You are what you are and should be what you are.  If you are a CNA, LPN, or an RN.  You can call yourself what ever, but in the end when it all comes down to it like my dad told me " I dont care what you are doing.  Until you get them papers you are a CNA" just like when I was an LPN no matter what I did I was still an LPN until I got my RN. 

I know where CD nurse is comming from when we were in school there was a level of respect that was brow beat into us.  If you review your nursing history you will find that even the sleeve length was designated for each position, why do you think there is number of stripes  on the nsg. caps?       As nursing  students we took the stairs no elevaters and we were forebidden to eat lunch in the same area as the RNs.  That is old school v/s new school and having respect for your peers, and senior nurses which you just dont see much of anymore.  I still give up my seat for a NP or MD.  I try to have everything set up for them because that is the way I was taught and I respect what they have done to get to that point. 

All that really needs to be said is that we have WORKED SO HARD TO GET THE TITLE WE HAVE!!!! Maybe MA's and CNA's feel they did as well but we went to NURSING SCHOOL! Which entitles us to calling ourselves as nurses. We took the responsibility and perogitive to get what we have. Just because we took the NCLEX and passed and you all have not does not mean you can rag us for that! We are the definition of nurse. We have done everything possible to get where we are. Any one else can do it as well. It is bull crap that cna's and ma's call themselves nurses these days. If you would like to try and save a patients life with information you don't really know then more power to you. It's your life you have ruined oh and along with the patients and families. We know what we are doing and why we do it. So if you really feel like you are a nurse that  go to nursing school and get the license that states you are. 

I don't have a problem with CNA's being honored during nurse week.  I do think one day of that week, should be set aside for RN's, another for LPN/LVNs and another for CNA's.  We are each a valuable part of a healthcare team.

Ambitiousnurse says ...

Below is my original post that was taken out of context.  By no means am I saying RN's are lazy and afraid to get their hands dirty.  But you have to realize that we all work with different types of people some good and some bad weather it be RN, LPN or CNA not everyone is going to bring the same amount of compassion and dedication to the job.  But for the ones that do they should be recognized for that.  CNA's are different from nurses and they should be recognized for what they do.  Where I use to work we celebrated nurses week and CNA week seperately.  And once agian I do not think that CNA's should call themselves nurses they are CNA's and thats what they should be called their job is important enough without trying call themselves something that they are not.

I have been a CNA for 6 years and I have never considered myself a nurse.  I am a CNA point blank.  When I worked in the nursing home I thought that the nurses were lazy (some were) I thought that all they did was pass meds, sit down and chart and read news weekly (some did).  It was not until I went to school to become a LPN that I realized how important nurses were and that they do more than just pass meds and that it requires alot of concentration during their med pass and charting.  I started to view nurses in a different way while in school so while still working as a cna i did whatever I could to make their jobs run smoother because its hard when your doing your med pass and someone needs a accu check call light are going off, a patient is possibly coding and someone is telling you that someone needs something for pain.  Well the point of this post is to say that CNA's are extremely important and as someone stated earlier they are the nurses eye's and ears because they often times spend more time with the pt. than time allows the nurse to.  I believe that behind every good nurse is a good CNA and that nurses shouldn't burn their CNA's they can be the ones that can save your A sometimes.  This being said a CNA is not a nurse and should not pass their self off as one.  Your job is important enough.  The title of nurse is very well earned and it should only be used by just that a nurse weather RN or LPN

I agree with you that it's all about team work thats true on most jobs.  It's sad that not everyone is a team player.  I like that you stated that you worked in laundry and house keeping because when we are talking about who does what and who is just as important we leave out these valuable team members.  It's all of us that make up this diversified team whether you are a  doctor, surgeon, RN, LPN, CNA, house keeper, maintanence whatever we are all here for the same thing and that is the patient.  I can honestly say that I am not one to beat up the nursing profession.  I have chosen to move forward I became a CNA while in high school, went on to get my AA, finished my LPN and now pursuing my BSN.  Ultimately I will become a nurse practioner.  With all this being said a CNA is not a nurse and should not call herself one and SOME NOT ALL nures are lazy SOME CNA's  are lazy so if you are not one of the lazy ones then dont take offense to my post and give your self a pat on the back for doing such a great job.

It really depends on the state's Nurse Practice Act, what an LPN can do.  I was an LPN in Oklahoma for 8 years, and could do everything except be in charge...I worked tele and CCU.  I was ACLS certified and took care of the same patients as the RN's, with the same tasks, including IV meds, vents, SwanGanz.  My admissions were co-signed by an RN. 

In Missouri, it seems like the LPN role is more limited.  I'm not sure because there aren't any LPN's on my floor, so I've only worked with them when I've floated.  They can't give IV pushes, but IVPB's are OK.

It makes me crazy when the MA at the doctor's office calls herself Dr. X's nurse. 

well put lpnfire.  I couldn't have said it better myself.

May be off topic, a little....

When is a student nurse considered a student nurse? When they start pre-rec's for the RN  program or when they are accepted into the  clinicals??

RNdude.

You say :Nursing Students" applies throughout the program, but to me... (IMO) I feel the program starts the day you sign up for the program and start attending classes no matter if your in pre-rec's or in the clinicals.

I myself have signed up for the program and start my pre-rec's in two weeks. At that time I feel like I'm a student nurse,,,, but on the other hand, I feel I'm not. - IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE???

I find myself researching nursing, checking out nursing books, and talking and dreaming nursing, so when I start taking my pre-rec's I'm going to feel like I'm a "student Nurse". -BUT THEN AGAIN, I'M NOT.

I know confusing....

Thanks for your experiance and input. I have been following along and apprecaite information from someone with your experiance.

