This thread has descended into one of the most horrible, bitter threads I’ve seen on here in a long time. Genuinely, when did we get to this point where everyone in healthcare thinks that other roles have little to no value?
To answer OP’s question, no, I don’t believe nurses need new titles. But I do believe that the general public and clearly the rest of the healthcare profession would benefit from a better understanding of ALL healthcare roles and responsibilities.
For transparency sake, I’m a registered nurse. I was extremely academic, had a place to study medicine funded by the Royal Navy. Developed a life threatening latex allergy whilst volunteering in a nursing home and could not take up my place to study medicine as you cannot 100% avoid latex during university clinical rotation and FY1/FY1 (HO and SHO as it was then), and would not be eligible for military service. I was fortunate enough that after years of trying to enter the healthcare field, that a local university were willing to put the effort in to arrange placements to avoid latex exposure on an adult nursing degree, and the rest they say is history. I have a first class honours degree, PGDip and Masters. I take great offence at being told that myself and my peers aren’t the cream of the crop intellectually. Nursing and the Allied Health Professions frequently train adults who are entering their fields as parents, carers, second professions etc. The life experience that such individuals bring to the professions is what makes them so diverse and effective. Applying for medicine or graduate entry medicine is almost impossible once you’re into your mid to late 20s and beyond unless you are unencumbered, have plenty of money, support and time to essentially check out of adulthood for the 15 years or so of intense training you’re embarking on, and have had the ability to undertake lots of additional volunteering work or work as a HCA for instance. So many individuals, (mostly women who are negatively affected by being the default parent, having caring responsibilities, carrying the life admin) will enter other professions such as Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Dietetics etc, later in life, not because they’re stupid or “not the cream of the crop intellectually”, but because it’s an accessible way to train and qualify as a registered healthcare professional, and then continue to study in their chosen speciality.
I now work in a specialist public health field, and autonomously lead my service outside of the NHS. I retain the services of a physician who undertakes assessments which insurance companies and or regulators insist must be conducted by a physician. The physician I retain undertook his specialist training in the NHS, and was largely supported by clinical nurse specialists such as myself, and treats me with the same level of professional respect as I treat him. We work collaboratively as experts in our fields respectively. He openly admits that he wouldn’t have a clue how to do at least 75% of my role and are outside of his competency, and that without that 75%, he wouldn’t be able to effectively deliver the services that he is contracted to provide. Likewise, there are plenty of elements of his role that are outside my competency, and that is why I retain his services. Neither one of us is “better” than the other, or more clinically competent than the other. We are equals in our respective fields… as it should be. Interestingly enough though, if the shit hits the fan and our regulator comes in and sanctions us, or worse, if someone dies and it’s referred to the coroner, it’s me that’s held accountable on behalf of the business, not the physician I retain.