A panel of the Inquiry Committee approved a Consent Agreement under which the Registrant agreed to undertakings involving regular monitoring for fitness to practice nursing and a limitation on area of practice. The undertakings include, but are not limited to: a reprimand, regular reports from a medical monitoring agency regarding compliance with treatment recommendations, disclosure of treatment recommendations to relevant employer representative(s), and a limit on practice designed to prevent the circumstances leading to the practice concern from reoccurring. The limits include not being the sole RN on shift, not providing independent care to clients in their homes, not accessing narcotics, benzodiazepines, controlled substances, and atypical sedatives (also known as the “zed" class of drugs) for a term and undergoing a period of supervision in the workplace. The Agreement will remain in place for a minimum of four years of continuous nursing practice.
The reasons for the Inquiry Committee decision are as follows:
- The Registrant was reported to have attended work impaired; she later admitted to a substance use disorder and to obtaining narcotics from outside the work environment for personal use.
- The Registrant provided an Independent Medical Evaluation documenting health concerns to BCCNM which could impact the ability to provide safe patient care.
- The Independent Medical Evaluation identified the Registrant is fit to practice nursing.
- The medical monitoring agency provided information regarding compliance with treatment recommendations.
The name of the Registrant has been withheld in accordance with section 39.3 (4) (a) of the
Health Professions Act for the purposes of not identifying the personal health information of the Registrant respecting the condition. The Inquiry Committee is satisfied that the undertakings will protect the public.