State Rep. Beverly Boswell is accused of misidentifying herself as a nurse
A North Carolina legislator has been warned to stop falsely claiming she is a registered nurse.
Republican state Rep. Beverly Boswell had to be asked at least twice by the state Board of Nursing to stop misidentifying herself on her Facebook page.
Her page claimed that she had ‘worked her way up from struggling single mother to registered nurse and Dare County Commissioner,’ and ‘rejects the liberal notions of victim-hood and government dependency,’ says The News & Observer.
Boswell claimed she was a nurse on her Facebook and campaign website until this month, when the North Carolina Board of Nursing asked her to stop after receiving a complaint.
‘Rep. Boswell is not a licensed nurse nor has she ever been a licensed nurse,’ Board of Nursing spokesman David Kalbacker told the local paper on Tuesday.
In reality, Boswell is a medical assistant and phlebotomist, meaning she’s trained to draw blood – something that doesn’t require a licence in North Carolina.
In contrast, nurses in the state must complete a two-year associates degree in the field and then pass a test to earn a nursing licence.
Boswell is a medical assistant and phlebotomist, meaning she’s trained to draw blood – something that doesn’t require a degree or licence
Boswell claimed she was a nurse on her Facebook and campaign website until this month, when the North Carolina Board of Nursing asked her to stop after receiving a complaint
The false claim was removed from her campaign website shortly after Boswell spoke to Kalbacker last week, but it remained on her Facebook until Tuesday, when she was contacted by the board again about the matter.
Boswell, who has represented District six in the state House of Representatives since her election on 2016, told the Observer that she didn’t realize the mistake until she was informed of it by the nursing board, and that it was the result of a campaign volunteer who misunderstood her job title.
‘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 said, labeling the false claim a ‘non-story’ and ‘non-issue.’
The lawmaker said she didn’t realize the mistake until she was informed of it by the nursing board, and that it was the result of a campaign volunteer who misunderstood her job title
Boswell is a member of the House’s health committee and has advocated for many health-related issues such as allowing chiropractors to conduct medical exams
When asked why the false claim wasn’t removed from her Facebook page after the Board first contacted her, Boswell said ‘it fell through the cracks’.
The legislator is not new to controversy. Just this week she caused a stir she referred to students campaigning for gun reform as ‘Tide pod eaters’.
Boswell is a member of the House’s health committee and has proposed several health bills such as one to allow chiropractors to conduct physical examinations and to define life as beginning at conception.