A Montreal nurse was disbarred for two years by her professional order for failing to report charges of drug trafficking and possession brought against her as well as for showing up to work under the influence of crack cocaine.
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“[Il] these are serious offenses, going against the values of the profession which promote health promotion, prevention of illness and social problems and which require its members to demonstrate integrity and of probity […]», Underlines in broad strokes the Disciplinary Council of the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ).
In a recent decision, Katrine Gagné-Thibeault was disbarred for a period of 24 months.
The 40-year-old Montrealer admitted her guilt to various charges, including having “practiced her profession while she was in a state likely to compromise the quality of care” and having hidden that she was doing the the subject of criminal proceedings exposing him to five years in penitentiary.
90 days in jail
Katrine Gagné-Thibeault’s troubles began in February 2019, when she was the subject of an undercover operation by the Montreal police.
After selling three small bags of cocaine to a double agent, she was intercepted in her vehicle with a buffet of narcotics: 13.40 grams of cocaine, 3.61 grams of crack, 7 methamphetamine tablets as well as 20 MDMA capsules .
Nearly 330 grams of cannabis and 13 grams of hashish were also discovered.
Katrine Gagné-Thibeault
Photo taken from the Katrine Thibeault Facebook account
This earned him 90 days in jail, 2 years of probation and 240 hours of community service.
During this time, Katrine Gagné-Thibeault twice sent false declarations to the OIIQ while failing to mention her problems with the law.
“By her behavior, the respondent commits acts contrary to the honor and dignity of the profession,” we read in the OIIQ decision.
Crack at work
However, it was not until October 2021 that Gagné-Thibeault’s nursing career took a worrying turn, while she was working with vulnerable patients in a care establishment in Laval.
The nurse, whose license would no longer be active according to our research, then used crack two to three times a week, and even possibly a few hours before work. A habit that notably ruined his sleep.
In front of her colleagues, she therefore demonstrated “erratic behavior”.
“She constantly shakes her legs and scratches a lot. She keeps getting up and sitting down in her chair. At other times, she falls asleep in her chair, lying on the desk of the nurses’ station among the papers,” the order’s decision states.
Gagné-Thibeault had difficulty “directing his thoughts, writing his nursing notes and could therefore make mistakes.”
The forty-year-old even fell asleep at the wheel when returning home, leading to a road accident.