Kootenay nurse’s mistake nets her 3 day suspension
A Kootenay nurse has been suspended for three days for asking a colleague to be a witness for a patient signing a will that benefited her family.
According to an Oct. 14 BC Nurse and Midwives decision, registered nurse Julie Goosen didn’t realize that her employer prohibited staff from witnessing legal documents for patients when the incident took place in January 2024.
“Even when acting at the patient’s request, it is always the responsibility of the nurse to maintain appropriate boundaries in the nurse/patient relationship,” the College of Nurses and Midwives said in the decision. “Nurses also have a responsibility for acting in compliance with their employer’s rules and policies, some of which support nurses in identifying key boundaries that must be maintained.”
The decision gave no indication of what the patient left Goosen’s family in the will, or what relationship the nurse had with the patient.
“The nurse-client relationship is conducted within boundaries that separate professional and therapeutic behaviour from non-professional and non-therapeutic behaviour. A client’s dignity, autonomy, and privacy are kept safe within the nurse-client relationship,” the regulator said in the decision.
The regulator said Goosen works at the Boundary District Hospital in Grand Forks.
She signed a consent agreement admitting to her conduct and was issued a three-day suspension.
The regulator said it is satisfied that the terms will address the professional and practice concerns that arose and will protect the public.
No other information is given in the decision.
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