Nurses suspended for giving unapproved IV treatment

Two licensed practical nurses who work at the Pasqua Hospital will be suspended for four months after pleading guilty to professional misconduct.

At a Saskatchewan Association Licensed Practical Nurses discipline hearing held July 7 in Regina, Jennifer Sanders and Stefanie Ward submitted guilty pleas after acknowledging their conduct amounts to professional misconduct under the Licensed Practical Nurses Act.

On April 28, while working at the Pasqua Hospital, Sanders invited an individual who was not a patient to a charting room intended for health professionals. Sanders started an intravenous on the person and Ward put Zofran in the IV. The medication is used to prevent nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy or after surgery.

The procedures were performed without a physician’s order and are outside the scope of practice of a LPN. Additionally, no assessment of the individual’s health condition was done nor was the individual advised about the risks of the IV treatment.

The procedures were done without the consent or knowledge of the Pasqua Hospital and/or the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region.

Furthermore, no charting was done to document the procedure and the IV was set up in an area intended only for health professionals given the presence of confidential personal health information contained in patient records.

The discipline committee suspended both women from practising for four months beginning Sept. 1.

Both nurses must now complete the online LPN code of ethics learning module and produce a certificate of completion to the registrar. Additionally, they must pay $2,500 to cover the costs of the investigation and hearing.