The flier advertising the Florida nursing school came in the mailbox of Ramatu Ali’s Delaware home. It promised a “bridge” program for lower-level nurses to become higher-skill, better-paid registered nurses.
Ali and four of her friends — all licensed practical nurses from the Philadelphia area — piled into Ali’s car and drove to an open house at a Penn’s Landing hotel to learn more about the Palm Beach School of Nursing.
There, they met school owner Johanah Napoleon, who promised they could earn an associate’s degree within 12 months. The school accepted college credits from other programs, offered a pay-as-you-go tuition plan, and required only a few trips to Florida for some coursework combined with online learning tailored for LPNs like them with full-time jobs, Ali said.
