nursing

Nurses have to take an exam to earn their professional licenses. The pass rate for Florida nurses is the lowest of all 50 states.

The Emotional Vaccine program is being offered for free by the Florida Center for Nursing for all current and future nurses in the state.

The fraudulent diplomas and transcripts qualified those who purchased them to sit for the national nursing board exam. If they passed, they were able to obtain licenses and jobs, prosecutors said.

States are acting in the wake of a federal investigation into what officials say was a fraud scheme in which several now-closed South Florida nursing schools sold phony nursing diplomas and transcripts.

The defendants allegedly took part in a scam that sold more than 7,600 fraudulent nursing degree diplomas from three Florida-based nursing schools, according to recently unsealed federal indictments.

Prosecutors say three South Florida schools conspired to create an illegal licensing shortcut for aspiring nurses.

The Legislature approved a fund that includes funds for nursing programs at state colleges and nursing education at career and technical centers.

This additional funding toward the nursing industry comes after the pandemic revealed a nationwide shortage of nurses, including in Florida.

As the nursing shortage has grown more acute due to the pandemic, hospitals in South Florida are establishing creative ways to mentor and train nurses.

To address the problem of poor care, President Biden is calling for a federal minimum staffing requirement in nursing homes. The nursing home industry says there aren't workers to fill the jobs.

Officials said the infusion of money would help nursing homes grappling with worker shortages and reduced occupancy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Across the country, hospitals are desperate for RNs and specialty nurses. Yet, paradoxically, the nursing pipeline has slowed, with educators retiring or returning to clinical work themselves.