PUBLISHED December 2001

Discipline Committee Of The College Of Nurses Of Ontario FULL-TEXT DECISION

Note: This is the full text of the decision of the Discipline panel in this matter. Any information identifying clients, witnesses or facilities has been removed [ ]. The member’s name is omitted if the allegations have been dismissed or if the results are not placed on the public portion of the Register.

Panel:

Marg Axelson, RN Chairperson Christine Barber, RPN Member

Victor Kingsley Public Representative

BETWEEN

COLLEGE OF NURSES OF ONTARIO Megan Shortreed for College of Nurses of Ontario

• and -

Karen L. Cauchi #75-1795-6

REASONS FOR DECISION

Member Unrepresented

Heard: April 26, 2000

A panel of the Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario (the “College”) convened on April 26, 2000, to hear the following allegations against Karen L. Cauchi (the “Member”):

1. You have committed an act of professional misconduct as provided by subsection 51(1)(c) of the Health Professions Procedural Code of the Nursing Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 32, as amended, and defined in subsection 1(16) of Ontario Regulation 799/93, in that in or about 1997 when applying for a position as [ ] with [the facility] you inappropriately used a term, title, or designation in respect of your practice with respect to the following incidents:

a. Your representation in your curriculum vitae that you held a Bachelor of Science of Administration degree from [ ] and were enrolled in the Masters of Business Administration (“MBA”) program at [ ] when you in fact did not have such credentials and were not in fact registered in an MBA program; and/or

b. Your representation during an interview with [the facility] and thereafter that you held of a Bachelor of Science of Administration degree from [ ] and were enrolled in the MBA program at [ ] when you in fact did not have such credentials and were not in fact registered in an MBA program; and/or

2. You have committed an act of professional misconduct as provided by subsection 51(1)(c) of the Health Professions Procedural Code of the Nursing Act, 1991, S.O. 1991, c. 32, as amended, and defined in subsection 1(37) of Ontario Regulation 799/93, in that in or about 1997 when applying for a position as [ ] with [the facility] you engaged in conduct or performed an act, relevant to the

practice of nursing that, having regard to all of the circumstances would reasonably be regarded by members of the profession as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional with respect to the following incidents:

a. Your representation in your curriculum vitae that you held a Bachelor of Science of Administration degree from the [ ] and were enrolled in the MBA program at [ ] when you in fact did not have such credentials and were not in fact registered in an MBA program; and/or

b. Your representation during an interview with [the facility] and thereafter that you held of a Bachelor of Science of Administration degree from the [ ] and were enrolled in the MBA program at [ ] when you in fact did not have such credentials and were not in fact registered in an MBA program.

AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS

An Agreed Statement of Fact was filed. The text of that document is set out below:

THE MEMBER

1. Karen Cauchi (“the Member”) graduated from the Nursing Diploma Program at [ ] in 1974.

2. The Member has been registered as a Registered Nurse with the College of Nurse of Ontario (“the College”) since 1975.

3. The Member held the position of [ ] at [the facility] from July 7, 1997 to November 30, 1998, when she resigned as a result of the events described below.

THE FACILITY

4. [The facility] provides professional health care and related services, including nursing and homemaking services, to clients in their homes. In Ontario, [the facility] participates in an annual tendering process with other health care agencies in which it submits proposals, or bids, for service contracts awarded by regional Community Care Access Centres.

THE MEMBER’S FALSIFICATION OF HER CREDENTIALS

5. In May, 1997, [the facility] advertised the availability of the position of [ ] in a large Toronto newspaper. Under the heading “Qualifications”, the advertisement specified “[ ] require a Master’s degree”. A copy of the advertisement is attached as Exhibit “A”.

6. The Member applied for the position by submitting a resume. A copy of the resume is attached as Exhibit “B”.

7. Under the heading “Education” on the fourth page of her resume, the Member included the following information:

[ ]Master’s of Business Administration (in progress) [ ]Bachelor of Science of Administration

8. The Member included this information in her resume although she knew it was false. She did not possess a bachelor’s degree, nor was she working toward the completion of a Master’s degree.

9. During the subsequent interview and discussions with [a senior staff member] at [the facility], the Member confirmed that she had a Bachelor of Science of Administration degree and that she was in the beginning stages of completing the requirements for her Master’s of Business Administration degree. She requested that [the facility] waive the requirement for the completed Master’s-level degree, in light of her other qualifications, especially her relevant experience.

10. After consultation with the Human Resources Department at [the facility], [the senior employee] agreed to waive the requirement for a Master’s-level degree, with the understanding that the Member would continue to work toward the attainment of the degree.

