Hello fellow Nurse, this is your weekly handoff. Some quick and dirty nursing news that’s worth sharing. Enjoy!

Something to absolutely not believe

A Florida woman just pleaded guilty — mid-trial — to running a diploma mill that sold roughly 2,900 fake nursing degrees and transcripts to people who never set foot in a classroom. Carleen Noreus, who owned two South Florida “nursing schools,” admitted she falsified diplomas and backdated transcripts after the state shut her programs down. Prosecutors say about 2,274 of those buyers went on to obtain real RN licenses, and federal estimates suggest hundreds, possibly thousands, may still be at the bedside right now. She faces up to 20 years on each of two counts. We are all left with the same question: who exactly precepted these people?

Something to make you furious

On July 8, more than 4,000 nurses walked out of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the largest nurse strike in Massachusetts history, joined by roughly 450 MGB Home Care clinicians. The sticking point? Mass General Brigham opened with a 0% across-the-board wage increase. The union is asking for 3% and 4% over an 18-month contract — hardly a moonshot for a system that size. Meanwhile safe staffing remains the thread running through nearly every one of the 16-plus nurse strikes already logged in 2026. Zero percent. For the people running the codes.

Something to make us nurses proud

Amanda Miller, an off-duty RN in Rochester, NY, was driving home on a Sunday evening when she came upon a man bleeding out on the sidewalk, his hand severed from his body after an assault. She called 911, jumped out of the car, announced she was a nurse, and asked bystanders for a belt or anything she could use — because nobody carries a tourniquet to dinner. She improvised one, held pressure, and kept him talking. “I’ve honestly never seen so much blood loss in my entire life, not even in an operating room setting,” she said. His hand was successfully reattached at Strong Memorial. No crash cart, no monitor, no team — just a nurse who happened to be driving by.

Something from a Subscriber

“Had a family member corner me in the hallway at 0300 to tell me I’d ruined their mother’s night because I woke her up for a neuro check. Two hours later that same neuro check caught a change, and she went straight to CT.

When the family came back in the morning, the daughter didn’t say a word to me. She just handed me a coffee from the cafeteria and walked away. That is the most sincere apology I have received in fourteen years of nursing, and I will take it. I kept the cup lid in my locker. Sounds unhinged. Don’t care.”

— Marisol R., Neuro ICU, Ohio

We want to hear more from you! Submit your funniest or strangest or most heart warming nursing stories and we will pick one to share every week! This will be shared anonymously- so don’t be afraid to add some humor and flare and cursing, just like we love here!

Please submit all stories to: [email protected]

Please be conscious of HIPAA and omit any PPI or detail that may give hints to the people, hospital, and nurses involved in your story. We may slightly alter your story or change names for this reason. Your story may also be shortened and slightly altered to fit the size of the blog. Happy writing!!

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