Joseph Berger

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against a Registered Practical Nurse for time theft and falsifying records.

The member admitted to logging out of the hospital's payroll system remotely after leaving the facility on 17 occasions, and instructing colleagues on how to do the same.

The Discipline Committee found the member committed professional misconduct.

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

The member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for submitting a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine receipt to her employer, a long-term care facility.

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

The Discipline Committee found that the member contravened the standards of practice, signed a false document, and engaged in dishonourable and unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand, a two-month suspension, and terms including meetings with a regulatory expert and employer notification.

The Member, a Registered Nurse, admitted to professional misconduct for falsifying COVID-19 vaccine records.

The Member falsely documented that colleagues had administered vaccines to the Member and the Member's family members, forged colleagues' signatures, and administered vaccines to family members in non-clinical areas of the facility.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a four-month suspension, an oral reprimand, and terms including meetings with a regulatory expert and employer notification.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to administer medications and treatments to multiple patients, and for falsifying medication administration records.

The Member admitted to the allegations and entered into an Agreed Statement of Facts.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct and engaged in disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

Applying the Anthony-Cook test, the Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand, a 4-month suspension of the Member's certificate of registration, and imposing conditions including meetings with a regulatory expert and employer notification.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for two medication errors: administering eleven medications to the wrong patient (who subsequently died of drug toxicity) and administering the wrong dose of Buprenorphine to another patient.

In both instances, the Member overrode system error alerts.

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 Order, imposing a reprimand, a two-month suspension, and terms including meetings with a Regulatory Expert and 12 months of employer notification.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought professional misconduct allegations against the Member for practising nursing while suspended, failing to comply with a previous Discipline Committee order, and failing to participate in a Quality Assurance assessment.

The Member did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct, noting her conduct was disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional.

Finding the Member ungovernable due to her repeated disregard for regulatory obligations, the Committee ordered the immediate revocation of her certificate of registration and an oral reprimand.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to participate in the College's mandatory Quality Assurance assessment in 2022.

Despite multiple extensions and communications from the College, the Member, who considered herself functionally retired, did not complete the requirements.

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct.

The Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand and noting the Member's undertaking to permanently resign her certificate of registration.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for accessing the electronic medical records of 16 patients without consent, authorization, or professional purpose.

The matter proceeded by way of an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Order.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct, as her actions breached the College's Code of Conduct, Professional Standards, and Privacy Standard.

The Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand, a two-month suspension of the Member's certificate of registration, and terms including 12 months of employer notification and random spot audits.

The College of Nurses of Ontario alleged that the Member, a Nurse Practitioner, committed professional misconduct by issuing COVID-19 vaccine medical exemption letters without appropriate assessments or clinical indications, and by charging excessive fees.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member breached multiple standards of practice, including documentation and therapeutic nurse-client relationship standards, by issuing nearly 400 exemption letters based on group Zoom sessions without individual assessments.

The Committee concluded this conduct was disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional.

The allegation of charging an excessive fee was dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for accepting a $16,000 bank draft and a $1,000 cheque from an 86-year-old vulnerable patient.

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

The Discipline Committee found that the Member's actions constituted a fundamental breach of the therapeutic nurse-client relationship and amounted to disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a 5-month suspension, and remedial conditions including the completion of an ethics program and employer notification.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for physically and verbally abusing a 91-year-old patient by aggressively turning him and yelling at him to shut up, and for making a threatening comment about another patient.

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

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct and accepted a Joint Submission on Order, imposing a reprimand, a two-month suspension, and terms, conditions, and limitations on his certificate of registration.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to participate in the College's Quality Assurance Program in 2021 and 2022.

The Member ignored multiple communications from the College, citing a fear of computer viruses.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts where the Member admitted to the allegations.

The Committee also accepted a Joint Submission on Order, imposing a penalty that included an oral reprimand, a one-month suspension of the Member's certificate of registration, and a requirement to meet with a Regulatory Expert.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for committing time theft by working and receiving pay from two different healthcare facilities simultaneously on ten occasions.

She was also alleged to have breached patient privacy by accessing the records of approximately 75 patients from one facility while working at the other.

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

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct, including misappropriation of property and dishonourable conduct.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a 4-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 failing to administer medications to multiple patients at a long-term care facility and falsifying records to indicate the medications had been given.

The Member admitted to the allegations and pled guilty to criminal charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life.

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

The Member permanently resigned her certificate of registration and was ordered to appear for an oral reprimand.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought discipline proceedings against a Registered Nurse for failing to provide adequate care, failing to document care, and failing to wear required Personal Protective Equipment in the Emergency Department.

The Member did not attend the hearing.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct by breaching multiple standards of practice, failing to keep records, and engaging in dishonourable and unprofessional conduct.

The Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a 10-month suspension of the Member's certificate of registration, and imposed extensive terms, conditions, and limitations on his practice.

The College of Nurses of Ontario brought allegations of professional misconduct against a registered nurse who, while employed at a hospital, also operated a medical product retail business.

The nurse admitted to negligent business practices, including using pre-signed photocopied claim forms and failing to verify prescriptions, which facilitated the submission of improper claims to the hospital's employee benefit plan.

The Discipline Committee found that the nurse's conduct breached professional standards, constituted misappropriation of property, and was dishonourable and unprofessional.

Accepting a joint submission on penalty, the Committee ordered an oral reprimand, a four-month suspension of the nurse's certificate of registration, and the imposition of terms, conditions, and limitations, including meetings with a regulatory expert and employer notification requirements.

The Member faced allegations of professional misconduct for failing to disclose to the College of Nurses of Ontario that he was registered in another jurisdiction and that his license had been suspended by the Minnesota Board of Nursing.

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

The Discipline Committee found the Member committed professional misconduct, including disgraceful, dishonourable, and unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a Joint Submission on Order, imposing a reprimand, a 4-month suspension, and terms and conditions on the Member's certificate of registration.

The Member, a Registered Practical Nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for disclosing a patient's personal health information to individuals at the patient's workplace without consent.

The hearing proceeded on an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Order.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct by breaching confidentiality and privacy standards, and that his conduct was dishonourable and unprofessional.

The Committee accepted the joint submission on penalty, ordering an oral reprimand, a two-month suspension of the Member's certificate of registration, and the imposition of terms, conditions, and limitations including meetings with a regulatory expert and employer notification.

The Member, a Registered Nurse, admitted to committing professional misconduct by submitting false claims totaling $2,010 to her employer's group benefit plan for services and products she did not receive.

The Discipline Committee accepted an Agreed Statement of Facts and found the Member guilty of misappropriating property, falsifying records, and engaging in dishonourable and unprofessional conduct.

The Committee accepted a Joint Submission on Order, imposing a penalty that included an oral reprimand, a two-month suspension of her certificate of registration, and terms requiring meetings with a regulatory expert and employer notification for 12 months.

The Member, a registered nurse, faced allegations of professional misconduct for submitting false claims totaling $2,605 to her employer's group benefit plan and receiving non-medical products in return.

The matter proceeded by way of an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Order.

The Discipline Committee found that the Member committed professional misconduct, including misappropriating property, falsifying records, and engaging in dishonourable conduct.

Recognizing that the Member had paid restitution and signed an undertaking to permanently resign from the College, the Committee accepted the joint submission and ordered an oral reprimand.