Margaret Tuomi

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a member who continued to practise nursing after voluntarily surrendering her certificate of registration.

The member used a different name, falsified annual payment cards, and misled her employers about her registration status.

She was also criminally convicted of theft, fraud, and failing to comply with an undertaking.

The Discipline Committee found the member committed professional misconduct, noting her actions were disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional.

The Committee revoked her certificate of registration and ordered an oral reprimand.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against the respondent, a Registered Practical Nurse, for criminal convictions including theft, forgery, and impaired driving, as well as for exploiting vulnerable clients.

The respondent was found to have misappropriated property, breached therapeutic boundaries, and engaged in disgraceful and dishonourable conduct.

The Discipline Committee found all allegations proven and ordered the revocation of the respondent's certificate of registration.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct relating to his care of five clients.

The College and the Member presented an Agreed Statement of Facts, admitting that the Member failed to properly assess and document care, failed to obtain informed consent before touching clients' intimate areas, and breached therapeutic boundaries.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct.

Accepting a Joint Submission on Order, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a two-month suspension, and terms, conditions, and limitations on the Member's certificate of registration, including meetings with a nursing expert and employer notification.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against a Registered Practical Nurse for numerous medication administration and documentation errors, as well as sexual harassment of a co-worker.

The member admitted to the medication and documentation errors but denied the sexual harassment.

The Discipline Committee found the practice-related allegations proven based on an Agreed Statement of Facts.

However, the Committee dismissed the sexual harassment allegations, finding the evidence of the complainant and the member equally credible and therefore insufficient to meet the burden of proof.

The member was penalized with a reprimand, a three-month suspension, and terms and conditions on his certificate of registration, including employer notification.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought professional misconduct allegations against the member for failing to report criminal convictions for fraud and uttering forged documents, falsifying academic credentials and employment history, fabricating police reference checks, and impersonating employment references.

The member admitted to the allegations via an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found the member committed professional misconduct and accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a six-month suspension, and various terms, conditions, and limitations on his certificate of registration.

The member faced a disciplinary hearing after being found guilty of criminal fraud over $5,000 for improperly using her employer's corporate credit card to defraud them of approximately $30,000.

The member admitted to the allegations of professional misconduct.

The Discipline Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty and ordered the revocation of the member's certificate of registration, emphasizing the need for specific and general deterrence for breaches of trust.

The member brought a pre-hearing motion seeking to sever allegations 1 to 4 from allegations 5 to 9, which involved separate incidents of alleged sexual abuse of two different clients in an emergency department.

The member argued that hearing the allegations together would risk credibility cross-pollination and prejudice the right to a fair hearing.

The Discipline Committee applied the factors from R. v. Last and found a lack of legal and factual nexus between the allegations, a high risk of prejudice, and the potential for distinctly different defences.

The motion was granted, and the allegations were ordered to be heard by separate panels.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a Registered Practical Nurse who pled guilty to criminal charges for stealing money from a vulnerable client's purse.

The Discipline Committee found the nurse committed professional misconduct.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, a four-month suspension of her certificate of registration, and imposed terms, conditions, and limitations on her practice, including a 12-month restriction on practicing independently in the community.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought discipline proceedings against a Registered Practical Nurse following his criminal conviction for sexually assaulting a vulnerable, elderly client at a long-term care facility.

The Discipline Committee found that the member committed professional misconduct by sexually abusing the client and engaging in disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

Relying on the certified court transcripts of the member's guilty plea and conviction, the Committee ordered the mandatory penalty of revocation of the member's certificate of registration and an oral reprimand.

The College of Nurses of Ontario alleged that the member committed professional misconduct by practising nursing while her certificate of registration was suspended and by failing to comply with a previous discipline order.

The member did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found that the member worked as a registered nurse while suspended, failed to attend an oral reprimand, failed to participate in remediation, failed to pay a fine, and failed to inform her employer of her suspension.

The Committee concluded the member was ungovernable and ordered the immediate revocation of her certificate of registration.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, admitted to professional misconduct for stealing money and gift cards from the home of a vulnerable client while providing home care.

The Member had previously pled guilty to criminal theft and paid restitution.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Order, finding the conduct disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional.

The Member was reprimanded, suspended for four months, and subjected to conditions including meetings with a nursing expert and employer notification.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, admitted to professional misconduct including sexual abuse, verbal abuse, and failing to maintain boundaries after making inappropriate and sexually suggestive remarks to a vulnerable client in a hospital unit.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Order, finding the Member guilty of professional misconduct.

The Member was reprimanded, his certificate of registration was suspended for three months, and conditions were imposed requiring him to complete remedial education and notify future employers of the decision.

The member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for sexually harassing a co-worker, including inappropriate touching and comments, sometimes in the presence of unconscious clients.

The member admitted to the allegations in an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found the member committed professional misconduct and accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a four-month suspension, and remedial conditions on the member's certificate of registration.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for misappropriating narcotics, failing to administer medications, and falsifying records at a long-term care facility.

The Member admitted to the allegations, which included signing for narcotics not administered and falsifying removal times.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct and accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a four-month suspension, and terms and conditions on her certificate of registration, including meetings with a nursing expert and employer notification.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a registered practical nurse for professional misconduct, including practising while suspended, falsifying documents, medication administration errors, and failing to report criminal convictions for assault and break and enter.

The member did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found the member committed the alleged acts of professional misconduct, noting a pattern of ungovernability and disregard for the profession's standards.

The committee ordered the immediate revocation of the member's certificate of registration.

The College of Nurses of Ontario alleged that the Member, a registered practical nurse, committed professional misconduct by failing to maintain boundaries, accepting gifts, exercising undue influence, and misappropriating property from an elderly client at a retirement residence.

The panel found that the Member and the client had a pre-existing relationship, but the Member breached the Therapeutic Nurse-Client Relationship Standard by accepting significant gifts, including a car and large cheques, and by maintaining an inappropriate personal relationship while providing nursing care.

The allegations of undue influence and misappropriation were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

The panel concluded the Member's actions constituted dishonourable and unprofessional conduct.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to disclose terms, conditions, and limitations on her certificate of registration to a prospective employer, and for accepting a position she could not fulfill given those restrictions.

The Member admitted to the allegations via an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct and accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand and a six-month suspension.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, admitted to professional misconduct for providing a falsified Police Clearance Certificate to her employer.

The certificate had been altered to conceal a prior criminal conviction for fraud.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Penalty.

The Member was reprimanded, her certificate of registration was suspended for one month, and conditions were imposed requiring her to meet with a nursing expert and notify future employers of the decision.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against the respondent nurse for inappropriate behaviour, boundary crossings, and misappropriation of narcotics.

The respondent did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found that the respondent dressed in lingerie and behaved inappropriately with a client, engaged in boundary crossings by visiting a discharged client and accepting gifts, and misappropriated narcotics from two clients' homes.

The Committee ordered a four-month suspension, a reprimand, and imposed terms, conditions, and limitations on the respondent's certificate of registration, including a restriction from practicing independently in the community for 12 months.

The Member, a registered practical nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct after being found guilty of 15 criminal offences between 2004 and 2008, including fraud, forgery, and breach of probation.

The Member admitted to the allegations and agreed to a joint submission on penalty.

The Discipline Committee found that the criminal convictions were relevant to her suitability to practise and constituted professional misconduct.

Given the repetitive nature of the misconduct and a prior discipline history for similar offences, the Committee revoked the Member's certificate of registration and ordered a reprimand.