# Florida Nursing School Scandal **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 4, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307 "2023-02-04T17:54:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/1 "2023-02-04T17:54:35Z")
> **[Federal agents arrest slew of suspects in Florida nursing school diploma scam](https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/article271590422.html)** > > Feds crack down on South Florida nursing schools they say were selling bogus degrees. 7600 people appear to have purchased diplomas from defunct nursing schools and an unknown number have been licensed based on the fraudulent credentials. The story itself probably belongs in MPSIMS with a “Shaking My Damn Head” comment, but we were listening to this story on the radio while driving with a couple, one of whom is a nurse (RN) and the other an IT “entrepreneur”. You’d think the nurse would be outraged, or at least concerned, about nurses getting licensed without going through the required education. Au contraire. Our nursing friend thinks this is all a result of “nanny state” licensing requirements. You should just be able to take an exam and get licensed. I asked if doctors should be able to just take a written exam and dispense with medical school and she got all indignant about me taking things to ridiculous extremes. Have some self respect for Christ’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/2 "2023-02-04T21:32:19Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > You’d think the nurse would be outraged, or at least concerned, about nurses getting licensed without going through the required education. Maybe she’s one of 'em? ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/3 "2023-02-04T23:34:53Z")
There are a lot of issues with nanny state professional licensing, but I don’t think this is one of them. Maybe the nurse doesn’t think any training is really required for her profession. OR, you know. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2023, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/4 "2023-02-04T23:36:39Z")
I’ve known a few RNs that I couldn’t figure out how they tied their shoes. How would SHE like it if an uncredentialed, untested nurse, etc. took care of her? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/5 "2023-02-05T01:06:56Z")
considering how up until the early 1900s most medical schools were diploma mills this shouldn’t be surprising ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/6 "2023-02-05T01:16:33Z")
Uh … > An estimated 7,600 students paid a total of $114 million for phony nursing degrees from the South Florida schools and other suspect programs between 2016 and 2021. Of those, one-third, or about 2,400 students, ended up passing their licensing exams, mainly in New York, which imposes no limit on the number of times that students can take the exam. Nurses certified in New York have the ability to practice in other states, including Florida. That was my first question: how’d they do on the exams. Not well. Not well … even with the possibility of re-taking the exam multiple times. It’s hard to imagine a licensed health care professional being okay with it. Really hard. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/7 "2023-02-05T02:36:41Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > considering how up until the early 1900s most medical schools were diploma mills this shouldn’t be surprising Do you have anything to substantiate this? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.E](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.e/32/8932_2.png) [@Mr.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.E)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/8 "2023-02-05T02:45:02Z")
I suppose the [Flexner Report](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flexner_Report), problematic as it may be, would be a good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/9 "2023-02-05T06:33:02Z")
well heres one book that has a few accounts in it > **[The Good Old Days: They Were Terrible!: Bettmann, Otto: 9780394709413:...](https://www.amazon.com/Good-Old-Days-They-Terrible/dp/0394709411)** > > The Good Old Days: They Were Terrible! \[Bettmann, Otto\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. The Good Old Days: They Were Terrible! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/10 "2023-02-05T06:36:53Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > considering how up until the early 1900s most medical schools were diploma mills this shouldn’t be surprising - But that was 120 years ago. How is this even relevant now? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/11 "2023-02-05T12:34:52Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > [https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/article271590422.html](https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/article271590422.html) > You’d think the nurse would be outraged, or at least concerned, about nurses getting licensed without going through the required education. I can help. I (as an RN) am outraged. But I will say that my outrage is a bit tempered by my lack of surprise. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I’ve known a few RNs that I couldn’t figure out how they tied their shoes Hell, I’ve worked with _physicians_ I would put in that category. mmm ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2023, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/12 "2023-02-05T13:16:04Z")
My daughter is a new nurse and went the hard work route of attending a four-year university and getting her BSN, followed by taking (and passing) the NCLEX to obtain her license. She told me about this story in language that was filled with expletives. Outrage it putting it lightly. She’ll be releived to know that those with fake degrees will lose their licence. She was in school when the whole Varsity Blues college admissions scandal went down; one of the schools she considered and the sport she was involved with was embroiled in that shit-show, too. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2023, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/13 "2023-02-07T01:23:55Z")
I was just saying from a historical perspective it’s not surprising ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/14 "2023-02-11T08:24:07Z")
actually i found this link in another thread that’s even better than the cite i originally used > **[The U.S. Health Care Non-System, 1908-2008](https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/us-health-care-non-system-1908-2008/2008-05)** > >   One hundred years ago, in 1908, health care was virtually unregulated and health insurance, nonexistent. Physicians practiced and treated patients in their homes. The few hospitals that existed provided minimal therapeutic care. Both... ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/15 "2023-02-11T09:30:19Z")
I and all my coworkers are livid and outraged, many expletives ensued. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/16 "2023-02-11T13:03:29Z")
Then from “a historical perspective” you must find it unsurprising that gynecologic complaints have been linked to sex with demons by Frontline Doctor Stella Immanuel. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/17 "2023-02-11T20:11:21Z")
From her wiki: > She is a self-described “wealth transfer coach” The punch lines write themselves. > In another 2015 sermon, she said scientists are developing vaccines to stop people from being religious. Well, halleluiah. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/18 "2023-02-11T20:26:41Z")
“Maybe she’s one of 'em?” Or not an RN at all. I used to be amazed that someone would claim to me to be a nurse when they weren’t. It is very common. Was I as an RN outraged? My outrage meter has been worn out the last 8 or 9 years. There was a failure here at multiple levels and I would guess few if any of those failures will lose their jobs. The NCLEX board failed by not flagging those schools as defunct. The state nursing boards should also have been aware. That is a big part of their jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-nursing-school-scandal/979307/19 "2023-02-16T21:28:58Z")
Nurse here. This is my second post since i guess i went on hiatus in 2019. As someone up thread said my sense of outrage has been exhausted lately. But its hard to pass an NCLEX if you don’t know your stuff. But could some of these diploma mill nurses pick up a few shifts for me. Ive got some appointments upcoming and Itix could use the time off. There was a case in Vancouver where a “fake nurse” was working at women’s hospital. She however, seems to have mental health issues, she continually impersonates nurses all over Canada and the US. Apparently she was involved in my care when i had a minor procedure done. I recieved a letter from the Health Authority saying this. I was also informed I could join a class action suit. Since I suffered no harm and I dislike creeping US style litigiousness I never contacted the law firm. But its scary. She was involved in gyne surgery. > **[11 assault charges laid against fake nurse who worked at Vancouver hospital...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-fake-nurse-new-charges-1.6577641)** > > Brigitte Cleroux, the woman who impersonated a nurse for a year at B.C. Women's Hospital, has been charged with a long list of new offences, including 11 counts of assault and assault with a weapon.