“I don't care, you're my doctor.”
Written by: Conner Drigotas
Preventative Measures
Doctor Jacqueline Palmer is not excited to be involved in a lawsuit.
“It’s not comfortable. I’m not gung ho, let's do this,” she says, “As much as I’d love to be, that's not the reality of it.”
Frankly, there are better things she would rather be doing. But, like several others who have earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, Palmer is bringing a lawsuit because she is afraid she will be punished for truthfully identifying as “Doctor Palmer.”
Her legal action is a necessity to protect her reputation, her livelihood, and the general nursing profession from unwelcome intrusion.
That intrusion comes at the hands of California state officials: Attorney General Rob Bonta, the President of the Medical Board of California Kristina Lawson, and the Executive Officer of the California Board of Registered Nursing Loretta Melby.
Each of these individuals is acting to enforce the California Medical Practice Act and its strict limitation on who gets to use the title “Doctor.”
Doctor Palmer's attorneys at the Pacific Legal Foundation are helping her make the claim that “The government cannot appropriate a commonly used title and reserve it for a narrow range of preferred, well-connected jobs.” In short: the law currently only allows that title for physicians and surgeons.
Palmer laughs at the idea that government officials are protecting citizens from fraud, or that some DNPs are playing doctor to patients detriment. “I think there's confusion that we want to be seen as physicians. Absolutely not,” she says, “If I wanted to be seen as a physician I would have went to school to become a physician. I wanted to be a nurse. I love that first.”
As Doctor Palmer fights against the multi-billion dollar tax-funded machine of California law, she stands to be punished for rightfully laying claim to one of the highest accolades in the nursing profession.
In the words of Albert Einstein: “Bureaucracy is the death of any achievement.”
Professional
Since learning about California’s prohibition for DNPs, Palmer stopped signing her name as “Dr. Palmer, FNP,” has asked others in her clinic to not refer to her as a Doctor, and has hung up her clinician's jacket which bears her title, embroidered, on the breast.
These are measures she has taken out of fear of being punished.
“I’m trying to think of a nice, professional way to say this,” said Palmer when asked why she believes California officials are so insistent on regulating the use of language, “I don’t know. Not when you have other medical or nonmedical professionals who use the term doctor and it's not an issue. They would have to answer that question because they're the ones fighting it, not me.”
“It's disheartening to be honest,” she continues, “You have people who are honorary doctors, who have contributed nothing to the medical field, who could not diagnose and treat if their life depended on it - and they are allowed to be called doctors, and we’re not… it's degrading.”
The three officials who are being sued are following orders from the state’s legislature and - on the taxpayer dime - have sought to dismiss the case against them, arguing that Palmer and others lack standing, that the case is not ripe, and that they do not state a claim.
US District Judge Jesus G. Bernal, however, did not find that argument compelling. In a September 2023 court order, Bernal recognized that Palmer “has a ‘concrete plan’ to violate the law because she was violating the law and can readily resume doing so.” He denied the motion to dismiss Palmer’s case, allowing her lawsuit to continue.
Bonta, Lawson, and Melby may be “just doing their jobs,” but Agency Delegation is no excuse for coercive action, and Palmer believes these individuals are improperly treating her patients like they are incapable of distinguishing between a nurse and a doctor.
“I think our patients are intelligent enough to know the difference between a physician and a nurse practitioner. The DNP has nothing to do with either one.”
A space of her own
Doctor Palmer isn’t sitting around waiting for this legal matter to be resolved before taking the next steps to advance her career and continue serving patients. When she spoke with Respect America, she had recently quit her hospital network job and was working on starting her own practice.
“I know it's something that my patients need, and I feel like I can offer them more in an independent setting than working for somebody else.” she says.
Even once she has her own clinic up and running, California officials will be breathing down her neck, perhaps ready to levy a fine similar to the almost $20,000 they took from Sara Earny, another nurse with a DNP who used the title of Doctor.
$20,000 is a hefty fine. California law imposes a similar penalty for drug trafficking, grand theft, significant water and environmental pollutions, repeat OSHA violations, and animal cruelty. Bureaucrats and lawmakers are improperly marking Palmer’s professional use of her earned title as on par with these much more serious crimes.
While she continues to provide compassionate care, Palmer is even legally obligated to dismiss her own accomplishments if a patient uses the title she earned.
“It’s shameful. You feel like it's a stab to the heart. I’ll tell patients ‘You cannot call me that in the state of California, that’s illegal’, and they’re like, ‘I don't care, you're my doctor.’”
The dynamic created by the prohibitive law and threat against her is a drag on her otherwise cheery disposition.
“It now makes it uncomfortable to be called that. It no longer feels like a badge of honor for my hard work. It feels like I’m doing something wrong.”
Lawmakers have no business putting this burden on Doctor Palmer, or anyone else.
As the legal process continues its slow roll, Palmer describes herself as “hoping for the best.” In the meantime, she is firm in her belief that government officials should not be in the business of restricting truthful speech.
“‘Doctor’ does not belong to physicians... It's so much more than just a title. It's getting the respect that we deserve and we've earned rightfully.”
