A recent opinion article titled, "Your nurse, the doctor", argues that nurses with higher degrees, including a doctorate, should not be called "doctor". The article claims that nurses with higher education degrees are not fully equipped to "treat medical illnesses," and that when a nurse introduces herself as Dr. X, your nurse should not be trusted to diagnose "your ailments and prescribe the proper treatment." As a nursing student, I felt betrayed by my fellow Boston College classmates for publishing the common misconceptions of nursing without factual information, and promoting out of date stereotypes of nurses.
The professional practice of nurses has certainly been misrepresented by uniformed opinions like the ones stated in this article. The article reflects a common misconception of healthcare delivery structured according to a hierarchical chain of command, with physicians positioned at the top dictating the treatment plan to nurses and other members of the health care team who dutifully follow directives from above. Indeed this hierarchical stereotype has been identified by the Institute of Medicine and others as one factor contributing to miscommunication among health care providers that contributes to preventable patient errors in hospitals. To improve care provided to patients in all settings, health services research, and research conducted by nurses with doctorates, has found that collaborative models of practice among all health care specialists is most likely to improve outcomes of care to patients. The purpose of this response is to tell the truth about why nurses are proud to be nurses and why we would never misrepresent our credentials to patients. The definition of a nurse as stated by the Nursing's social policy statement is "the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, prevention of illness and injury, alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of human response, and advocacy in the care of individuals, families, communities, and populations," (ANA, 2011). This definition of nursing applies to all types of nurses regardless of the degree.
A nurse practitioner is an advanced practice nurse who is highly educated to provide a wide range of primary and preventive health care services, prescribe medication, and diagnose and treat illness and injury (ANA, 2011).
Other types of advanced practice nursing include certified nurse midwife, clinical nurse specialist, and certified registered nurse anesthetists. In 2015 additional coursework equivalent to the academic requirements for the doctor of philosophy degree will be required of all nurses seeking to be credentialed in advanced nursing practice.. Nursing is following the lead of other allied health professions such as pharmacology, physical therapy, and social work, who recognized that an explosion in knowledge in their respective fields necessitated further academic training. Pharmacists, physical therapists, and social workers all have a doctorate degrees in their respective fields. Growing numbers of physicians who desire to conduct medical research also continue their education and earn a doctorate or Ph.D. Because of all disciplines in health care have doctorate degrees, typically, in clinical practice, individuals with the credential "MD" are introduced as "physicians" and not "doctor." By law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, all healthcare providers must wear name tags that clearly state their professional credential to practice in bold letters so patients are not confused about who is caring for them. The article appropriately notes it could be dangerous for a patient to not know the distinction about who is providing care to them. Through legal mandates and ethical codes of conduct in every health care profession, it is the duty of every healthcare provider to accurately introduce him/herself to patients.
Nurses became nurses because they prefer a holistic approach to patient care, rather than managing disease processes. Nurses and physicians complement their knowledge base and clinical skills by collaborating on a plan of care to support the patient in achieving wellness, recovery or a dignified death. The advanced academic knowledge of a doctorate equips the nurse with research skills, knowledge of population based health care delivery, and program evaluation to further promote high quality nursing care. Nurses are in no way to attempting to be "doctors." We are proud of our profession and our contributions to promote a health among all individuals in our society, to support patients in achieving recovery at all stages of illness and in achieving a dignified death at the end of life.
Hilary Von Glahn
CSON '12
is a member of the 
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