A Surrey nurse has been suspended for one week and had their practice limited after the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives found multiple practice violations, including falling asleep on duty while patients called for help.
A college public notice issued April 21 said Eskhander Balawag had been working in an intensive care unit between November 2020 and July 2021 when the practice deficiencies came to light.
Those issues included:
- not checking blood glucose levels when required;
- not following medication administration procedures;
- not administering medications as required;
- administering the wrong dose of a medication;
- providing incomplete physical assessments;
- not initiating physician orders;
- not documenting in a complete and timely manner or at all;
- falling asleep while on duty and failing to respond to patient alarms;
- not following facility policy, procedures, or guidelines; and,
- breaching an interim undertaking wherein he promised not to work night shifts.
As a result, Balawag voluntarily agreed to:
- suspension of their nursing registration for one week for breaching the terms of an interim undertaking;
- a limit prohibiting them from being the sole health-care practitioner on duty;
- a condition to complete a critical care nursing specialty program if returning to work in a critical care environment;
- remedial education in documentation, health assessments, critical thinking, medication administration, critical care nursing, and communication;
- direct supervision of their nursing practice for two weeks;
- workplace mentorship for six months; and,
- development of a learning plan, which will be shared with their employer and with the college.
The college is one of 18 regulatory bodies empowered under the Health Professions Act to regulate health professions in B.C. It regulates the practice of four distinct professions: nursing, practical nursing, psychiatric nursing and midwifery.
Similar legislation in other self-regulated areas such as the legal and notary public professions also allows citizens to know about discipline issues in the public interest.
“The inquiry committee is satisfied that the terms will protect the public,” the decision said.
