The North Carolina Board of Nursing this week called out a Republican state lawmaker who has been misidentifying herself as a nurse online.
State Rep. Beverly Boswell was identifying herself as a registered nurse on her campaign website and social media pages until the Board of Nursing told her to stop because nurse licensing is state-regulated, Raleigh’s News & Observer reported Wednesday.
Boswell is a medical assistant and phlebotomist who is trained to draw blood.
{mosads} “Rep. Boswell is not a licensed nurse nor has she ever been a licensed nurse,” nursing board spokesman David Kalbacker said Tuesday.
Boswell corrected her websites after being contacted by the state nursing board. It’s unclear how long her incorrect job title was posted.
She said the mistake came from a campaign volunteer who misunderstood her job description.
“Anytime you put on a uniform and go in a doctor’s office people assume you’re a nurse or doctor and you have to correct and correct and correct,” Boswell told the newspaper.
She reportedly called the misidentification a “nonstory” and “nonissue.”
Boswell, elected in 2016, is a member of the North Carolina House health committee.
The News and Observer reported that she filed bills to allow chiropractors to conduct physical exams, establish that life begins at conception and exempt some eye surgeries from the state’s permitting laws.