A nurse who stole narcotics from their employer won’t be able to handle workplace drugs for three years, a BC College of Nurses and Midwives inquiry committee says.
The nurse is unnamed due to the medical nature of the situation to protect their personal health privacy.
In an April 25 public notice, the committee said the diversion of the narcotics for personal use while on and off duty happened between September 2020 and September 2022.
“Diversion directly from patients was not shown to have occurred,” the notice said.
It was the nurse themselves who disclosed the situation when seeking treatment.
“This disclosure ensured that their medical diagnosis and subsequent prognosis and treatment recommendations matched the extent of their substance use disorder, providing a greater likelihood of treatment success,” the committee said.
The committee considered that admission a mitigating factor in its discipline decision.
Committee 'satisfied'
The nurse has voluntarily agreed to:
- a limit impacting access to and handling of narcotics, with concurrent medical monitoring, to support the stable return to fitness to practice for three years;
- compliance with treatment and monitoring recommendations from treating specialists; and,
- disclosure of treatment recommendations to relevant employer representative(s).
The agreement will remain in place for a minimum of four years of continuous nursing practice.
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 allow 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.
