$30K fine proposed for nurse who vented online about grandfather's care

The Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association is proposing $30,000 in fines for a nurse found guilty of professional misconduct.

Carolyn Strom of Prince Albert, Sask., was brought before a disciplinary committee after she made a post on Facebook that was critical of the quality of care her grandparents had received for years.

Strom said her grandfather spent a week in palliative care before he died, and both he and her grandmother had received "subpar care" in a long-term care facility for many years.

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She also issued a call for nurses to do better for seniors, but the association charged she was using her status as a registered nurse for personal purposes and had violated the confidentiality of her grandparents.

Roger Lepage, the lawyer for the nurses association, said Friday that Strom should be fined $5,000 for her comments and $25,000 toward the cost of the nurses' association's investigation into the post, which he said has so far totalled $143,000.

Strom's lawyer, Marcus Davies, said she should be registered for online code of conduct courses but not fined more than $1,000.