Hundreds of nursing graduates may be forced to return to the classroom at significant cost after a California judge denied their college’s request for a legal workaround in the state’s licensing dispute.
The decision involving Utah-based Nightingale College leaves graduates uncertain about whether they will need to complete an additional semester—or even more—of clinical training before qualifying for California nursing licenses.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto rejected the college’s request for immediate relief Friday, ruling that its legal arguments were unlikely to succeed.
The underlying lawsuit will proceed, but Nightingale did not obtain the swift ruling it sought on behalf of its graduates.
The dispute centers on California’s requirement that nursing applicants complete 500 hours of direct patient care before receiving a license.
Nightingale contends California cannot apply that requirement to an out-of-state nursing school. State regulators, however, argue that all applicants must satisfy the state’s minimum training standards, regardless of where they earned their degrees.
MUST READ: Brazil Probes Hospital After 8 Children Die This Year
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
Officials have warned that allowing graduates to work without the required clinical preparation could endanger patients, especially in fields such as obstetrics and pediatrics.
Nightingale has disputed that concern, telling the court there was no evidence its alumni had delivered anything other than the “highest quality of medical care.”
The college also says California’s position is inequitable, pointing out that nearly 2,000 of its graduates previously received state nursing licenses without incident.
For the graduates caught in the dispute, however, the fight has grown beyond a disagreement over coursework and licensing rules.
Rachel Baxter, a San Diego resident who spoke with ABC 10 about her difficulty obtaining a license, said she received death threats after the station reported on the controversy in August.
The state nursing board cautioned that threats against graduates could be grounds for denying a license. Nightingale called the threats “unacceptable at every level.”
Despite Friday’s setback, Nightingale said it will continue challenging the state’s requirements while pursuing academic options for students affected by the dispute.
The next major court hearing is set for February, when a judge is expected to consider the nursing board’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
