An Arroyo Grande nurse practitioner has agreed to stop claiming she is a medical doctor and to pay a fine.

After earning a doctorate degree in nursing, Sarah Erny began identifying herself as “Dr. Sarah Erny,” in violation of the law. California’s Business and Professions Code prohibits all but a select few health care professionals from calling themselves “doctor” or “physician.”

District Attorney Dan Dow announced today that his office has reached a settlement with Erny, who agreed to an injunction and to pay $19,750 in civil penalties.

“We want all health care professionals to clearly display their education and licensure so that patients know who is providing their care,” Dow said. “All forms of professional medical services advertising, including websites and social media accounts, must be free of deceptive or misleading information and must clearly identify the professional license held by the advertiser”

Erny started a GoFundMe page, and has already raised $15,411 to help pay her fine. She argues that many people refer to themselves as doctor after receiving a doctorate degree.

“I’m here to ask for help to pay this settlement fee and my attorney fees so that I can clear my license and make decisions of where we go from here,” Erny said. “My life is all about my patients and leaving the ones that I had to leave when we closed our clinic was very difficult. Losing my license would mean that I couldn’t help anyone.

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