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Former B.C. nurse suspended over ‘pseudo-science,’ anti-vaccine information given to vulnerable client

In this April 26, 2021 file photo, a nursing student administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center at UNLV, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

A former West Kelowna, B.C., nurse has been handed a four-week suspension, after she contacted a “vulnerable” patient while off-duty to push anti-vaccine information.

The case was revealed in a consent agreement posted by the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives on Thursday.

According to the college, former registered nurse (RN) Carole Garfield was disciplined for “contacting a vulnerable client, while off duty, using her personal cell phone and email, to provide anti COVID vaccine information and to recommend alternative pseudo-science modalities” in September 2021.

While Garfield was given a one-month suspension, she is not currently authorized to practice in the province, and her licence was cancelled on April 1, according to the college’s registry.

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In addition to the suspension, the consent agreement says Garfield has agreed to a public reprimand, a six-month ban on being the sole RN on duty and remedial education in professional nursing standards, ethics, boundaries, documentation, privacy and confidentiality.

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Earlier this month, the college suspended another nurse who asked a colleague to create “false vaccination records” for himself and posted COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on social media claiming it was unsafe and possibly lethal.

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