On June 1, 2020, a panel of the Inquiry Committee approved a Consent Agreement between BCCNP and Deborah Jolene Stewart of Nanaimo. From June 2017 to August 2018, the Registrant documented administering narcotics to patients at a rate that far exceeded that of her colleagues. She regularly failed to document assessments of the residents’ need for, or response to, the medications. Her documentation fell well below the standards established by BCCNP including: documenting the administration of medications to multiple residents at the same time, documenting the administration of regularly scheduled medications at the same time as PRN medications without any documented reason, a failure to document the removal of medications in the narcotics log in chronological order, and multiple instances where the time a medication was removed from the narcotic log did not accord with the time the medication was administered to a resident. The Registrant failed to provide any reasonable explanation for her divergent practice.
The Registrant has voluntarily agreed to the following terms: a two month suspension, followed by a condition that she must complete remedial education prior to returning to practice and limits that will prevent her from (a) administering controlled substances without the direct supervision of another regulated nurse for 600 nursing hours, and (b) acting as sole nurse on duty for 1200 nursing hours. Remedial terms include coursework related to documentation, medication administration, assessment of pain in the elderly, ethics, a learning plan, a consultation with a regulatory practice consultant, and disclosure to employers.
The Inquiry Committee is satisfied that the terms will protect the public.