Nurse suspended for force-feeding patient: B.C. college

A nurse holds a tablet in this stock image from Shutterstock.

A Vancouver-based nurse was suspended and publicly reprimanded over the force-feeding of a patient, according to a consent agreement posted this week.

The agreement, posted by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives on Monday, says the issues the registered nurse was accused of occurred between August 2020 and February of this year.

According to the agreement, nurse Pu Duan fed a resident "against their will" on two separate occasions. 

Additionally, Duan "inappropriately assessed a resident," refused to receive a verbal report and left medications unattended in a staff room.

The consent agreement does not say where Duan works, but said as a result of a meeting with an inquiry committee the nurse agreed to a three-day suspension of their nursing registration, as well as a public reprimand.

For a period of six months, the nurse cannot be the only one on duty, and they will have to compile a learning plan, which will be shared with the college and their employer for the purpose of oversight over that same amount of time.

Additionally, the nurse will be subjected to remedial education in ethics, teamwork and medication administration, the consent agreement said.

The final condition is that a regulatory practice consultation is held to address the issues that prompted the agreement.

The BCCNM is required by law to regulate nursing in B.C. in cases deemed to be in the public interest. Part of this role, it says, is ensuring nurses and midwives do not practise in B.C. unless they can do it safely, and that the public is protected from "incompetent, unethical or impaired nursing and midwifery practice."

The majority of complaints filed to the college are resolved, as this one was, through a consensual resolution process, described by the BCCNM as resulting in a formal agreement outlining actions the nurse or midwife must take.

In some cases, however, the college will issue a discipline order, rather than an agreement from both its committee and the nurse in question.

These disciplinary measures are posted online.