PHILADELPHIA — In the wake of federal charges related to large-scale schemes to sell fake nursing diplomas at some U.S. nursing schools, CGFNS International, a global leader in international credentials evaluation to support health worker mobility, has bolstered its efforts to combat fraud and ensure patient safety through the assessment and authentication of credentials.
Leaders at the organization, which has 45 years of experience in evaluating international education credentials for foreign-trained health workers, pointed to the global nursing shortage as a key driver of increased fraud.
“CGFNS is actively reviewing whether any of the reports we issued are impacted,” said CGFNS President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Peter Preziosi. “If we find evidence of this, we will move quickly to address it.”
“An honestly-earned education paired with appropriate clinical experience is a prerequisite for nursing licensure and is absolutely essential to protecting public safety and trust in the healthcare professions. This applies to all health professionals regardless of whether education was received domestically or internationally,” he said.
As a preventive measure to combat fraud, CGFNS requires transcripts and validations of licenses to be sent directly from primary source institutions, and it maintains a database of school and licensing officials who are authorized to send documents to CGFNS. The organization catalogues the signatures of these officials as well as their institutional seals or stamps.
Preziosi said that CGFNS, as a longstanding partner of nurse regulators, accreditation agencies, and licensing test providers, will aim to further increase collaboration among the credentialing community to increase vigilance and combat fraud. The organization will also be reviewing its internal security practices to ensure up-to-date, robust protections are in place during the assessment of education and licensing documents of the migrant nurses utilizing its programs.
“In light of this discovery, CGFNS will continue to make every effort to ensure the quality and integrity of the nurses it supports and to uphold the integrity of the global healthcare workforce,” he said.
About CGFNS International, Inc.
Founded in 1977 and based in Philadelphia, CGFNS International is an immigration-neutral not-for-profit organization proudly serving as the world’s largest credentials evaluation organization for the nursing and allied health professions. For more information, visit www.cgfns.org.
