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Marissa Broqueza, AE123536
Facts
The Member admitted that she engaged in professional misconduct. The Member was employed at a long-term care facility. While she was the staff in charge, when she was notified of, and personally observed, the smell of alcohol on the breath of a nursing colleague, the Member did not report the colleague to management. In an unrelated incident, the Member failed to immediately send a patient to the hospital after the patient’s catheter was pulled out as a result of an accidental fall.
Discipline Committee’s Findings
Based on the Member’s admissions, a panel of the Discipline Committee of the College of Nurses of Ontario (the “Panel”) found that the Member:
- contravened a standard of practice of the profession or failed to meet the standards of practice of the profession;
- failed to report an incident of unsafe practice or unethical conduct of a health care provider to the employer or other authority responsible for the health care provider; and
- engaged in conduct, relevant to the practice of nursing, that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as unprofessional.
Discipline Committee’s Order
The College of Nurses of Ontario (“CNO”) and the Member presented the Panel with a Joint Submission on Order requesting that the Panel make an order that included the following:
- an oral reprimand;
- a 2-month suspension; and
- terms, conditions and limitations including:
- attending 2 meetings with a Regulatory Expert; and
- employer notification for 6 months.
The Panel accepted the Joint Submission on Order, concluding that the proposed order was reasonable and in the public interest. The Panel noted that the Member cooperated with the CNO and accepted responsibility by agreeing to the facts and a proposed order.
The Panel further stated that the order sends a clear message to the Member and the nursing profession that failure to report incidents of unsafe practice of a colleague will not be tolerated.
