Wakanda's Wrld
This channel is primarily informative within the weird and wonderful world of healthcare. I discuss how to improve the wide world of healthcare along with up to date information. I love to have different guest from different walks of life within healthcare. For podcast guest inquires reach me at shanklindj@yahoo.com
Wakanda's Wrld
A Nursing School Hired An Unlicensed Instructor, Pay Is Shifting To Leaders, And Cannabis Is Reclassified For Research
A nursing program let an unlicensed instructor teach fundamentals and lead clinicals for nearly a year—and the fallout exposes a deeper question: who is minding the gate in healthcare education? We break down what went wrong, why oversight failed, and how students and nurses can protect themselves with simple checks that keep patients safe and careers intact.
From there, we follow the money. A 2025 compensation report shows leadership roles scoring the biggest gains, with solid movement in critical care, anesthesia, oncology, and emergency nursing. We compare hourly rates across regions, weigh cost of living, and look at turnover trends that suggest a slightly steadier labor market for RNs even as LPN turnover rises. If you’re deciding between the specialty track or the leadership ladder, we map the signals to help you make informed moves.
Policy shifts add another layer. With cannabis moving to Schedule III and major nursing associations voicing support for research, we outline what this means at the bedside: documentation standards, dosing guidelines, risk communication, and interprofessional workflows that balance access with safety. Finally, we examine a high-stakes lawsuit over federal pediatric grants that fund newborn screenings, SUID reduction, FASD prevention, and rural training—programs that quietly safeguard child health every day.
It’s a full-spectrum look at trust, pay, policy, and public health. Listen for practical steps: how to verify credentials, track pay trends that matter, prepare for cannabis-related practice changes, and advocate for programs that keep families safe. If this resonated, subscribe, share with a colleague, and leave a quick review—what topic should we tackle next?
https://linktr.ee/WakandaRN
Welcome in, welcome in with your Rakondor in. I have a lot on my mind, but I'm not here to waste your time. Let's get into it. Let me know how's your week been. Let me know how you're doing physically, mentally, spiritually. We always check in with our listeners here on the show. So here we go. Right off the bat, can you imagine if you're a nursing student, you trust your professor to give you all the knowledge and information, you would expect they would have a top-tier level of expertise if they're going to instruct you, right? How would you feel if you had a nursing instructor that was lying about it the entire time? They lied about being a nurse, they lied about their nursing experience. That is our first story for today, right off the bat. So let's go ahead and get into this, ma'am, because I know how I would feel as someone who's been through nursing school twice, might I add. Love nursing school so much, I just wanted to do it twice. But here we go. Uh there was a fake nursing professor, taught 10 months, and it was an assistant dean. Um, says speaking up, got her fired. Let's talk about it, man. Let's talk about it. An unlicensed instructor allegedly taught nursing at a Boise college for nearly a year, raising serious questions about oversight, student safety, workforce integrity, every nurse should know about. For roughly 10 months, a man identified in local reports as Danielle Fati taught nursing fundamentals and accompanied students to clinical sites at Eagle Gate College Boise, Idaho campus, despite not holding a nursing license in Idaho or any other U.S. state, according to state regulators and media investigators. Under Ohio law, nursing faculty must be licensed as nurses, meaning he was never legally qualified to teach those courses or supervise clinical learning. Students say that from early in the term, they noticed he struggled with basic nursing content, skills, raising red flags that something was wrong. That is insane. Right off the bat, let's kind of dig a little bit deeper into the story here. Multiple Eagle Gate students told reporters they repeatedly questioned his competence and credentials to program leaders. A former assistant dean, RN Carrie Herbert says that she checked public records when concerns surfaced and could not find an active license under his name, and then escalated those findings to her dean. She even filed a complaint with the Idaho Attorney General. Herber reports that she was later terminated from her position and has since filed complaints and is exploring legal action, saying that she believes she was pushed out after insisting the program take the license issue seriously. That's true. That is terrible. They should have taken that very, very seriously. The board noted that because he was never licensed, its power to sanction him personally is limited. Eaglegate's parent company, um, Unitic Learning, has stated it believes it was misled and that its problems were identified in his professional license background shortly before he resigns. The company says he stepped down as they're preparing to terminate his employment. The school has told media it acted quickly once it verified the problem and considers itself a victim of fraud. Considers itself a victim of fraud while students and former staff say the college ignored its warnings for months. Honestly, that's what it sounds like to me. And so uh so here's the impact on students and nursing practice regarding this case. Eagle Gate has reportedly offered effective students refunds for nursing fundamentals and other regulated fees around um$6,000 per student and required additional skills validation or remediation to confirm competency before progression. That's the I mean, that's the least y'all could do. And I mean, really, y'all should give these students higher money, to be honest with you, because I mean they lost valuable time and skills that they'll never get