Tribunal disqualifies a nurse for a year for boundary violations

22 Mar 2021

A tribunal has disqualified a nurse from applying for registration for a year after she engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a patient.

Between October and November 2017, Ms Angela Bouwer worked several shifts as a registered nurse at a nursing home and provided care to Patient A, who had been diagnosed with monogenic Parkinson’s disease. 

Ms Bouwer began a personal relationship with Patient A, including staying overnight at the nursing home and later living with the patient.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) referred Ms Bouwer’s conduct to Western Australia’s State Administrative Tribunal (tribunal) on 14 February 2020. 

The NMBA alleged that Ms Bouwer had:

• transgressed professional boundaries and engaged in an inappropriate personal relationship with a patient
• breached the Code of professional conduct for nurses (2008), the Professional boundaries for nurses (2010) and the Registered nurse standards for practice, and
• failed to act honestly and transparently when providing information to the Board.

The tribunal found that Ms Bouwer engaged in professional misconduct and ordered that she be reprimanded and a disqualified for a period of one year. Ms Bouwer also agreed to pay a contribution towards the NMBA’s costs. 

The tribunal’s decision is published on the e-Courts Portal.