The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives has suspended an unnamed nurse for a year for stealing narcotics for personal use.
In a public notice posted to the college's website, a panel said the nurse was identified as ordering and taking “a notable amount of narcotics” from the workplace in spring 2020.
The nurse later acknowledged the narcotics as being removed for self-use.
The decision said the nurse provided an independent medical assessment documenting a health concern to the college related to the misconduct and which could impact the ability to provide safe patient care. The assessment provided information about treatment and monitoring recommendations to deal with the situation, the college said.
The suspension is retroactively effective to the date the conduct was admitted to.
As part of a consent agreement, the nurse must also disclose treatment recommendations to relevant employer representatives and comply with biological monitoring and treatment recommendations.
Limits have been placed on the nurse’s practice, designed to prevent problems from reoccurring.
The nurse’s name was withheld by the college under the Health Professions Act, which specifies not identifying personal health information.
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.