back, man. You know what I'm saying? So um they they need to be um compensated properly for that. Some students say that the financial gesture does not erase the lost time, shaken confidence and anxiety about in-click readiness and clinical safety after almost a year under an unlicensed instructor. The incident also raises questions for employers and the boards of nursing about graduates whose early foundations were taught by someone without a license, even if they later remediate and pass standard program checkpoints. Very, very true. Um man, okay. So we'll just go to takeaways real quick. Takeaways for working nurses and students always verify. Students can independently verify RN faculty, RN license to stay board through lookup tools. Staff nurses can do the same for new hires, educators, or anyone presenting as a licensed nurse. I'm gonna comment on that later. Document and escalate. When skill gaps or red flags appear, an educator or colleague documenting specific incident and escalating through formal channels creates clear record for regulators and accrediting bodies. Watch program responses. The way a school responds, the speed of action, transparency, and remediation for students, cooperation with regulators, regulators says a lot about is safety, ethics, culture. So a lot. There's a lot to be said there. Crazy story right off the bat, right? So there's this guy who for 10 months pretends to be pretends to be a nursing instructor, and he's teaching nursing fundamentals, and he's actually going to clinical sites as well. Doesn't have a license. He should not have been there to begin with. So it sounds like an assistant dean tried to intervene and tried to let the school know. And she believes that she was wrongfully terminated when she tried to bring up this particular issue. So, and she's filing a lawsuit, so maybe we'll get more news later on about how the lawsuit goes. Sound like she was wrongfully terminated, if that is true. And then, of course, let's talk about the school. This college and Boise, Idaho. Why on earth did you guys not verify his credentials? That is first and foremost. You have to verify his credentials. You just have to. It doesn't matter how good he does this interview, it doesn't matter your need or desperation, you have to verify that he is a nurse. And then what kind of questions did you ask in the interview process? Because surely if you ask the proper questions, I feel as though that there should be proper checks and balances. But it sounds like this was never checked, this was never verified, and he was able to come into your faculty, your facility, and teach students who, by the way, lost time, they lost confidence, and they're not sure if they're gonna be even prepared to take the NCLEX. They're not even sure because you guys failed your students. Now you can sit there and say, well, we're gonna give you, um, we're gonna give you a check, right? Up to$6,000. That's that's cute. Um, and then you guys can sit there and say, like, we're gonna offer some remediation classes, but that time they can't get back. It's supposed to be a progression of things. You move on to the next subject, the next subject, and we know how quickly nursing school can go. So, but that was never properly addressed. So the school dropped the ball. That that is just the biggest thing. The school dropped the ball. And then because he was a license in the state of Idaho, the Board of Nursing, they're very limited on what they can actually do in terms of discipline. And then this guy just quit. He just quit before he got fired. He he's gone. Right? The dude's just gone. So it's unfortunate and it's quite sad. Um, and you know, for the students to raise questions, because think about it, man. I mean, these are literally students. I mean, they're they're eager to learn, they're they're new, they're not sure what they know and don't know. And then here this guy comes and they're questioning his, maybe his techniques, questioning his teaching methods, but there's there was red flags raised amongst the students. And it sounds like the school just chose to ignore students and it chose to ignore even a staff member. You know, I know the article talked about there's things you could you could do as a student, there's things you could do as a staff member to to verify the credentials of your instructors. Well, the problem is, I mean, people are going into this trusting the school did the right thing in the beginning, so they don't have to do this. Nobody wants to go in. I mean, you you want to uh you want to assume that people have the right credentials no matter where you go. You assume your dentist has the proper credentials. You assume that your doctor has the proper credentials or your provider has the proper credentials. I mean, there's so many people that we just trust that they that the facility that hired them did their due diligence and making sure that they have everything that they need to practice safely or to do their job safely. So I don't place this on the students. I don't think it's really up to the students to do this. I mean, yes, you can check to verify they have a license, or you can check to see, you know, you know, hey, where'd you get your degree? I mean, you can you can ask those questions, but it's completely not necessary. So to me, this is I'm sad and unfortunate. Please let me know your comments below. Um, I know that's kind of a crazy start to this, and uh, curious to know how that plays out, but really we're off to an interesting start. Okay, so our next topic, I'm pretty sure you guys, I mean, well, you know, what is a number one factor for a lot of people when they go to go to work, right? Money. And a lot of us, we want to know where is the money going, right? You're in it, you're whatever career field that you're in. We're we're talking about nursing and healthcare here. I'm sure money, many, many of you want to know, where is the money going? So there's also a new 2025 report shows where nursing pay is growing the fastest. So let's get to the article here. Let's talk about it, man. See some of you, I'm sure you pretty