Nurse Practitioner with DNP Fined 20k for Referring to Herself as "Doctor"

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GrandTheftAutumn

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nurse.org

Nurse Practitioner (DNP) Fined $19K For Calling Self "Doctor Sarah"

Sarah Erny, a nurse practitioner who holds a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) in California has been fined over $19,000 for referring to herself as "doctor" or "dr" both in her practice, online and on social media.
nurse.org nurse.org

Are you "doctors" scared now?
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I don't think there is more. I just think that California is one of the few states that have put protections on the title "doctor" in regulations.

Who Is Entitled to be Called Doctor?

When I was a resident, over the trauma hospital’s loudspeaker I’d often hear, “Paging “Doctor Doktor.” There was a resident whose last name was “Doktor.” This person was a doctor before he graduated from medical school. He was a Doktor in the delivery room.
medicaljustice.com medicaljustice.com

If she had always put "DNP" or "Nurse Practitioner" along with "Dr. " then she would have probably been fine, but I'll bet she didn't. I am going to guess that wasn't what brought her to the attention of the regulating bodies. Or maybe it was then they found other things to investigate.

Most states don't have this kind of regulation around "doctor"
 
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KidPharmD said:
I am going to guess that wasn't what brought her to the attention of the regulating bodies. Or maybe it was then they found other things to investigate.
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That’s what I am referring to. And what the ongoing case with the BON is.
 
GrandTheftAutumn said:
nurse.org

Nurse Practitioner (DNP) Fined $19K For Calling Self "Doctor Sarah"

Sarah Erny, a nurse practitioner who holds a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) in California has been fined over $19,000 for referring to herself as "doctor" or "dr" both in her practice, online and on social media.
nurse.org nurse.org

Are you "doctors" scared now?
Click to expand...
None of us give a ****. They just call me Mikey. I work at CVS. The last person to call me "doctor" were the asshats at the university trying to get money out of me. Let me be, pay me my $70/hr to man my pharmacy, and we're good.
 
If you work in a hospital setting - you shouldn't use the term "doctor" unless you are a physician - these noctors basically are essentially trying to trick patients into thinking they have the same level of education and competency of a physician - which we all know they don't. They serve a roll if used properly, but to use the term doctor? get out of here.

Not a single rph at my hospital would ever use the term doctor outside of academia - and definitly not in the world of working in the hospital. Hell, most of the doctors I work with I call by first name, and I would never expect someone to call me doctor.
 
Dred Pirate said:
If you work in a hospital setting - you shouldn't use the term "doctor" unless you are a physician - these noctors basically are essentially trying to trick patients into thinking they have the same level of education and competency of a physician - which we all know they don't. They serve a roll if used properly, but to use the term doctor? get out of here.

Not a single rph at my hospital would ever use the term doctor outside of academia - and definitly not in the world of working in the hospital. Hell, most of the doctors I work with I call by first name, and I would never expect someone to call me doctor.
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I agree with this but she wasn't doing this in a hospital if the article can be taken at face value.
 
GrandTheftAutumn said:
nurse.org

Nurse Practitioner (DNP) Fined $19K For Calling Self "Doctor Sarah"

Sarah Erny, a nurse practitioner who holds a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) in California has been fined over $19,000 for referring to herself as "doctor" or "dr" both in her practice, online and on social media.
nurse.org nurse.org

Are you "doctors" scared now?
Click to expand...

Lol, I’m not a doctor, but no one here (CA) gives a crap because like 99% of us pharmacists and NPs know what the laws are.

Stupid games meet stupid prizes.
 
I must add, though, that if a naturowhatsit or a chiropractor can call themselves doctor, it doesn’t sit well that an actual NP with actual medical training is getting punished.

Like I said above, it’s the law in CA and she should have known that, but quackery abounds.
 
confettiflyer said:
I must add, though, that if a naturowhatsit or a chiropractor can call themselves doctor, it doesn’t sit well that an actual NP with actual medical training is getting punished.

Like I said above, it’s the law in CA and she should have known that, but quackery abounds.
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I was going to say the same thing. Technically whataboutism but come on. Someone had nothing more pressing to investigate than an NP calling themself a doctor on social media? It’s not like she ever referred to herself as anything other than an NP.
 
CA is unusually conservative about it from quack history. The code is very specific and contextually narrow (so saying Dr. in the UCSF lecture hall is an unambiguous defined out of scope for the regulation). You have to also at least imply you're a physician, so 'Dr. Lord999 will be happy to fill your prescriptions' isn't a violation of it.

To @KidPharmD 's point, I'll bet that the other charge will be fraudulent misrepresentation in advertising which necessitates the first charge.

By the way, this was passed as a regulation against osteopaths which was AMA's attempt at getting them out of practice.

Osteopathic Physicians & Surgeons v. California Medical Ass'n - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
 
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Dred Pirate said:
True. I was mainly referring to the op asking if pharmacists were concerned.
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What should pharmDs who see pts. clinically in outpatient refer to themselves and inpatient but work in clinical roles?
Providers?
 
clarkbar said:
What should pharmDs who see pts. clinically in outpatient refer to themselves and inpatient but work in clinical roles?
Providers?
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I just went by my first name and indicated I was a pharmacist in the rare instances that I needed to speak to a patient in an inpatient setting.

