On July 17, 2024, the Adjudication Tribunal of the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Newfoundland and Labrador (CLPNNL) found Shawna Regular, Licensed Practical Nurse, (the “Respondent”) not guilty of conduct deserving of sanction in the matter of the Complaint.
The Complaint was that the Respondent was in breach of the Standards of Practice for Licensed Practical Nurses and Principles of the CLPNNL Code of Ethics, by taking a photograph of a resident in a vulnerable state, and showing it to a colleague on or about April 19-20, 2022 at Baie Verte Health Care Centre, all without any apparent or valid purpose relating to the resident’s care or welfare, thereby showing a lack of respect for the dignity of the resident, constituting reasonable grounds to believe that the Respondent engaged in professional misconduct and/or conduct deserving of sanction as a practical nurse.
By an Agreed Statement of Facts submitted to the Adjudication Tribunal, the Respondent denied that she took any such photograph of the resident and denied that she showed any such photograph to any other person and denied that any such photo ever existed. The Respondent and the College agreed, however, that if the Adjudication Tribunal found that such a photo was taken by the Respondent it:
- Would represent a breach by the Respondent of each and every Standard of Practice identified by the College in its March 22, 2024 Amended Notice of Referral;
- Was not made for any care-related purpose that would justify taking such a photograph; and
- Would be professional misconduct and/or conduct deserving of sanction as a licenced practical nurse.
The Adjudication Tribunal noted that the only evidence which supported the Complaint came from the colleague of the Respondent who alleged that she had been shown the photograph by the Respondent on or about April 19-20, 2022, and that no photograph was entered into evidence. While the Adjudication Tribunal accepted that a finding could be made on the basis of the colleague’s testimony alone, it was not satisfied that the colleague’s testimony was sufficiently cogent in the circumstances. The Adjudication Tribunal found that the colleague’s recollections of the details surrounding the location, and timing, of the alleged showing of the photograph were fluid and lacked clarity. The Adjudication Tribunal found that CLPNNL failed to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that the photograph had been shown by the Respondent to the colleague. The Adjudication Tribunal, in accordance with section 21(2) of the Act, dismissed the Complaint in its entirety.
With reference to section 7(b) of the CLPNNL Policy on Notification in the Professional Conduct Review (PCR) Process, the Respondent has consented to her name being included in this Decision Summary.