assume a young nurse isn't as capable as an older nurse, and it's wrong to assume a nurse with a BSN is more capable than one with an ADN. You have every right to be proud of your accomplishments, but be prepared, at your age, your more likely to be mistaken for a Nurse Aid than a Bachelor's in Nursing graduate. You say it's "commitment to education" you're concerned with, but life experience means a heck of a lot more to a lot of people than the number of years you spent in college, and it's a much more obvious as well.

I just don't buy your "commitment to education" line. If you think that a BSN nurse is generally a "better" nurse than one with a ADN degree, then come right out and say so. I won't necessarily agree with you, but I'll certainly respect you more for coming right out with it. No need to qualify or defend your opinions here, just be mature enough to admit them outright.

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Specializes in Perinatal/neonatal.

GEEZ Louise! I'm not going to be "an RN". I'm going to be a RN. For all the darn education battles around this post, can't we at least get the proper phrasing down? (I assume you all took English 101. I just re-learned the rule from my third grader.) Also, I never heard of anyone being a "BSN". Sure, you may hold a BSN degree, but you can't be one. Finally, NurseStudentFall01, you are so COOL! I like someone who can be cool when it's so HOT! You'll do great as a nurse. Good Luck mi amigo!

Ciao for now,

Ang

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