A pharmacist who worked in an ambulatory clinic referred to herself as doctor, but it was always clear that she was a pharmacist. She was pretty hands on with patients too, doing spirometry tests and things like that before adjusting inhalers.
 
clarkbar said:
What should pharmDs who see pts. clinically in outpatient refer to themselves and inpatient but work in clinical roles?
Providers?
Click to expand...
To a pt. "Hello I am Dred, one of the pharmacists here"
To a doc "Hey, this is Dred" (95% of the phone calls I make to a provider know who I am by first name)
 
I think clinician vs. pracitioner if solely clinical.

What do PAs and NPs call each other ?
 
clarkbar said:
I think clinician vs. pracitioner if solely clinical.

What do PAs and NPs call each other ?
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All tho ones I work just use their first name. I remember when I first started I didn't know what term to use, and it was before I was old and cynical, (@GrandTheftAutumn - no potato man here) I sent up to one of our PA and said "Hey Mr. Smith" - he jumped, and was like, Mr Smith is my dad, call me John...
 
Who was that one user here who demanded everyone call her doctor?
 
I think in healthcare, "doctor" just simply means "physician". So unless you are a physician, you should not address yourself as "Doctor" (regardless of how many PhD or Doctorate degree you have).

It is funny that I have never heard of any JD refer themselves as "doctor"
 
Worked with a pharmacy billing young lady at the Oncology Practice. She was studying to be an RN. Her name (honest/real) was Heather Nurse!!
Can you imagine Nurse Nurse. Or better yet if she decided to go to Medical School, Dr. Nurse. Mass Confusion.
 
confettiflyer said:
I must add, though, that if a naturowhatsit or a chiropractor can call themselves doctor, it doesn’t sit well that an actual NP with actual medical training is getting punished.

Like I said above, it’s the law in CA and she should have known that, but quackery abounds.
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You have chiropractors and also Optometrist and Psychologists use the DOCTOR moniker. Not really deserved!
 
clarkbar said:
What should pharmDs who see pts. clinically in outpatient refer to themselves and inpatient but work in clinical roles?
Providers?
Click to expand...
Back in 1986, when I graduated with a Pharm.D., and then a residency, the Doctor thing had a special enough meaning. This was when, especially outside California, Pharm.D. s were very rare. Now, not so much.
 
RXDOC1986 said:
Back in 1986, when I graduated with a Pharm.D., and then a residency, the Doctor thing had a special enough meaning. This was when, especially outside California, Pharm.D. s were very rare. Now, not so much.
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I'm not seeking showboating creds, just to gain respect from patients and to know what pharmacists are referring to themselves as in these clinical pharmacist provider situations.
 
RXDOC1986 said:
Worked with a pharmacy billing young lady at the Oncology Practice. She was studying to be an RN. Her name (honest/real) was Heather Nurse!!
Can you imagine Nurse Nurse. Or better yet if she decided to go to Medical School, Dr. Nurse. Mass Confusion.
Click to expand...
There's an attorney down the road from me named Bobby Lawyer.
 
RXDOC1986 said:
Worked with a pharmacy billing young lady at the Oncology Practice. She was studying to be an RN. Her name (honest/real) was Heather Nurse!!
Can you imagine Nurse Nurse. Or better yet if she decided to go to Medical School, Dr. Nurse. Mass Confusion.
Click to expand...

There’s a Dr. Booty nearby to me. He’s a psychiatrist and, sadly, does not perform Brazilian Butt Lifts.

Seems like a wasted opportunity.
 
confettiflyer said:
Opto has devices that blow air into my eye and I’ll call you whatever you want when you’re that close to my cornea!
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Same. As a patient, my default setting is to call my physician, dentist, and optometrist by their Dr title. It typically doesn’t hit my radar to use it anywhere else unless someone introduces themselves as Dr XYZ.
 
GrandTheftAutumn said:
nurse.org

Nurse Practitioner (DNP) Fined $19K For Calling Self "Doctor Sarah"

Sarah Erny, a nurse practitioner who holds a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) in California has been fined over $19,000 for referring to herself as "doctor" or "dr" both in her practice, online and on social media.
nurse.org nurse.org

Are you "doctors" scared now?
Click to expand...
The DNPs I've encountered are like the final boss of obnoxious nurses.
They have achieved ancient forbidden levels of overconfidence and snobbiness based on a super fake doctorate.

There was a charlatan, absolute hack of a weight loss DNP that worked in Austin and later in one of the small towns East of Austin. I would regularly argue with her about stupid prescriptions, and one day i looked up her DNP thesis.

If it wasn't against the rules I'd post it in here for a laugh.
 
DagS132 said:
lmaooo, this thread reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer gets the wrong license plate that belongs to the proctologist Dr. Assman
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Damn tracking cookies this came up on my FB feed today lol

IMG_4195.JPG
 
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