11. As [ ], one of the Member’s most important duties was to respond to Requests for Proposals issued by Community Care Access Centres to secure service contracts for [the facility]. In accordance with the accepted practice at [the facility], the resumes of the Member, as [ ] were enclosed with the proposals submitted by [the facility]. [The facility] believed this information would enhance the reputation of the organization, and the attractiveness of its proposals.

12. At all times, the Member knew that her resume was being forwarded in this manner to third parties. By circulating false statements regarding her professional credentials in [the facility] to the Community Care Access Centres, the Member risked the reputation of [the facility] and its contractual relationships with third parties.

13. In the fall of 1998, the Member’s ex-husband threatened to reveal to [the facility], and to the press, that the Member did not have a bachelor’s degree and was not in the process of completing a Master’s degree.

14. In November of 1998, the Member revealed to [the facility] that she had falsified her credentials, and that she did not have a Bachelor of Science of Administration degree and was not completing the requirements for a Master of Business Administration degree. On behalf of [the facility], [the senior employee], accepted the Member’s offer to resign.

15. At this time, [the senior employee] also advised the Member that, as the Member’s employer, she had a professional responsibility to report the circumstances that lead to the Member’s resignation to the College. However, she indicated that she would provide the Member with a four-month opportunity to advise the College herself, after which she would follow up with her professional responsibility to report the incident.

16. The Member did not report the events that led to her resignation to the College.

ADMISSION OF MISCONDUCT

17. The Member admits that her conduct as set out in allegations 2(a) and 2(b) of the Notice of Hearing amount to professional misconduct in that she engaged in conduct or performed an act, relevant to the practice of nursing, that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional, in that she:

a. included statements in her resume that she held a Bachelor of Science in Administration degree from the [ ], and was enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at [

], when, in fact, she did not possess a Bachelor’s degree, and was not registered in an MBA program, and

b. represented during her interview with [the facility] and thereafter that she held a Bachelor of Science in Administration degree from the [ ], and was enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at [ ], when, in fact, she did not possess a Bachelor’s degree, and was not registered in an MBA program.

18. The College tenders no evidence in respect of allegations 1(a) and 1(b) of the Notice of Hearing.

MITIGATING CONSIDERATIONS

19. The Member states, and the College accepts, that at the time she misrepresented her credentials to [the facility] in May of 1997, and during her tenure there, she was experiencing [extensive personal difficulties].

20. Prior to the events described above, the Member has not been the subject of a complaint or report to the College.

PLEA INQUIRY

The Plea Inquiry in the form reflected in Appendix “1” was administered. The Member’s responses to the questions comprising the Plea Inquiry satisfied the panel that the Member’s plea was voluntary, informed and unequivocal.

DECISION

The panel accepted the Agreed Statement of Fact as presented by the Counsel for the College of Nurses of Ontario.

JOINT SUBMISSION ON PENALTY

The panel received a Joint Submission on penalty, the text of which is set out below:

WHEREAS Karen L. Cauchi (“the Member”) has admitted to committing professional misconduct as described in the Agreed Statement of Fact,

AND WHEREAS the Member has reviewed the College of Nurses of Ontario (“the College”) publication entitled Explanation of Professional Misconduct, and in particular, the Introduction and Section XI. (Disgraceful, Dishonourable and Unprofessional Conduct),

AND WHEREAS the Member has reviewed the College publication entitled The Ethical Framework for Nurses in Ontario, and in particular, Section 2.E.4. (Maintaining Commitments to the Profession) and Section 2.F. (Truthfulness),

THEREFORE, the Member and the College jointly submit that the panel of the Discipline Committee should make an order as follows:

1. Requiring the Member to appear before the panel to be reprimanded; and

2. Directing the Registrar to suspend the Member’s certificate of registration for a period of 30 days. The suspension shall commence to run on the day the order becomes final and shall run without interruption.

DECISION

The panel accepted the Joint Submission on penalty as presented.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The ethical nature of the offence in this case requires more than just the “taking of a course”. The panel found that a suspension of 30 days would act as a general and specific deterrent to the Member and to the profession as a whole, conveying the message that dishonesty is never acceptable. Although the panel found the 30 day suspension to be relatively short having regard to the professional misconduct engaged in by the Member, we recognized the mitigating circumstances in the Member’s life and her forthrightness in admitting the allegations.

Therefore the panel found the Joint Submission on penalty to be fair and appropriate.

The Member signed a Waiver of Appeal and an oral reprimand was administered on April 26, 2000.

I, Marg Axelson, RN, sign this decision and reasons for the decision as Chairperson of this Discipline Panel and on behalf of the members of the Discipline Panel as listed below:

, Chairperson Date Christine Barber, RPN

Victor Kingsley, Public Representative