RNdude & mmullican,

Thanks for the information. I can definatly see your points and agree with you.

Thanks for the clarification

Well I can definetly relate to this question. I'm a frammer/carpenter by trade and recently a sheetmetal man due to the housing colapse.  I've been the job site first aid guy by default for years. Usually picking splinters, an eyewash, bandaging cuts and on a couple rare ocasions pulled a nail out. That's what  us guys do. Howver, now that I have begun the journey into becoming a R.N. by NO means would I pose as a  R.N. and am always quick to tell people that I;m not a RN yet.  And I do get questioned reguarly. Most the time they just want some friendly advise, but heck I'm not even in nursing school yet.(next year). One time though my roommate got this bad rash on his hands and part of his arms and was very persistent with me about looking at it. I kinda knew what it was more so what it wasn't. Not poison ivy, bug bites,spider mites or bee stings, but I did look it up one more time in my micro book to be sure and then told him to go to the doctor. It was Rose Gardener's and he had been working on the garden all week the probability was high. Right now I'm taking my ethics class and we talk about these types of things. Is it are duty? Should we get involved? Is it in the parameters of what we have been trained to do  (CPR class). Lets go back to what I did for my friend who nailed himself to a rafter 40 feet up in the air. Given the situation at hand i was his best chance for him getting out of this precarious situation without causing further harm to himself. Which brings me to my next question. When does one justify the right thing to do over the proper thing to do? In certain rare situations, when should a health care professional go beyond what one has been trained to do, if ever?  Now rember I'm studying to become a nurse, so your comments are apreciated.

BigKev says ...

Well I can definetly relate to this question. I'm a frammer/carpenter by trade and recently a sheetmetal man due to the housing colapse.  I've been the job site first aid guy by default for years. Usually picking splinters, an eyewash, bandaging cuts and on a couple rare ocasions pulled a nail out. That's what  us guys do. Howver, now that I have begun the journey into becoming a R.N. by NO means would I pose as a  R.N. and am always quick to tell people that I;m not a RN yet.  And I do get questioned reguarly. Most the time they just want some friendly advise, but heck I'm not even in nursing school yet.(next year). One time though my roommate got this bad rash on his hands and part of his arms and was very persistent with me about looking at it. I kinda knew what it was more so what it wasn't. Not poison ivy, bug bites,spider mites or bee stings, but I did look it up one more time in my micro book to be sure and then told him to go to the doctor. It was Rose Gardener's and he had been working on the garden all week the probability was high. Right now I'm taking my ethics class and we talk about these types of things. Is it are duty? Should we get involved? Is it in the parameters of what we have been trained to do  (CPR class). Lets go back to what I did for my friend who nailed himself to a rafter 40 feet up in the air. Given the situation at hand i was his best chance for him getting out of this precarious situation without causing further harm to himself. Which brings me to my next question. When does one justify the right thing to do over the proper thing to do? In certain rare situations, when should a health care professional go beyond what one has been trained to do, if ever?  Now rember I'm studying to become a nurse, so your comments are apreciated.

Welcome to the nursing profession.  IMO, be very careful about giving medical advice, even to your best friend.  When you are a nurse, you may have all kinds of people from neighbors to people you go to church with to someone you just met at a local supermarket checkout counter asking for advice from everything from STD's to dandruff.  Beyond being annoying, this can open you up to a slew of legal and ethical problems if you offer advice.  Take the Gardner guy for example, IMO the best thing to do was to say something along these lines, "Oh my, that looks like it bothers you, you should call a doctor"  If they say, "I don't have one, or cannot afford one or insist on asking what you think it could be, be very careful, you are taking a risk, if you are wrong and tell them to put calamine lotion on it (for example) and the rash turns out to be some creepy thing such as a microorganism not covered in your general micro book, he develops problems because he now says, "I asked ______ who is a nurse, and he told me to do ______" then perhaps an ambulance chacer gets ahold of this or even the state board of nursing says you stepped outside your scope of practise and diagnosed and perhaps practiced medicine without a license.  Then you have big problems, because you tried to help someone. Sucks but happens everyday.

The question about if it is ever appropriate for a health care professional to go beyond what one has been trained to do, is NO, the only thing you should do in an emergency if you are stuck on a mountainside from a plane crash or whatever is to provide first aide, and such, you would not want to do surgery or whatever.  People are funny, one minute you are their hero for saving their life, the next they lost their leg because you tried to remove something, infection sets in and a lawyer convinces a judge and jury you caused him to loose his leg.

 I agree with Butterfly and Cuttie.  I am a Medical Assistant that is challenging the LVN to go into a MSN/NP program.  I don't have a problem with my title as long as I give the care my patients deserve.  I think many Registered Nurses become petty regarding the whole, "You're not a nurse thing".  We all work hard and to correct a patient is totally unnecessary. They want to know how you are going to help you.  In a doctors office it is different, bedside nursing is different. I've done both.  We all deserve repsect regardless of title.  So no offense, PITTNURSE, there are more important things to focus on. I hope when I finish all my degrees, that I remember the kindness of a Patient Care Asst., LVN, Medical Assistant or whomever. We all need each other, no matter what we are titled!!!

 I understand the ethics part, because I wouldn't pose as a Medical doctor or attorney, but my point is isn't the main focus all of our patients. "That's what truly matters!!" I get liability and misinformation, but how many have been patients and health providers, not many and I have.  My pain at the time was my concern, not a person's title.  I wanted help and that's what truly is important.  I agree with AmbitiousNurse, we all are important.  No one means less than, the other.

GITANO  they did the same thing at my hospital with the cna's wearing different color scrubs. Sound like most of the RN's are in agreement. If you are a cna be proud and if you want to be and RN work towards it.