NPs sue to use "Doctor" title
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Three California nurse practitioners with doctorates (DNP) have sued the state over its law that only physicians can call themselves doctors, saying it violates their first amendment right to use the honorific title without fear of regulatory repercussions.
The case highlights ongoing scope-creep battles as the American Medical Association tries to preserve the physician-led team model and nursing organizations and some lawmakers push for greater autonomy for allied professionals.
In the complaint filed in district court last month, plaintiffs Jacqueline Palmer, DNP, Heather Lewis, DNP, and Rodolfo Jaravata-Hanson, DNP, say they fear the state will sanction them. They note that "Doctor Sarah," another DNP, was fined nearly $20,000 by the state last November for false advertising and fraud after using the moniker in her online advertising and social media accounts.
The fine was part of a settlement that the DNP, Sarah Erny, reached with the state to resolve allegations that she failed to identify her supervising physician and inform the public that she was not a medical doctor.
Under California's Medical Practice Act, individuals cannot refer to themselves as "doctor, physician, or any other terms or letters indicating or implying that he or she is a physician and surgeon…without having…a certificate as a physician and surgeon."
Instead, nurse practitioners certified by the California Board of Registered Nursing may use titles like "Certified Nurse Practitioner" and "Advanced Practice Registered Nurse," corresponding letters such as APRN-CNP, RN, and NP, and phrases like pediatric nurse practitioner to identify specialization.
Individuals who misrepresent themselves are subject to misdemeanor charges and civil penalties.
The nonprofit Pacific Legal Foundation represents the plaintiffs. In court records, its attorneys argue that after "years earning their advanced degrees and qualifications…they should be able to speak truthfully about them in their workplaces, on their business cards, the internet, and social media, so long as they clarify that they are nurse practitioners."
State lawmakers’ attempts to clarify the roles of physicians and nurse practitioners have seen mixed results. Florida legislators recently passed a bill to prevent advanced practice nurses from using the honorific title, reserving it only for MDs and DOs. Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed it last month.
In May, Georgia lawmakers passed the Health Care Practitioners Truth and Transparency Act. It requires advanced practice nurses and physician assistants with doctoral degrees who refer to themselves as doctors in a clinical setting to state they are not medical doctors or physicians.
Still, some health professionals say that the designation should only be used in academic settings or among peers, and that all doctoral degree holders should ditch the moniker at the bedside to ease patient communications.
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A word about doctors. Real doctors.
Medical school is very hard to get into. Knew a lot of guys who were double majors (Chemistry/Zoo), with a heavy dollop of rounding courses, from physics, foreign languages and philosophy/theology. Once you got there, it was no guarantee you would stay there. And once you get through that strain, you get to do your residency, which is no fun, either. So, after 6-10 years of post graduate education, you get to finally practice on your own, with a mountain of debt, high taxation and government/insurance companies telling you how to do your job.
Ain't no NP doctorate anywhere near that. Not in the same galaxy.
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"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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@Axtremus said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
@Jolly said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
Hell to the no.
"Right to work."
What does that even mean in this context?
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@Axtremus said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
@Jolly said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
Hell to the no.
"Right to work."
Everybody has a right to work. Nobody has a right to lie.
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@Axtremus said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
@Jolly said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
Hell to the no.
"Right to work."
Everybody has a right to work. Nobody has a right to lie.
@Jolly said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
@Axtremus said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
@Jolly said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
Hell to the no.
"Right to work."
Everybody has a right to work. Nobody has a right to lie.
Right to work whatever job you choose.
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@George-K said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
Referring to only physicians as “doctors” when other clinicians hold doctorates sends a divisive and hierarchical message that erodes interdisciplinary respect and collaboration. It also enables power dynamics contrary to modern health care’s push to dismantle paternalism.
Uhm, there’s a damn good reason for the roles to be divided and for there to be a clear and distinct hierarchy in a healthcare setting.
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@Jolly said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
@Axtremus said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
@Jolly said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
Hell to the no.
"Right to work."
Everybody has a right to work. Nobody has a right to lie.
Right to work whatever job you choose.
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@George-K said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
DeSantis vetoed the bill which would have prevented Nurse PhDs from calling themselves Dr.
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@George-K said in NPs sue to use "Doctor" title:
DeSantis vetoed the bill which would have prevented Nurse PhDs from calling themselves Dr.
@Jon googling around, I can't find the reasoning behind DeSantis' thinking.
A possibility is here, from the optometrists:
For months, optometry has been vigorously fighting to push back against SB 230, a Florida bill threatening to ban ODs from using the titles “doctor” and “physician” and subjecting them to a felony prosecution for doing so. Earlier today, optometrists and advocates finally saw the fruits of their labor when Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed the harmful legislation.
A felony?
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More:
The original bill, SB 230, proposed that while other medical specialists with similar four-year post-graduate degrees, such as dentists, chiropractors and podiatrists, would still be able to identify themselves using these terms, optometrists would not be allowed due to the exclusion of the terms from the state’s optometric practice act.
I haven't seen anything about NPs or APNs in the context of the veto.
