A New Westminster nurse who instructed a colleague to reuse a COVID-19 vaccine syringe has been disciplined by the B.C. College of Nurses & Midwives.
On Aug. 21, the college published notice of a consent agreement it reached with Tammy Goodwin of New Westminster to address an incident that happened on Feb. 2.
According to the notice, the incident involved retrieving a discarded COVID-19 vaccine syringe from a used sharps container and instructing an injector to administer the vaccine to a client. The notice says she also self-administered her own COVID-19 booster and did not document it in the health records system.
The notice says Goodwin voluntarily agreed to terms including:
- a limit prohibiting her from working in a supervisory role for a period of two years;
- remedial education in immunizations, infection control, ethics, documentation, and professional responsibility and accountability;
- a period of orientation and mentorship; and
- an undertaking not to repeat the conduct.
The Record followed up with the B.C. College of Nurses & Midwives in an attempt to find out more about the incident, including where it took place and the circumstances surrounding it.
However, a college spokesperson said no further information would be made public.
"We are unable to provide any additional information on this case beyond what is posted in the public notice," an email from the college said.
The notice says that Goodwin is a "former registrant" with the college, and a search of the college website confirms that Goodwin's registration as a nurse has been cancelled. However, the cancellation is not necessarily connected to the case at hand.
"With regard to the registrant’s status as 'cancelled,' this simply means they did not renew their registration. Former registrants fail to renew for various reasons," the college email said. "If an investigation leads to a consent agreement with cancellation as a term, it would be specified in the public notice."
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