Panel hearing summary 2012.0151

Decision of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia

Performance and Professional Standards Panel

Jurisdiction: Victoria

Date of Hearing: 3 October 2012

Date of Decision: 31 October 2012

Classification of Notification:

Medical Certificate - Inaccurate, backdated, invalid or improper

Allegations

It was alleged that the nurse behaved in a way that constituted unprofessional conduct under section 191(1)(b)(ii) of the National Law in that they falsified medical certificates which they then supplied to their employer to support requests for payment of personal leave.

Finding

The nurse did not appear at the hearing, though admitted to falsifying the medical certificates in a letter to AHPRA. According to the letter, the nurse required the certificates for periods when they needed to care for an ill child and did not have time to visit a doctor.

Based on the nurse’s admission and information received from their employer, the panel found that the nurse had behaved in a way that constituted unprofessional conduct.

Determination

The panel decided that the nurse’s unprofessional conduct could be corrected with education and counselling and was unlikely to occur again. Although the case was serious, the nurse showed remorse and assured AHPRA it would not happen again.

The panel decided to caution the nurse and impose conditions on their registration requiring them to complete an ethics course approved by AHPRA and undergo counselling, with these conditions to be reviewed in 12 months.