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Andrea De Cesare, 0300467
Facts
The Member admitted that she engaged in professional misconduct by engaging in a personal relationship with a patient while acting as the patient’s care provider at a clinic. During the course of this relationship, the Member socialized with the patient outside of the therapeutic relationship, which included drinking alcohol together, frequently texted and called the patient where the patient referred to the Member with terms of affection, such as “sweetheart” and “love”, and accepted gifts and money from the patient.
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; and,
- engaged in conduct, relevant to the practice of nursing, that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable and 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 4-month suspension;
- terms, conditions, and limitations including:
- attending at least 1 meeting with a Regulatory Expert; and,
- employer notification for 18 months
The Panel accepted the Joint Submission on Order, concluding that the proposed penalty was reasonable and in the public interest.
The Panel stated that it is imperative for nurses to follow CNO’s Therapeutic-Nurse Client Relationship Standard to maintain a high quality of care and ensure that patients receive the highest standard of care, and that the Member failed to maintain the basic expectations of that Standard. The Panel found that the Member received personal gain by accepting monetary loans and gifts from the patient and that her conduct raised questions about her moral fitness and inherent ability to discharge her higher obligations.
