A nationwide nursing credentials scandal has been unfolding since early in 2023 after the FBI’s Operation Nightingale brought federal fraud charges against more than two dozen Florida nursing school officials. The FBI simultaneously disclosed to state nursing board officials nationwide a list of approximately 7,600 nurses who had allegedly obtained fake degrees and transcripts from the now-closed nursing schools.
The FBI’s disclosure triggered hundreds of nursing license suspensions, revocations, and disciplinary proceedings nationwide. Those license actions have already caused untold professional and personal losses among the involved nurses. The criminal charges cast a long shadow over innocent graduates of the closed but previously accredited schools. Many of those innocent graduates, not on the FBI list, will face job termination and license proceedings even though having earned their credentials through hard work.
The FBI’s enforcement action reveals bigger issues than the already-huge scandal. Professional schools, like other graduate and undergraduate programs, have moved quickly toward remote education, a trend the pandemic spurred. Remote education doesn’t put rear ends in classroom seats. Schools find it harder to account for student studies while also easier to market programs to more students. The nurses who are losing their licenses over the FBI’s allegations passed the National Council Licensure Examination. Were their mostly remote credentials really fraudulent?
Another big issue the Operation Nightingale scandal revealed was the discriminatory effect of challenging remote education from professional schools serving underprivileged populations. The nurses on the FBI list were overwhelmingly Haitian and African immigrants who came to the U.S. ready to study hard and work hard to improve themselves. And they did so, passing the national nurse licensure exam and entering nursing practice at hospitals and clinics nationwide.
But now, many of those immigrant nurses are not only out of a license but out of a job and career. And the Texas Board of Nursing, for one example, warns nurse employers to watch out for nurses from “a country of origin other than the United States” because their nursing credentials may be fraudulent. Overbroad enforcement actions can impact all professionals but especially those from vulnerable populations.
Professional license defense services from skilled and experienced licensed defense attorneys can make the difference in license proceedings like those going on nationwide right now in the nursing credentials scandal. Licensed defense attorneys can represent professionals from all kinds of fields, from healthcare to accounting, law, engineering, social work, mental health counseling, and many other trades and professions. Those attorneys also know the investigation process, academic administrative rules and regulations, and best achievable outcomes.
If you face professional license discipline, you need skilled and experienced professional license defense representation. Retain the Lento Law Group’s Professional License Defense Team and premier national licensed defense attorney Joseph D. Lento for the special knowledge, skills, and information you need for your best outcome to professional license disciplinary proceedings or other license issues. Call 833.536.8652 for premier representation now.