Many nurses who think the grass is always greener on the other side will continue their education by becoming nurse practitioners.

But let me tell you, the problem is that the grass there is not greener because even if you become a nurse practitioner, the problems in health care still exist.  They’re just different problems.

I have been asked if a nurse has discipline on their license, will they be able to continue their education?  There is no simple answer to this.

The nursing educational program you plan to attend will have to decide whether you’re a candidate in reflection of any past discipline.  If your license is on probation or other restriction, you will be unable to take part in clinicals because you need an active license to participate.  If you are currently in school for higher education and have a complaint pending against your license, many want to complete the education before you resolve the matter, if possible. However, I believe honesty is the best policy. If you have discipline pending, you should tell the school. It is public record and if they find out and you did not tell them…

Sometimes attorneys don’t have control over how long a case will last or how soon it can be settled.  However, just know that if you have discipline on your RN license, most likely you will have discipline on your APRN license too and both can be trouble in getting a job.

Getting an APRN license, especially with a complaint pending or discipline on your license can complicate things.  Just know that each situation is different and unique.  If you have past or present discipline on your license, it may affect your ability to continue your education as well as determining your ability to get an APRN license.

The Department of Justice recently arrested 25 people scheming to sell bogus nursing diplomas and transcripts, charging them with wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy.

Thousands of people who had hoped to take a shortcut toward becoming a licensed nurse were fooled into obtaining these items that are necessary to sit for the NCLEX.

The enforcement action spanned 5 states: Delaware, Florida, New Jersey, New York and Texas. In Florida, nurses who were part of this scheme are having their licenses suspended even as you read this.

This is really scary because more than 7,600 fake nursing diplomas and certificates were issued. However, now that these nurses’ licenses are in jeopardy or being suspended, the phones are ringing off the hook in the offices of many members of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys.

It is unfortunate that nurses would succumb to these scam tactics and many nursing candidates paid as much as $15,000 for fraudulent diplomas. Do your homework. Make sure your nursing school is approved by your state Board of Nursing which is charged with regulating nursing education.

There have been nurses who have gone to other programs that have closed. These schools told the nurses that they would accept their credits and they could finish up their education only for them to find later that they paid lots of money to get a fraudulent diploma that was not approved by the Board of Nursing and a fraudulent transcript that allowed them to take the test.

It’s very unfortunate that so many nurses fell for the scam and will no longer be able to practice which eventually will leave an even greater shortage of nurses for the country.

If somebody is offering you something too good to be true, BEWARE because shortcuts never work and can get you in trouble.

There is zero tolerance for nurses who violate HIPAA!

Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is being sued in 2 separate class action matters, one involves the University of California San Francisco and Dignity Health while the other is on the opposite coast at Medstar Health System in Baltimore.

Class action lawsuits involve grouping people as Plaintiffs in an action which then must be certified by a judge.

The lawsuits allege violations of HIPAA, and that private health information was shared with Facebook through Meta Pixel on websites of healthcare organizations.  When users visited a website, Meta Pixel would then add on their Facebook page the exact information on which they were searching.

The Plaintiffs claim Facebook’s Meta Pixel tracking tool “is being improperly used on hospital websites resulting in the wrongful, contemporary, redirection to Facebook which would ask the patient to register, sign in/out of the supposedly ‘secure’ patient portal, request or set up appointments, or call their provider via their computing device.”

This collection of data, without the patient’s authorization, is unlawful.

In these days, if you were to look at something online such as from Amazon or Nordstrom, such companies use tracking tools (cookies) telling them what items you have been viewing.  It follows you and shows ads when you go to other sites.

My privacy is important so, obviously, I do not want to “leave tracks” or have my confidential medical information collected and used without my express approval.

It will be interesting to see what results come from the litigation of these cases.

What are your thoughts on any personal information, medical or otherwise, being shared without permission?

Lorie Brown, Nurse Attorney talks to Stephen Houlahan, a nurse currently running for U.S. Congress in California, discusses his nursing background, how he entered politics and became an activist. They also discuss how nurses can become activists and represent their communities as well as the issues and topics that he is passionate about and wants to change. Find more information on Stephen at ElectHoulahan.com. (317) 465-1065