Shady Nursing Schools

Don't be taken in by scammers. Avoiding shady nursing schools requires due diligence. Nurses General Nursing News

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Shady Nursing Schools

Shady Nursing Schools

Betrayed nursing students and predatory, for-profit nursing programs abound. These schools take advantage of people with hopes and dreams of becoming a nurse.

Here are a couple of examples of shady schools.

Medical Prep Institute

Medical Prep Institute (MPI), a nursing program in Tampa Bay, Florida, was owned and operated by a nursing assistant. It was put on probation for significantly low pass rates in 2018 and 2019 and suddenly bounced back with a 100% NCLEX pass rate in 2020. Seven students took the test.

Instead of submitting eligible students' transcripts to the BON for NCLEX testing as customary after graduation, MPI required students to take additional expensive remediation courses.

When questioned about their practices, the school shifted blame and claimed that it was not the school's fault but the students who cheated, forcing the school to deny/delay NCLEX testing applications.

HCI College

Students from Florida's now-closed HCI College (formerly Health Career Institute) filed a lawsuit with a similar complaint. Former students allege that HCI falsely inflated pass rates by deliberately blocking 95% of students from taking the NCLEX.

Who is Vulnerable

  • First-generation college students who don't have family members to guide them through the process. They don't know what to ask, who to ask, or what to expect. First-generation college students have not yet learned to navigate a college system. It's not easy. (I've always said nurses should get one semester of college credit just for figuring out our paperwork, credits, parking, books, and more, but it didn't fly).
  • Community college wait-list applicants. Community colleges have long wait lists and are competitive. Applicants don't want to wait, so they turn to for-profit schools that will help onboard them quickly.
  • LPNs/LVNs bridging to RN programs 
  • South Florida Haitian communities. According to the Miami Herald, South Florida schools have been targeting Haitian communities.

Red Flags

Shady schools have multiple red flags once you know what to look for. While there are always warning signs, sometimes aspiring nurses want to believe so badly that they ignore them. 

  • Is it too good to be true? If something looks too good to be true, it probably is
  • False promises, such as claiming you'll be finished in a year or guaranteeing that you'll pass the NCLEX
  • Immediately offering a hefty scholarship to offset some of the tuition
  • The website ends in .com or .net, not .edu
  • The website is not secure
  • Multiple spelling and grammatical mistakes on the website and written materials. The example below was copied and pasted from Ideal Professional Institute's website on January 26, 2023.   
Quote

This school offers 1 program which provide training for 4 qualification, including Florida Home Health Aide (CHHA) Certification, Florida Practical Nurse (LPN) License, and Florida Registered Nurse License. Time to complete this education training is 2.5 weeks.

  • The school is not ACEN or CCNE accredited. Read here for more on accreditation and what to look for. It's an essential read for anyone choosing a nursing school.
  • Odd names. "Medical Prep Institute" sounds like a prep school for doctors, not nurses. Likewise, stay away from international programs, such as "Sacred Heart International Institute," advertised as a beauty and nursing school (now shut down).

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself

Unfortunately, there is no central database with a list of bad schools. Bad schools pop up and then disappear, like Whack-A-Mole.

There are some helpful questions to ask the school before turning over a lot of money. You should get direct answers. Be concerned if they talk in circles or don't satisfactorily answer your questions.

Ask about graduation rates and attrition rates. Graduation rates should be high and attrition rates low. Contact your state BON/BRN to find out if it is an approved school. For NCLEX eligibility, once you graduate, your nursing program must be BON/BRN  approved. It's mandatory.

Here are some examples of what you can find on your state's BON/BRN website: 

Here are some questions to ask the school:

  • Inquire about clinical sites. Shady programs do not have arrangements with local hospitals. Instead of receiving clinical training, students perform free labor at skilled nursing facilities.
  • Ask if they have a simulation (sim) lab. If they say yes, ask to see it. If they hesitate or deflect, take note. They don't want you to see their sim lab if it consists of a couple of outdated CPR dummies.
  • How long has the school been open? Some schools close after a couple of years and then re-open under another name to avoid scrutiny. These fly-by-night scam operations take advantage of the fact accreditation is not required when a school first opens.
  • Ask to see a course syllabus.

All states can have bad nursing programs, not just Florida. CA BRN issued a warning about unapproved nursing programs.

Tip: Confer with colleagues here on allnurses. There are many experts in nursing education who offer their knowledge.