much want to go, where's the money? So here we go. Um, so we got a key takeaways here. So a 2025 Sullivan Cotter report on nursing compensation reflects the maturing probes to the nursing workforce management. Um, let's get to it. Let's get to what you guys really want to know. Okay. Um, so okay, so RN leaders received a median increase of 3.0%, followed by managers at 2.7%, charge nurses at 2.4%, supervisors at 1.9%, and RN staff at uh 1.7%. In subspecialties, critical care nurses saw the largest pay increases, followed by anesthesiology, oncology, and emergency department nursing. So those are right off the bat from the key takeaways. So the article says leadership roles are cashing in. So if you're a nursing leadership role, maybe it's time to celebrate because it seems like in 2025, those in management leadership positions received pay increases. So we got RN leaders 3. Managers saw an increase in 2.7%. We got charge nurses an increase of 2.4%, and supervisors 1.9%. Um, at the high-end percentile, the 90th percentile leadership roles saw jumps between 5.7 and 8.2%. Staff RNs in comparison only showed a 1.7 median increase. So if you're a staff nurses, which many of us are, hang in there. You got a little bit of an increase, but it looks like leadership roles are getting more of the money. Kind of talked about it a little bit in the key takeaways, but if you didn't, if you missed it, let's repeat it again. Specialty nurses saw some solid pay increases as well. Um, what critical care nurses saw a 3.2 pay increase. We have anesthesiology, oncology, emergency department nurses, they weren't far behind. We have non-acute roles like our in case managers saw 3.0% increases. LPNs, however, only received a 1.1. All my LPNs hang in there, hang in there, stay, stay with it. All right. So if you're kind of wondering, like, what is this pay increase by by region? So it looks like the West is dominating the Northeast. So it looks like if you're a clinical nurse specialist, you're gonna make$96 an hour on the West versus$69 an hour on the Northeast. NAFRNs, um,$61 an hour in the West versus$50 an hour in the Northeast. It's$36 an hour in the West versus$34 an hour in the Northeast. So between the LPNs, it's really not that much difference. But if you are a registered nurse, you might want to go out west, but also you got to think about the um cost of living as well. So you you know, let that be up to you. Um, and then kind of a uh an interesting um point in here. Um, this is gonna be curious for all my listeners, man. According to this article, it says here's some good news. RN turnover rates are finally decreasing. According to respondents in the survey, about 62% of organizations reported turnover rates between 11 and 20 percent. Um, extended hiring timelines over 90 days, and vacancy rates above 11% are also dropping. It's like the nursing labor market is taking a deep breath, but don't relax too much. LPN turnover rates are still climbing, with one-third of organizations reporting rates above 20%. Nearly 70% of organizations plan to review the nursing market data again in late 2025, so the journey isn't over. For now, things are looking looking steadier, so that's a win. Um, we'll see about that. We shall see about that. Um, but this is just a 2025. Let's go back, man. Let's go back. All right. So, what y'all think? Um, in terms of the nursing market. Looks like there were some increases in some specialty fields, especially if you're looking into leadership. Maybe this is the time for you. If you're thinking about it, um, I'll try to give you guys some resources. You know, I'd like to encourage entrepreneurship, side hustles amongst nurses, but it looks like if you are in certain specialty areas, you're getting a pay increase, depending on where you're located. And also if you're in leadership roles, look like you're getting a pay increase. So, yeah, man. Let me know in the comments below what you think about that. All right, so we have our next topic is the ANA, the A A N A back marijuana's reclassification to Schedule Three. So let's talk about that. And I'm curious to know what you guys' thoughts on that for sure. All right, let's talk about key takeaways. The ANA, AANA back rescheduling, both associations support moving marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 to enable more research and support evidence-based clinical use. Implication for nursing practice. Nurses should anticipate updated guidance on documentation, dosing, risk communication, and patient care as evidence for clinical guidelines. Evolve. All right. So it looks like on December 18th, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannibal Oil Research, directing the Department of Justice to reschedule uh marijuana under Control Substances Act. This reclassification reflects the growing scientific evidence of marijuana's medical utility. So, signed into place, man. All right, and then so you know, we got some official um statements from the ANA. We also have some official statements from the AA, uh A N A as well. So, you know, some quotes on that that you guys can more than welcome to read if you guys are super interested in what they have to say regarding that. And then there's some also broader support from certain health and advocacy groups like the American Pharmacist Association. Um they just talked about it could help accelerate research into its medical um applications and potentially lead to safer, more effective therapeutic uses. Um, and then there's just a few more. There's a bunch of groups that just are pretty much welcoming the change. Um but what does so what does this mean for nursing practice in terms of changing marijuana from a schedule one to a schedule three? Nurses are actively discussing rescheduling across social media platforms, reflecting a mix of excitement and caution. Some nurses see cannabis for potential benefit patients. Other raise concerns about safety, youth exposure, and emphasize the need for stronger research. For nursing practices, this rescheduling underscores the importance of evidence-based care. It encourages clear