Ghanaian Nurse Loses Licence in US, Labelled Threat to Public Health in Nursing Fraud Probe
- A Ghanaian nurse in the US has come under intense scrutiny after suffering a major setback in her line of duty
- Her licence has been revoked after an investigation reportedly found that her certificate was obtained illegally
- Social media users who took to the comments section of the video have shared their views on the nurse's issue
Victoria Owusu, a Ghanaian nurse based in the US, has suffered a big blow to her career as a healthcare practitioner in that country.
This comes after her nursing licence was reportedly suspended in the aftermath of an exercise named Operation Nightingale.
Source: UGC
The operation, which began in 2023, is a federal investigative initiative led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) focusing on a nursing diploma fraud scheme.
Some tertiary institutions were caught selling fake nursing diplomas and transcripts to aspiring nurses who intended to use the certificates to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination, which Owusu sat for and passed.
In a video sighted by YEN.com.gh on the TikTok page of @cjnlegalnurse, a woman explained the plight of the Ghanaian nurse, stating that the Connecticut Board of Nursing immediately suspended the license of Owusu after it was discovered she had been issued a fake certificate from an unaccredited school.
However, she said that the board had come under immense criticism for failing to provide details on the facilities where Owusu worked, especially as Connecticut's Department of Public Health has labelled her 'a danger to public health and safety'.
“Owusu reportedly got her nursing degree from the MedLife Institute in Naples, Florida. The problem? The school was unaccredited, and investigators say she never even lived in Florida. Connecticut's Department of Public Health has already labelled her an immediate danger to public health and safety. The criticism has grown louder as the state has not released details of the hospitals or clinics where she may have worked. Critics argue that this lack of transparency is unacceptable,” she said in the video.
Source: UGC
The two-minute video had generated over 3,000 likes and 200 comments at the time of writing this report.
Watch the video below:
Reaction to nurse losing licence in US
Netizens who took to the comments section of the video have shared opinions regarding the suspension of the nurse in the wake of the issue.
Anonymous commented:
“Your story is confusing. Is she using a forged certificate (diploma) to work, or is she using a certificate that was issued to her by an unaccredited institution? These two are not the same.”
Missy stated:
“Just a question, by her name, I’m wondering if she came to America as an adult? I ask because I wanted to know if she was a nurse in her country. I don’t know how that works, but for her to work as a nurse without going to school at all, how did she pull it off? Nursing is a technical job.”
Ghanaian nurse rejoices after relocating to Ireland
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that another Ghanaian nurse who moved to Ireland had opened up about her new working environment.
In an interview, she said there was no fixed pay structure, with pay based on their years of experience and the number of hours worked.
As a wife, she also said she would consider returning to Ghana and leaving Ireland if she were guaranteed GH¢20,000 each week.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
