Nurse suspended for working in Manitoba hospital without proper certification

The Brandon Regional Health Centre is pictured in an undated photo. (CTV News Winnipeg)

A Manitoba nurse has pleaded guilty to several professional misconduct offences after she admitted to working a shift in an emergency care unit without the proper certification or training.

According to a recently published decision by the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba, Eleonor Mascardo entered guilty pleas for misrepresenting her nursing credentials, accepting work beyond her knowledge and skillset, not disclosing the names and contact information of her employers, and not notifying the college they were self-employed before providing registered nursing services.

The decision was published in June on the college’s website, following a hearing in April.

According to an agreed statement of facts in the decision, Mascardo accepted a shift in the intensive care unit at Brandon Regional Health Centre on Jan. 11, 2024, despite not having a certificate of practice at the time.

“(Brandon Regional Health Centre) did not allow (Mascardo) to complete their shift and sent them home after it was discovered they lacked the proper training and experience to work in ICU,” the report reads.

The decision also states Mascardo did not perform several tasks during the shift, including starting a blood transfusion for one patient and setting up a fluid IV for another patient.

“The panel was concerned by (Mascardo’s) cavalier acceptance of the shift, particularly with no certificate of practice and no relevant experience. This endangered the public and is unacceptable,” the decision reads.

Mascardo was also reprimanded for not disclosing employment with a nursing agency in Manitoba and advertising herself as a registered nurse for her own business, Happy Skin Laser + Aesthetic Clinic in Brandon, as she didn’t have the proper certification.

Mascardo fined, suspended

The decision notes Mascardo obtained a bachelor of nursing degree from Velez College and registered for a master’s in nursing program at Cebu Normal University, both in the Philippines. However, there is no indication in the decision that she finished her master’s program.

The college noted she did not have any previous discipline or complaints prior to the hearing and accepted responsibility for her actions by pleading guilty.

Mascardo was fined $8,000, had to pay $5,000 in costs, and was suspended from practicing nursing for two weeks.

She has also been ordered to complete 2,015 hours of verified independent registered nursing practice in a Canadian jurisdiction. She is also unable to engage in self-employed practice, work for a health-care staffing agency, or work in critical care or emergency care departments until the hours are completed.

CTV News has reached out to Mascardo for comment.