Doctor suspended for alleged sex trysts

Pediatric surgeon accused of relations with patient’s mom

An Edmonton pediatric surgeon has been suspended for a minimum of three months and forced to pay nearly $130,000 in costs for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with the 19-year-old mother of an infant he was treating.

Dr. Bryan Dicken was also ordered to complete a professional boundaries course and participate in a monitoring program after being found guilty of unprofessional conduct by a hearing tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta.

“Sexual boundary violations of this nature are very serious and the physician community should be well aware that this type of conduct will be met with significant sanction,” the tribunal said in its written decision.

“While there may be a spectrum of sexual boundary violations, it is quite clear that a sexual relationship between a pediatric surgeon and the parent of an infant patient is completely unacceptable.”

Throughout the hearing, Dicken denied any inappropriate relationship had occurred with the young mother, although the tribunal members didn’t believe him.

In a brief interview with Postmedia on Friday, Dicken repeated his denial and called the fallout from the allegations a profoundly difficult ordeal.

“The college has a difficult job, but they don’t always get it right and that is the case here,” he said. “Anyone who knows me personally and professionally knows this would be completely out of character.

“I hope you can appreciate that things aren’t always as they seem.”

Dicken treated the young mother’s infant daughter from September 2012 to March 2014, a period during which he performed several difficult surgeries stemming from birth defects suffered by the girl.

The tribunal heard the alleged sexual relationship occurred during the final five months of this period. Dicken was 43 years old and married at the time.

The college began investigating Dicken after receiving a complaint from the teen’s former roommate, who also served as the college’s key witness during the hearing.

The roommate testified that through conversations with the mother and first-hand observations, she learned of at least three sexual encounters — including one that allegedly occurred in an office at University of Alberta Hospital.

She told the tribunal at least two other hookups occurred at the apartment she and the young mother shared, including one occasion when she saw the couple “lying together naked on the mattress” in the living room.

Some weeks later, after having moved out the apartment, the roommate had a phone conversation with Dicken that she recorded without his knowledge.

The tribunal ruled the surgeon’s statements on that recording provided “strong evidence” that an intimate relationship had occurred, especially when combined with Facebook posts, text messages and cellphone records.

The young mother conducted an interview with a college investigator but did not end up testifying under oath. She also denied the existence of any sexual relationship.

The tribunal also heard from Dr. Robin Eccles, an expert in professional ethics, who testified a relationship between a surgeon and the parent of an infant patient creates a “power imbalance.”

She said such a relationship might cause a vulnerable parent to confuse medical care with sexual attraction, or make her feel like she needs to express gratitude in an inappropriate way, Eccles said

As well, the existence of any emotional or intimate relationship creates the potential for impaired judgment, the tribunal heard.