This is a story that every nursing student should read. It’s not a happy story. And—as far as we know—it’s not a story about a common problem. But it’s a case that gets to the heart of what it means to be a nurse, and a professional.
B.C. nurse hit with precedent-setting fine for financially exploiting elderly couple (by Pamela Fayerman, for the Vancouver Sun)
The College of Registered Nurses of B.C. says a precedent-setting penalty to a nurse who financially exploited an elderly couple should serve as a deterrent to others thinking about enriching themselves at the expense of patients in their care.
Former nurse Laurie Tinkham, of Nanaimo, is the first B.C. nurse ever to be fined by the college for professional misconduct. In its decision, the college said Tinkham can’t apply to have her licence reinstated for at least five years. Her fine totalled $17,500 — half the maximum fine under bylaws — after a three-year investigation and hearing process concluded she breached numerous ethical and professional standards while caring for a now-deceased elderly couple. She was also ordered to pay investigation costs to the college of $16,536.
The nurse’s misdeeds include being the couple’s power of attorney and putting her name on the title of a $30,000 mobile home (which she still owns according to B.C. Assessment Authority records) that was bought by the couple. As well, the couple paid for her dentistry, vision care and $1,600/month in medications. All of this was on top of a monthly stipend for her services which was kept to a certain threshold ($800) a month so that it would not jeopardize her taxpayer-funded long-term disability payments of $900 a month.
According to the college: “Her failing to maintain appropriate boundaries involved her reaping substantial financial benefits from an infirm client, and her also gaining access to assets through a power of attorney. Such conduct stands to significantly erode the public’s confidence in nurses….
Please read the whole thing!
The Nursing Ethics Blog 