To find my mum annoying over this...

[Julietsbalcony]

she insists on calling a practice nurse 'sister'. As in 'Sister Jones'.
'Sister' to me conjures up an image of Sister Julienne in call the midwife- or any nun for that matter.

My mum is elderly and seems to put anyone medical a) on a pedestal and b) as if 'sister' implies this practice nurse has huge seniority.
On the practice website the nurses are not given any titles just their full name- eg Sue Jones, Anne Brown.

I am a bit worried my mum is making a bit of a fool of herself by calling the more senior one 'sister' all the time when she requests an appt.
I have tried to tell her that a title like sister would only apply in a hospital setting - if at all- but she won't have any of it.

I think your "worries" are unfounded OP. Like your mother mine too is elderly and puts medical staff on a pedestal- as was done in their day.

Your mother is not making a fool of herself - no-one is likely to think she is anything other than a kind old lady.
NHS staff come in from abuse and agressive behaviour- your mother's attitude is likely to be a breath of fresh air.

Bless her! I'm a 'sister ' and wear navy blue. I mostly go by jezza but sometimes older patients call me sister - which I find rather lovely - makes me feel all authoritative! Which am not really...

Like your mother mine too is elderly and puts medical staff on a pedestal- as was done in their day

Same here.

Hardly a week goes by without my mum getting in contact with her surgery about something or other. (She suffers from age related joint pain/stiffness plus diabetes for which she has all the usual regular battery of tests and appointments). It's a group practice, but a talk on the phone or an appointment with one in particular of the 'nurses' (HCA's) or the one GP whom she holds in special esteem; puts her mind at rest for another few days.

It's the same thing over and over again. Asking the same questions. Receiving the same advice. Same people. Week in week out. Year in, year out. Panicing about what days they are going to be closed over xmas, ect. Nothing we say will help, she has to hear it from some at the surgery. She doesn't suffer from dementia - she is just elderly and needs that feeling of back up.

I used to wonder if they found her a tad annoying. Nowadays i can see that the absolute confidence she has in them and the constant reassurance they give is just as much part of the service as actually prescribing medication.

I imagine your DMs confidence in the nurses is reflected in her desire to give them their 'proper' title.

I can see you thinking op, in my head it does sound like an outdated term but from other posters it doesn't seem to be.
It falls in the same category as my mum saying Christian name instead of first name and my Inlaws calling the electrician they have come Round to fix things mr maxwell. Instead of bob like everyone else.
You don't want them sounding old and outdated. But seems like "sister" isn't a big deal, but that term used so frequently by patients will die out I would think as you are generally introduced to them as "Michelle/Fiona" things like that now, so people won't know that they used to always be referred to as sister and matrons should be feared.

It's not as annoying as my mum, who has to have a blood test every two weeks, calling the practice nurse "Nursie"

"I've got to go and see nursie this afternoon"
"There was a long wait for the nursie"
"Nursie was running late today"

What a strange thing to worry about. I'm sure the nurses don't mind.

We have sisters and practice nurses at our gp practice. It is a term that's used outside a hospital setting.

Your mum might be using the wrong title technically here but no way would anyone would think her foolish for it. I'm sure no-one bats an eye.

What wouldn't be encouraged is referring to them as say Ann Jones. That seems rather casual and unprofessional. I think it's quite right to use a professional title if someone has one and shows respect for it rather than putting anyone on a pedestal

Ha! Fatowl Nursie is definitely much much worse!

OP, bless you but I really think you are worrying over nothing. Your mum sounds sweet.

YABU.

But I want to hear more about DoJo's friend's fingerprints...

BuckskinnedAstronaut

She was a very melodramatic teen at the time and we were looking at our fingerprints in biology. A friend and I had the arch type prints (which are rarest apparently) and she had the most common, so when our sexy teacher came over to have a look he commented on ours and not hers. This did lead to a genuine sulk about her unattractive fingerprints. Not massively interesting, but perhaps still more understandable than the OP's concern that her mum is too polite!