B.C.’s College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) has suspended a Surrey nurse for eight weeks for breaching patients’ privacy and other workplace misconduct.
A college inquiry committee panel approved a consent agreement with Sunil Munjaral. The agreement addresses practice issues between 2021 and 2022 related to workplace misconduct and breaching privacy and confidentiality standards by accessing his own health record and other individuals' health records without clinical justification.
A Feb. 18 public notice said professional standards on ethical practice require nurses to treat colleagues, students and other health-care workers in a respectful manner.
“BCCNM's privacy and confidentiality standards require nurses to access their or other individuals' personal and health information only for purposes that are consistent with their professional responsibilities,” the notice said.
Munjaral voluntarily agreed to conditions including:
• a suspension of his nursing registration for eight weeks and a reprimand;
• a limit prohibiting him from being the sole licensed practical nurse on duty, working without leadership onsite, supervising students or other health-care workers, or orienting new staff for a specified time; and,
• remedial education in the domains of professionalism, ethics, boundaries, communication, and appropriate workplace conduct.
The college is currently one of several regulatory bodies empowered under the Health Professions Act to regulate health professions in B.C. It regulates the practice of four distinct professions: nursing, practical nursing, psychiatric nursing and midwifery.
“The inquiry committee is satisfied that the terms will protect the public,” the college said.
The newly formed College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC amalgamates the regulation of professional chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists in B.C. to ensure they have the competencies needed to practice and ensure they adhere to safe and ethical care standards.
Similar legislation in other self-regulated areas such as the legal and notary public professions also allows citizens to know about discipline issues in the public interest.
