B.C. nurse’s licence cancelled after 4th consent agreement with regulator

Prescription pills containing oxycodone and acetaminophen are shown in Toronto, Dec. 23, 2017. (Graeme Roy / The Canadian Press)

A Surrey nurse with a history of being disciplined by his professional college has had his licence cancelled after his latest incident.

The inquiry committee of the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives approved a consent agreement with registered nurse Bionic Nicolas on Sunday. A summary of the agreement is published on the college’s website.

According to the summary, the agreement is intended to address “practice issues” that occurred in November 2024 and related to “unsafe medication administration practices resulting in an error,” as well as breaching “an existing consent agreement.”

“Bionic Nicolas has agreed to a cancellation of his nursing registration, with no right to renew for one year,” the summary reads.

“Should he re-apply for practising registration in the future, he will have to meet competence, character, and fitness requirements, as determined by the registration committee.”

The document does not elaborate on the nature of the error or the details of the existing consent agreement.

The BCCNM’s website lists three previous consent agreements with Nicolas, the oldest one dating back to November 2019.

At that time, Nicolas acknowledged practice issues that occurred between May and October of that year, specifically related to “safe medication preparation and administration, adherence to workplace ‘high alert’ medication policies, inaccurate reporting of practice hours … and working two overtime shifts when under an interim undertaking prohibiting working overtime.”

He agreed to a one-week suspension, a six-month limitation requiring him to work solely in one unit/ward and “not to work over and above full-time hours.” He also agreed to complete remedial education.

The 2019 consent agreement was followed by another in December 2020. This one related to “the registrant’s failure to successfully complete the required chemotherapy certification for a unit he was already working on, including his failure to perform high alert medication double checks.”

“Further, the registrant acted in a rude and unprofessional manner while communicating with his employer,” according to the college’s summary from the time.

Nicolas consented in that agreement to “a reprimand resulting from his conduct of practising nursing in a work environment from June 2019 to June 2020 without completing the mandatory required training and education,” as well as other limits on his practice, including:

• A limit to have one employer and work in a single area of practice
• A limit prohibiting him from being the sole RN on duty, and to work as the “in charge” nurse position for 12 months
• A limit prohibiting him from working overtime hours or practice hours above a full time equivalency.
• A twelve-month period of mentorship
• Completion of education related to professional communication, ethics and accountability
• Developing and completing a comprehensive learning plan
• Undergoing a regulatory practice consultation

The next consent agreement came in November 2022 and resulted from “unsafe medication practices resulting in a medication error involving several medications, and being dishonest with the employer, a colleague, and a patient about the matter,” according to the BCCNM.

In that agreement, Nicolas consented to another reprimand and a four-month suspension, as well as two years of supervision of his practice, and two-year bans on having multiple employers, being the sole RN on duty, “assuming the charge role duties,” working overtime, or supervising students or staff.

He also agreed to “a series of counselling sessions to focus on issues regarding truthfulness and accountability within a professional context,” the consent agreement summary from the time reads.

Each of the four consent agreement summaries, including the most recent one, ends with a statement that the BCCNM’s inquiry committee is satisfied that the terms of the agreement will protect the public.

The most recent summary also adds the following:

“BCCNM standards set expectations to ensure nurses are practising competently, ethically, responsibly, and safely. Nurses are accountable for their nursing decisions, actions, and professional conduct. Nurses must meet these standards in providing care to patients.​"