Remember: Buyer beware. Don't get taken in by scammers. Take your time when choosing a school.

Recourse

To file a complaint against a Florida-based school, use this link.

Career Columnist / Author

Hi! Nice to meet you! I especially love helping new nurses. I am currently a nurse writer with a background in Staff Development, Telemetry and ICU.

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Unfortunately I was a victim of one of the schools I did most of my RN program online with excelsior I saw a lot of the LPNs at my job doing what I thought was a bridge program and now I'm in big trouble because I got pulled off the nursing floor yesterday because I took my boards and didn't pass they saw that I use the school to take my NCLEX so now I'm under investigation for 4 months with no patient care and now the question in my LPN license that I had for over 26 years I am so sick over this whole thing because I did not do my due diligence 

Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

I am so sorry! I can't imagine how devastating this must be for you.

 Excelsior College's associate degree nursing program lost its ACEN accreditation for curriculum issues in 2021.

But I don't see how failing the NCLEX affects your LPN license. I hope you can get that straightened out.

 

Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
Nurse Beth said:

Excelsior College's associate degree nursing program lost its ACEN accreditation for curriculum issues in 2021.

Not to split hairs, but Excelsior relinquished its ACEN accreditation after longtime differences in philosophy. In short, ACEN was not a fan of the clinical examination that came at the end of Excelsior's program. Excelsior's ADN still has regional accreditation, though. And they have changed their clinical requirements away from a one-time exam to more instructor-led clinical experiences, so I am curious to see if/when they will reapply for ACEN accreditation.

It sounds like the poster above switched from Excelsior to one of the Florida schools, she said she did "most" of her program at Excelsior. There were several former Excelsior students who left and did Florida programs when they didn't finish at Excelsior, from what I heard. 

Nurse Beth said:

I am so sorry! I can't imagine how devastating this must be for you.

 Excelsior College's associate degree nursing program lost its ACEN accreditation for curriculum issues in 2021.

But I don't see how failing the NCLEX affects your LPN license. I hope you can get that straightened out.

 

Thank you I'm just thinking that it's just a formality being that all of the stuff is going on Nationwide in the news.

Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.
Lunah said:

Not to split hairs, but Excelsior relinquished its ACEN accreditation after longtime differences in philosophy. In short, ACEN was not a fan of the clinical examination that came at the end of Excelsior's program. Excelsior's ADN still has regional accreditation, though. And they have changed their clinical requirements away from a one-time exam to more instructor-led clinical experiences, so I am curious to see if/when they will reapply for ACEN accreditation.

It sounds like the poster above switched from Excelsior to one of the Florida schools, she said she did "most" of her program at Excelsior. There were several former Excelsior students who left and did Florida programs when they didn't finish at Excelsior, from what I heard. 

Thanks, Lunah, that's interesting, and it's good Excelsior made changes. 

I agree, I'm also curious if she attended a Florida school. It sounds like an unnamed school may be the real culprit here, not Excelsior.

I did attend excelsior. Was halfway thru. Nurses I worked with were attending passing and working and even going on the get BSN MSN ETC in NY. I attended school in Florida where I attended classes and did clinicals etc in Florida. This was a well thought out scam. SO now I'm unclear if I should restart school the accredited way or if going to Florida may have tarnished my reputation? 

The nurses I was working with were all going to Florida under the guise of it being a bridge program.  We actually travelled attended class the entire weekend where we spent 10 hours or more in class each day  from a professor allegedly from Chamberlain we also did clinicals and this was for many months.   

What state are you in?

Shelbrown1986 said:

What state are you in?

New York

Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.
Joye Zelaya said:

I did attend excelsior. Was halfway thru. Nurses I worked with were attending passing and working and even going on the get BSN MSN ETC in NY. I attended school in Florida where I attended classes and did clinicals etc in Florida. This was a well thought out scam. SO now I'm unclear if I should restart school the accredited way or if going to Florida may have tarnished my reputation? 

Yes, the people who run these scams are slick and getting away with millions of dollars while ruining people's lives.

You probably are going to have to start again. Have you thought about a community college LPN-to-RN bridge program?

Nurse Beth said:

Yes, the people who run these scams are slick and getting away with millions of dollars while ruining people's lives.

You probably are going to have to start again. Have you thought about a community college LPN-to-RN bridge program

Yes that is my option. I am currently studying for the TEAS