I certainly prescribe to the school of fake it until you make it. But I don't think that applies to the medical field where people's lives are on the line. A Virginia woman recently ended up in hot water after pretending to be a nurse for more than a month. She worked across multiple hospitals in California and was reportedly charged of 60 patients.
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It turns out that impersonating a medical professional is an actual crime. Burbank Police arrested 44-year-old Amanda Leeann Porter, the fake nurse. She allegedly pretended to be a nurse at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Los Angeles County.
KTLA reported that Porter was in charge of 60 patients. She also ended up collecting two paychecks for her work as well. During that time, staff didn't discover she wasn't actually a nurse. It was only after a month that officials at the hospital discovered Porter was impersonating a real registered nurse based outside of California.
Fake Nurse
They fired her and reported her to the authorities. She's now facing three felony charges — identity theft, false impersonation, and grand theft. She's currently being held without bail. It also turns out this isn't even the first time Porter pretended to be a nurse.
Previously, authorities arrested her for a similar crime at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Santa Clarita. Authorities now believe that she's pulled this stunt at multiple hospitals, using fake identities to avoid raising suspicion.
Bur right now, even they are unsure how far Porter's crimes go. They're asking for people to come forward if they have any information regarding the case. But the biggest question was how Porter managed to get away with it for so long.
Detectives believe that she may have performed a similar crime back in Virginia in 2017. An Amanda Porter-Eley, matching the suspect's age, also pled guilty to impersonating a nurse then. She was using the identity of a New York worker to get away with the crime.
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital reported that Porter worked with a training nurse during a probationary period at the hospital. They've since informed all patients in her care about the incident.
