Sadly, there seem to be scammers everywhere these days, but this story really takes things to a new level.
A nursing scandal recently came to light when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General launched an investigation called Operation Nightengale that sought to crack down on certain schools that were offering nursing degrees in exchange for money, but there was one hitch: the “students” never had to actually go to class to get their degrees.
An article in the Miami Herald stated, “A network of nursing school operators, centered in South Florida, illegally charged each student between $10,000 for a licensed practical nurse degree and $17,000 for a registered nurse diploma — without requiring proper training, according to federal authorities and court records.”
The Florida schools involved in the scheme were Siena College in Broward County, Palm Beach School of Nursing in Palm Beach County, and Sacred Heart International Institute in Broward County. All three of the schools are now closed. Several more Florida schools are now being investigated.
The shocking news has led other states in the U.S. to crack down on this practice, as well.
A remote psychiatric nurse practitioner named Morgan shared a video on TikTok where she talked about how different states are going after fraudulent nurses.
@morgansandiego Georgia and Texas releasing names and photos of fake nurses & short biographies of their past criminal wrongdoings. According to documents, both states have referred several cases over to the district attorney’s office. #registerednurse #fakenurse #georgia #texas #nursingschool #nursingstudent #operationnightingale #nursetok #greenscreen ♬ original sound – Morgan NP
This controversial topic got people talking on TikTok.
One viewer said,
“I worked so hard for my Texas RN license and patients deserve real care. This is terrifying.”
And another person commented,
“I’m so scared since I’m a chronically ill person in Florida with some horrible experiences with some nurses.”
And one TikTokker who works as a nurse added,
“When I got my RN I had an issue with my BON cuz someone registered an account with BON with my SSN years ago.
It had to be investigated.”
Pretty sketchy business, don’t you think?
