A Chilliwack registered psychiatric nurse (RPN) has admitted to crossing professional boundaries with a former client and is accepting consequences from the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM).

, Ashley Grittner has signed a consent agreement dated Sept. 17, 2022 that will, among other things, see her nursing registration voluntarily suspended 12 months.

The agreement addresses professional misconduct that took place between April of 2021 and February of 2022. According to a BCCNM inquiry committee, Grittner was a case manager for the Chilliwack area Intensive Case Management (ICM) program when she first met the client, and she 鈥渆ngaged in an intimate relationship with the vulnerable former client, approximately two months after the termination of the clinical nurse-client relationship.鈥�

For 12 months following her suspension, Grittner will be limited from being the sole RPN on duty. She will be barred from supervising nursing students and she will be prohibited from practicing in an autonomous community-based environment.

Grittner will be required to complete remedial education in boundaries and professional ethics. She will be directly supervised for three months and will be tasked with developing a 鈥榣earning plan鈥� to share with her employer and the BCCNM.

According to the BCCNM, 鈥渢he Inquiry Committee is satisfied that the terms will protect the public.鈥�

eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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