Elyse Sunshine

The College of Early Childhood Educators held a discipline hearing regarding a member who repeatedly used physical restraint on a preschool child with special needs during nap time.

The member wrapped the child tightly in a blanket and placed her legs over the child to confine them to their bed, causing the child to cry and resist.

The member also taught this abusive practice to other staff and a placement student.

The member did not attend the hearing and was found to be ungovernable.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct, including physical and psychological abuse.

The Committee ordered the immediate revocation of the member's certificate of registration, a written reprimand, and $15,000 in costs.

The Member, a Registered Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct related to her practice at two cosmetic clinics.

She admitted to performing controlled acts (administering substances by injection and PDO threading) without an authorizing mechanism, using products not licensed by Health Canada, failing to obtain informed consent, and maintaining inadequate documentation.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member committed professional misconduct.

Accepting a Joint Submission on Order, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a 7-month suspension, and various terms, conditions, and limitations on her certificate of registration, including education, audits, and practice restrictions.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to abide by a written undertaking given to the College of Nurses of Ontario.

The undertaking required the completion of specified education and reflective activities.

Despite multiple extensions over several years, the Member failed to complete the requirements.

The Member admitted to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct and accepted a Joint Submission on Order, imposing a three-month suspension, an oral reprimand, and terms requiring the completion of the undertaking and meetings with a regulatory expert.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to participate in the College's Quality Assurance Program.

Despite multiple notices and extensions, the Member did not complete the required assessments.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member committed professional misconduct.

The Committee accepted a Joint Submission on Order, imposing a reprimand, a two-month suspension, and remedial conditions including meetings with a Regulatory Expert.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a Registered Practical Nurse who falsified her resume to indicate she had 14 months of emergency department experience.

The nurse used the falsified resume to obtain a contract position in a remote hospital's emergency department, where staff quickly identified her lack of necessary skills.

The Discipline Committee found the nurse committed professional misconduct by issuing a false document and engaging in dishonourable conduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a one-month suspension, an oral reprimand, remedial meetings with a regulatory expert, and a 12-month employer notification requirement.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a registered nurse for professional misconduct.

The member admitted to making an inappropriate sexual comment to a vulnerable patient after performing a catheterization and failing to document the procedure.

The Discipline Committee found the member committed professional misconduct, noting the conduct was dishonourable and unprofessional.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a three-month suspension, an oral reprimand, meetings with a regulatory expert, and employer notification requirements.

The member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for accessing the personal health information of multiple patients without consent or proper authorization over a multi-year period.

The member admitted to the allegations and agreed to a statement of facts.

The Discipline Committee found that the member's actions constituted professional misconduct and were dishonourable and unprofessional.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered a reprimand, a three-month suspension of the member's certificate of registration, and remedial conditions including meetings with a regulatory expert and employer notification.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against the respondent nurse for failing to participate in a mandatory Quality Assurance Assessment.

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

The Discipline Committee found that the respondent committed professional misconduct and accepted the joint submission, ordering a reprimand, a two-month suspension, and the imposition of terms, conditions, and limitations on her certificate of registration.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought disciplinary proceedings against a registered nurse for failing to comply with a prior order of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC).

The ICRC had ordered the nurse to complete a specified continuing education or remediation program and receive a caution.

The nurse admitted to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the nurse committed professional misconduct and ordered a penalty including a reprimand, a three-month suspension, and terms, conditions, and limitations on her certificate of registration.

The Member, a Registered Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for verbally, physically, and emotionally abusing a highly vulnerable, non-verbal, and blind patient during a COVID-19 outbreak.

The Member admitted to the allegations, acknowledging she used inappropriate language, forcefully handled the patient, and breached the College's standards of practice.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a three-month suspension, and terms including meetings with a regulatory expert and employer notification.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for environmentally restraining an 85-year-old patient with dementia in his room for nine hours without a physician's order, clinical justification, or adequate monitoring.

The Member also failed to properly document the restraint and falsely documented monitoring checks.

