Thread by @Suburbanbella

I typically have no interest in petty, childish tweets. However, this one in particular provides an opportunity to educate the public and HCPs interested in what the law has to say about the title "Doctor" and who uses it. Every state has a Business and Professions code(BPC) for

2)nearly every profession under the sun. That includes medicine and nursing. It is apparent to me whenever this issue arises, physicians and nurses have no clue what the BPC states when it comes to using the title "Doctor". First of all, it is imperative to understand,

3)BPCs ARE STATE LAWS. What one "thinks" or "feels" is irrelevant. A NP may feel that he/she can use the title "Dr." because they have that sham s**t, online, crap DNP degree, but it really depends on what the BPC states. BPCs varies state by state, so one cannot assume. In

4)some states, BPCs are vague. In others, like TX, they are very specific. Texas does not play. "However, the Texas Medical Board very-well may and often does open investigations into the practice of medicine without a license on nurse practitioners." texasnp.org/news/517996/Th…

5)CA states who can use the pre-fix "Dr." Misuse can result in a misdemeanor. The doc making this commentary, were he in CA, would be in violation of the law because he is using the pre-fix, "Dr." in correspondence to those who do not possess a physician or surgeon's license.

6)I'm in CA and was unaware of this law until a few years ago when I became involved with PPP and learned about the number of NPs referring to themselves as "Dr.", w/o clarifying they were NPs to patients/staff as they are mandated to do by their state Nursing Act.

7)Some boards of registered nursing(BRNs) defer to the medical boards. The onus is on the HCP to know what the law says or does not say. Physician colleagues, if you don't know the law of your state, DO NOT pressure residents/med students to call NPs "Dr." in violation of the

7)law. Attendings have no right to punish them for not doing so when by doing so they are breaking the law. In that case, they have every legal right to report you, the attending, to the BOM for abusing their position and forcing the resident/student to perpetuate a false claim

8)or fraud. It really is astounding to me the cavalierness with which nurses and physicians dismiss the legalities involved when using medical titles. BPCs are in place so that people cannot make false claims about who they are professionally.

CNAs cannot call themselves RNs, plumbers cannot refer to themselves as electricians, paralegals cannot state they are attorneys, non-physicians cannot claim they are physicians. The claim does not have to be blatant, it can be done by allowing a victim to presume and

9)not correcting them. Lying by omission. Why are BPCs important? Because they protect the public from being bamboozled from charlatans. Scammed. It is currently illegal in every state for CRNAs to refer to themselves as "nurse anesthesiologists" because it is not an approved

10)title that has passed through legislation. Yet, some continue to use that title in violation of the law because they have no respect for it. They can indeed be reported to their BRN or the BOM. Ignore the nonsense about the use of the title "Dr." being about ego, the typical

11)go-to default for HCPs who don't give a s**t about the law and resent others for pointing out the facts. Don't like the law? Change it. It's not about ego. It's not about feelings. It's not about disrespect of other professional doctorates(which excludes the online,

12)profit-driven, degree mill DNPs and DMScs for which I personally have zero respect and refuse to acknowledge). It's about the law--the law matters. All we have to do is respect it. It's not that hard. @pppforpatients @TakeMedBack @AAEMRSA @emresidents @robertpainter