The BC Supreme Court (Vancouver Registry) on June 28, 2021, pronounced a permanent injunction, without a hearing and by consent, against former RN and LPN registrant Lisa Broughton, who has been holding herself out as an RN allegedly doing foot care for elderly clients and others. The injunction prohibits Ms. Broughton, so long as she is not a registrant of the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives, from:
using any of the titles "nurse", "registered nurse", "licensed graduate nurse", "practical nurse" and "licensed practical nurse", any abbreviation of any of those titles, and any equivalent or abbreviation of any of those titles in another language, to describe her work, in association with or as part of another title describing her work, or in association with a description of her work;
using any name; title or description in a manner that expresses or implies she is entitled to practise nursing or practical nursing;
practising "nursing" and "practical nursing"; and
recovering any fee or remuneration in any court in respect of the provision of a service that amounts to "nursing" or "practical nursing".
In addition, Ms. Broughton must pay BCCNM its costs of this petition proceeding, fixed at $1,500.
BCCNM (and its predecessor colleges) has been investigating Ms. Broughton since initial complaints of misuse of title were received in 2015. The college had no recourse but to seek an injunction against Ms. Broughton after she ignored repeated warnings.
BCCNM's role
The college's mandate is to protect the public. One way we do that is by ensuring only competent, licensed professionals use the reserved titles such as “nurse" or “midwife". These titles are protected in British Columbia, which means only individuals registered and in good standing with the college are entitled to use it.
The purpose of reserved titles is to enable members of the public to easily identify qualified, regulated and insured health-care professionals and distinguish such professionals from unregulated individuals. As stated by the Supreme Court of BC in an unrelated 2019 matter dealing with the unauthorized practice of medicine, “… Self-regulating professions are founded upon public trust and this is perhaps especially so in the case of the health professions. Persons engaging in unauthorized practice of these professions … do great damage not only to the individuals they claim to be treating, but to public confidence."
BCCNM is pleased with today's outcome and encourages any registrant or member of the public with concerns about use of title to contact the college.
Questions?