The Member admitted to the allegations.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct and, accepting a joint submission on penalty, ordered a reprimand, a three-month suspension, and terms and conditions on her certificate of registration.

The member, a registered nurse, admitted to professional misconduct for accessing the electronic medical records of 23 patients without authorization or clinical purpose over a nearly two-year period.

The Discipline Committee accepted an agreed statement of facts and found the member's conduct breached privacy standards and was dishonourable and unprofessional.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a three-month suspension, an oral reprimand, regulatory education, and a 12-month period of employer notification with random audits.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought a motion requesting the Discipline Committee state a case for contempt to the Divisional Court against the self-represented Member.

The College alleged the Member breached multiple tribunal orders prohibiting contact with expected witnesses.

The Panel found a prima facie case of civil contempt, concluding the Member intentionally contacted witnesses via phone and email despite clear written orders not to do so.

The Panel exercised its discretion to state a case for contempt to the Divisional Court, emphasizing the need to protect witnesses from harassment and maintain the integrity of the regulatory proceedings.

The College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against the Registrant for failing to comply with the Quality Assurance Program and failing to cooperate with a College investigator.

The Registrant did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found that the Registrant's repeated failures to respond to communications, submit required records, and attend an investigative interview constituted professional misconduct.

Finding the Registrant ungovernable, the Committee ordered the immediate revocation of her certificate of registration, a reprimand, and costs of $13,852.94.

The Patient Ombudsman appealed a Divisional Court decision that quashed its proposed investigation into long-term care homes, which the Divisional Court found was prohibited by s. 13.3(5) of the Excellent Care for All Act, 2010, due to existing proceedings on the matter.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the Divisional Court's application of the reasonableness standard and its broad interpretation of "in connection with" in s. 13.3(5).

The court found no error in the Divisional Court's conclusion that the Patient Ombudsman's investigation was unreasonably commenced given the extant proceedings and the clear overlap of subject matter.

The applicant, a dental hygienist whose certificate of registration was revoked in 2018 for treating her spouse prior to the enactment of the spousal exemption, applied for reinstatement.

The College did not oppose the application.

The Discipline Committee found that the applicant had taken responsibility for her mistake, demonstrated good character, completed a refresher course, and posed a low risk of reoffending.

The application for reinstatement was granted.

The Applicant applied for reinstatement of her certificate of registration, which had been revoked five years prior after a finding of sexual abuse of a patient.

The conduct involved treating her spouse before a spousal exemption was enacted.

The College did not oppose the application.

The Discipline Committee found the Applicant met the requirements for reinstatement, noting the low risk of reoffending and the current spousal exemption.

The application was granted, subject to the Applicant completing a refresher course.

The College of Nurses of Ontario alleged that the Member, a Registered Nurse, committed professional misconduct by sexually abusing a patient during a home care visit.

The allegations centered on a single incident where the Member allegedly inserted his fingers into the patient's vagina without clinical purpose while providing wound care.

The Discipline Committee assessed the credibility of the witnesses, noting significant inconsistencies in the testimonies of the patient and her husband.

Finding the Member's denial credible and consistent with other evidence, the Committee concluded the College failed to prove the allegations on a balance of probabilities and dismissed the case.

The applicants sought judicial review of the Patient Ombudsman's decision to initiate an investigation into their long-term care home's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The applicants argued that section 13.3(5) of the Excellent Care for All Act precluded the investigation because the matter was already the subject of other proceedings, including a provincial commission, an Ontario Ombudsman investigation, and class actions.

The Divisional Court agreed, finding that the Patient Ombudsman unreasonably interpreted the statute and was prohibited from proceeding.

The application for judicial review was granted and the decision to investigate was quashed.

The College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario held a discipline hearing regarding allegations that the Registrant failed to comply with an order of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) to attend an oral caution and complete an ethics course.

The Registrant also failed to cooperate with the College's subsequent investigation.

The Discipline Committee found that the College proved the allegations on a balance of probabilities and concluded that the Registrant committed professional misconduct, including disgraceful, dishonourable, unprofessional, and unbecoming conduct.