B.C. nurse suspended for 4 months after performing religious ritual on Indigenous client without consent

A Surrey, B.C., nurse has been suspended for four months for performing a religious ritual on an Indigenous client without their consent.

The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives said in a notice on Fridaythat Christopher Villaflorperformed the ritual in June 2021 without consideration of his client'sheritage.

The exact nature of the ritual wasn't defined in the college's notice, which says Villaflorvoluntarily agreed to disciplinary action as part of a consent agreement.

Villaflor has had his licence suspended until January and is prohibited from being the sole nurse on duty for a year.

He will also be given remedial education in ethics, cultural safety, trauma-informed care and humility.

The college's inquiry committee said in a statement that they were "satisfied that the terms [of the agreement]will protect the public."

Earlier this month, a former nurse in West Kelowna was suspended for a monthby the college after giving a vulnerable client anti-vaccine information,and a Nanaimo nurse wassuspended for asking a co-worker to createfake vaccine records.