A B.C. nurse has been reprimanded for their year-long stealing of narcotics for their own use.
In a Jan. 16 disciplinary decision, the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives said the nurse diverted narcotics from the workplace for a period of 12 months for personal use, under the names of patients who were no longer admitted and/or with no record of administration.
The college said the nurse also took the drugs by entering the work premises when not scheduled to work or prior to or after scheduled shifts.
The events took place between September 2020 and September 2021.
The decision said the nurse was diagnosed with and admitted to a disability with a relationship to the problem. As such, their name has been removed from the decision to protect medically private information. Their location was not included in the public notice.
Moving forward, the nurse must provide regular reports from treating doctors on compliance with treatment recommendations, and disclose treatment recommendations to relevant employers.
They will also be limited and monitored on the narcotics they can handle to support a stable return to practice.
The nurse is also limited from being the sole registered nurse on duty, working overtime, working on more than one unit and from being assigned students for two years.
There is also a limit on practicing in an emergency room for one year, and a limit on working overtime for six months and no nights for three months.
The college is one of 18 regulatory bodies empowered under the Health Professions Act to regulate health professions in B.C. It regulates the practice of four distinct professions: nursing, practical nursing, psychiatric nursing and midwifery.
Similar legislation in other self-regulated areas such as the legal and notary public professions also allows citizens to know about discipline issues in the public interest.
“The inquiry committee is satisfied that the terms will protect the public,” the college said.
