Is your ‘nurse’ really a nurse? NJ wants to close a scary loophole

👩‍⚕️ NJ lawmakers want to make it illegal for unlicensed people to call themselves “nurses,” closing what supporters call a loophole in state law.

👩‍⚕️ Nursing advocates want lawmakers to go further and stop AI chatbots from identifying themselves as nurses during health interactions.

⚠️ Supporters say patients may not realize the person — or technology — giving them health information isn't actually a licensed nurse.

Is the ‘nurse’ you're talking to really a nurse?

If someone tells you they're a nurse in New Jersey, you might assume they've gone to nursing school, passed the required exams and hold a state license.

That isn't necessarily the case.

New Jersey lawmakers are moving to close an unusual loophole in state law that allows an unlicensed person to use the generic title "nurse."

And nursing advocates want lawmakers to go even further — by making sure artificial intelligence doesn't pretend to be a nurse either.

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The Assembly Regulated Professions Committee unanimously advanced legislation Monday that would prohibit an unlicensed person from using the title.

The bill, A-2474, sponsored by Assemblywoman Tennille McCoy, D-Mercer, would add "nurse" to the titles specifically protected under state law.

NJ already protects RN and LPN titles

New Jersey law already prohibits someone without the appropriate license from representing themselves as a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse or advanced practice nurse, including using professional abbreviations such as RN, LPN and APN.

But the law doesn't provide the same explicit protection for the simple word "nurse."

Nursing advocates say that distinction can confuse patients who reasonably assume someone using the title has received the education and training required of a licensed nurse.

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Margaret Farrell Daingerfield, president of the New Jersey State Nurses Association, told lawmakers that nurses face strict education and regulatory requirements because they assess patients, administer treatments and make decisions in high-stakes situations.

"When individuals without this training use this title, it blurs the line between qualified professionals and unlicensed personnel," Daingerfield testified.

She offered lawmakers an example involving a woman who hired a "baby nurse" without realizing the person was not actually a licensed nurse.

Under the bill, improperly using the title could bring a $200 penalty for a first violation and $500 for subsequent offenses.

Should AI be allowed to call itself a nurse?

That's where Monday's hearing took an interesting turn.

Daria Waszak, executive director of the New Jersey Collaborating Center for Nursing, urged lawmakers to consider extending the protection to artificial intelligence.

As AI-powered chatbots increasingly interact with consumers, Waszak argued there should never be confusion about whether health information is coming from a licensed human nurse or a computer.

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"Regardless of where it is, any setting where health interactions take place, it is very important that it remains clear to a consumer when they are interacting with a licensed human nurse and they are not," Waszak told lawmakers.

Her recommendation regarding AI is not currently part of A-2474.

Waszak also urged lawmakers to consider increasing the existing $200 and $500 penalties for people who improperly represent themselves as licensed nursing professionals.

NJ nurse title bill still has a long way to go

Committee approval is only an early step.

A-2474 would still have to clear the full Assembly, and there is currently no companion bill in the state Senate.

If ultimately enacted, however, the basic message would be simple:

In New Jersey, if someone calls themselves a nurse, patients should be able to trust that there's an actual nursing license behind the title.

And if nursing advocates get their way, that same rule may eventually apply to the chatbot on your screen.

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