Facts
The Member admitted that he engaged in professional misconduct. In August 2020, while working in an Acute Care Elderly Unit of a hospital, the Member yelled at, made threatening comments and spoke inappropriately to a patient with dementia on two occasions. The Member also used physical force to push the patient into his room, and restrained the patient on the ground. In October 2021, while working as an agency nurse at a different facility, the Member grabbed another patient’s wrists and pushed the patient to her room, causing the patient to fall. The patient suffered bruising and a skin tear as a result.
Discipline Committee’s Findings
Based on the Member’s admissions, a panel of the Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario (the “Panel”) found that the Member:
- contravened a standard of practice of the profession or failed to meet the standards of practice of the profession;
- verbally, physically and emotionally abused two patients; and
- engaged in conduct, relevant to the practice of nursing, that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as dishonourable and unprofessional.
Discipline Committee’s Order
The College of Nurses of Ontario (“CNO”) and the Member presented the Panel with a Joint Submission on Order requesting that the Panel make an order that included the following:
- an oral reprimand;
- a 3-month suspension;
- terms, conditions and limitations, including:
- attending at least 2meetings with a Regulatory Expert; and
- employer notification for 12 months.
The Panel accepted the Joint Submission on Order, concluding that the proposed penalty was reasonable and in the public interest. The Panel noted that the Member cooperated with the CNO and accepted responsibility by agreeing to the facts and a proposed order.