documentation, careful dosing guidance, transparent communication about risk and benefits while opening the door for more rigid study that can inform safe patient-centered use of cannabis in the clinical settings. As research and clinical guidelines evolve, nurses will play a critical role in translating new evidence into safe effective care for the patients. So that's what the article says. I know this is going to be controversial for a lot of people because you're going to have people on both sides, people that are for, people that are against it. Um, but I mean, really, my stance is let's just see what the evidence-based practice shows. I'm not against it at all in terms of let's see um how it can be used for clinical use, because I'm sure there's patients that definitely can benefit from it. And but the more knowledge that we have, the more studies we do, the better that we'll be prepared to learn how to administer it properly. Um, I know in certain cases that CBD is given in certain patients, especially to encourage appetite. So it just kind of, I mean, we'll just see. We'll just kind of see how it goes in the long run. But hey, I'm curious to know your thoughts. Where do you stand on the chain, marijuana change from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 and for it to be used in certain clinical sites and clinical areas? Let me know your thoughts on that in the comments below. Okay, so this next article here, it's gonna be interesting, man. So I'm gonna read it, right? Pediatricians sue the Trump administration to halt a nearly 12 million cut in federal grants. It's a lot. It's a lot. So, hmm, quite a bit of money, man. Let's let's read the article together and uh just kind of get your thoughts on it, man. Okay. So a leading, a leading pediatric group is is asking a federal judge to stop the Trump administration from terminating nearly$12 million in long running federal grants. The American Academy of Pediatrics argues that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week ended seven grants in retaliation for the Academy speaking out against the administrator's actions that the group feels threatened. Uh children's health, including advocating for evidence-based vaccine policy. The Academy's efforts have been met with targeted smears from the HHS security, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and other senior officials looking to discredit one of the agents' prominent critics according to the complaint, which was filed Wednesday in a U.S. district court for the District of Columbia. The court or suit is asking the court to immediately block the funding cuts that require the grants to be reinstated with case proceeds. In this suit, AAP challenges HHS retaliatory claims actions, which not only irreparably harm AAP, but undermine the health and safety of all Americans by senselessly slashing programs to help pediatricians detect, prevent, and manage fatal and debilitate illnesses and conditions according to the complaint. What is the funding used for? The funding is used for training and technical assistance to pediatricians and rural communities, the reductions of sudden unexpected infant death, the prevention of fetal alcohol, spectrum disorders, and universal newborn hearing screenings, the complaint said. Without immediate court interventions, these programs will end within weeks. Staff will be laid off, and children and families nationwide will lose access to critical child health programs, the academy said in a statement Wednesday. The Academy has 67,000 members, including primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists. Democracy 4, which has filed numerous lawsuits against the Trump administration this year, is representing the Academy in this case. Yeah, man, that's a lot. That's a lot. It's a lot. Do I know for a fact that this is done in retaliation? I don't know that for a fact. That's just what the article said, and that's what is being presented. Can that be the case? It can't be the case. It's not abnormal for the Trump administration to do this. This is not abnormal. So we'll have to see. We'll have to see. It sounds really bad. Um, I mean, I can't sit here and say that I just fact-checked, you know, what they're claiming that they're you know, I mean, it sounds dangerous, right? If you take away programs that help with fetal alcoholism, um, sudden infant death, and other programs like that. I mean, that's really terrible to take away funding. They talked about layoffs, like I think they said 67,000 members of this particular association. Um, uh it's a lot of money to cut. It's a lot of money to cut. But we'll just have to see how it plays out in court. I mean, that's kind of my main thing. Well, I just want to bring you guys the awareness of this. We'll just have to see it play out. But let me know in the comments below what your thoughts are towards these cuts. And uh yeah, man. Yeah. All right. So let's recap on a few things, man. We talked about a fake nursing professor who was teaching nursing students for 10 months before he left. He got caught and quit. We talked about how, you know, where the new growth in terms of money, like we're nurse, where nursing pay is growing the fastest in 2025. We talked about how pretty much that marijuana reclassification gone from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 and the implications with that. We also talked about how pediatricians have sued the Trump administration because they're gonna cut 12 million in federal grants. So if you guys enjoyed today's episode, please like, comment, share, subscribe. You know, depending on where you see this or listen to this, it goes a long way. Also, man, if you like subjects like these or you want to see other subjects, give me suggestions in my comments. Give me suggests, you know, wherever you see this, just give me a suggestion, leave a comment, what type of subject you would like me to see. I appreciate you guys for tuning in, whichever kind are in. I love you guys. Have a blessed rest of the week, and I am out.
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unknown:Thank you.
