well dear number 1 if she doesn't has a lic she can't do what she is doing you can call or go online to the borad of health professional where you are and do an anymous complaint on her if she is enrolled well she can go to school but she well nevr get lic. #2 she is also commiting insur. fraud for what she is doing you can also do the same kind of complaint to medicare and they well do an aduit and have her little butt fired and then the procute her. you need to make sure you keep acurate record of what you do along w/ copies that she can't tamper with so that if anything goes down you are in the clear and if yu have a lic then you need to report this b/c you can lose your lic.

Thanks for that info.

I would like a few more input from others. Hope some will take time to explain.

i would agree to report her as well. you can report it to any state board i am sure the will investigate right away. a person w/o a liscense can not dispense meds (unless they med tech or whatever its called) they can not bill as an RN or even pretend to be an RN. i would try to get her on tape saying it that way there is no denying it. may sound hard but i would not want this person taking care of anyone that she is not supposed to. she is knowing braking the law and needs to be reported.
call medicare fraud hotline. what your boss is doing is committing fraud. he is knowing doing it as well. i am sure there will be jail time/heavy fines involved.
here is medicare fraud page. http://www.medicare.gov/fraudabuse/HowToReport.asp

Thanks for the additional advice. I appreciate your willingness to come forward to discuss it. As I've noticed, few nurses want to even discuss an issue like this. I don't get the "loyalty" to a fake nurse, who could be jeopardizing the health and even lives, of people.

This gal bills time as an RN, but it is all private, nothing through Medicare. She does IVs and catheters, and wears an ID badge stating she's a nurse.

I couldn't resist posting a reply to this...I am in shock that someone is actually doing that!

Although I am not a licensed Rn or anything, my dad is head of the ICU at a large hospital and my step-mom is also a RN. When I brought this up to them they were shocked as well and while we all agreed that you should do something about it, but my dad made a very interseting point...

You have to consider what this could do to the health care agency that is employing her. It is possible that this could get very serious and there is a chance that this could effect the whole agency; including the other licensed RNs who work there. If this goes far enough, the whole agency's reputation could be ruined. Even worse, the employee's jobs could be lost.

My advice to you:
First of all, keep in mind the saying, "strength in numbers!" You had said this was an agency you knew of so I am not sure if you work there or not, but either way it is always a good idea to have others on your side. (you want to make sure this doesn't in some crazy way backfire on you).
Secondly, this whole situation could potentially be resolved without involving the law. If you can in some way, anonymously, get a letter or e-mail or something to the "fake RN" and give her some kind of warning. Give her the oppertunity to do the right thing first. Let her know that several people know what she is doing and think its very wrong and find it morally disturbing. Tell her that if she does not resign from her job on her own, and stop doing any medical procedures that she is not licensed to do, that you (and others) will take this into legal matters. Also explain to her the consequences that could follow if she decides not to, so she knows how serious the matter is. If that goes well she may do the right thing after all.

If she refuses, just use caution with how you bring this to the attention of legal personel. Make sure you have all your facts right. You don't want to be accusing someone if you don't know the whole truth. Also, make sure you know what could happen to others at the agency (and maybe even yourself) and find out how to protect the other employees that were not involved. Maybe even talk to a lawyer???

Hope this helped, sorry i got a little carried away!!

Good Luck!

Posers
Call the state. This will immediately be taken care of. No problem. Interestingly enough, my cousin's wife is a CNA at a local hospital. I am an RN and worked very hard for my license. She has been posing FOR YEARS to our family as a nurse and most don't have the "know all" to differentiate. Trust me-after all the work/struggle I went though to become an RN-I correct them at every chance. Obviously the hospital knows she's a CNA and she doesn't pose to them, but it still irks me.

it doesnt matter if she is billing medicare or not. if that agency deals with anything medicare, ie other patients that a real nurse takes care of, they are still reportable to medicare. if nothign else it is insurance fraud, and practicing w/o a license.

Thank you for all the advice and insight.

I have heard from enough people to know that this is not ok to do.

I am going to talk to the fake RN and let her know if it doesn't stop, I'm going to be reporting it.

Just to follow up on this situation:

There are no other licensed nurses who work for the agency in any nursing capacity.

What happens when a client dies because "fake nurse" doesn't recognize signs and symptoms of an illness or injury? Maybe it's already happened..!

What kind of liability is this posing for the agency, when it eventually comes to light? Everyone involved will be lucky to avoid jail....not to mention the lawsuits that will bankrupt them.

I'm a little surprised that nobody mentioned this aspect. I guess in this day and age, people just expect to be lied to, and if someone dies--don't be surprised.

I now find myself asking for proof in all kinds of situations where licensing is required.

HVAC

A disappointing news
Something like this should be reported to the proper authorities because the person is doing something that she is not licensed to do. In my place, we have nursing attendants who are far more skillful than the nurses but that does not warrant them to perform the duties of the nurse. They know that they can become liable for doing such activities.

I hope that you look into this and that proper judgment will be imposed.

Cheers!