Case  2021 0140 and 2021 0012

On November 30, 2021, the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) referred a matter involving Stephanie Nogueira to the Discipline Committee for a hearing. 

The hearing took place on April 1, 2022.  This matter was resolved by way of an Agreed Statement of Facts and a Joint Submission on Penalty. 

Finding 

The panel of the Discipline Committee issued a decision on the finding on April 1, 2022, on the penalty on April 1, 2022 and on costs on April 1, 2022. 

After having considered all of the evidence, the panel found Stephanie Nogueira to have committed the following acts of professional misconduct:

• paragraph 1 (failing to maintain the standards of practice of the profession);
• paragraph 18 (engaging in conduct or performing an act relevant to the practice of the profession that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional);  
• paragraph 19 (conduct unbecoming a physiotherapist);
• paragraph 28 (signing or issuing a document containing a statement that the member knows or ought to know contains a false or misleading statement);
• paragraph 32 (submitting an account or charge for services that the member knows or ought to know is false or misleading); and
• paragraph 33 (failing to take reasonable steps to ensure that any accounts submitted in the member’s name or billing number are fair and accurate).

Penalty

The panel ordered the following penalty, Stephanie Nogueira will:

• Receive a reprimand at the conclusion of the hearing (delivered on April 1, 2022)
• Serve a suspension for a period of six months, beginning April 2, 2022 up to and including October 1, 2022.
• Complete a review of tools, standards and resources
• Complete boundaries and ethics counselling 

While Stephanie Nogueira is serving the suspension, she cannot practice as a physiotherapist assistant (PTA). 

The panel also ordered Stephanie Nogueira to pay costs to the College in the amount of $5,000 to offset some of the costs associated with investigating and prosecuting this case.

As a part of the penalty, the Committee also issued a reprimand which read as follows:

The discipline panel has ordered that you be given an oral reprimand that will become part of the public portion of your record with the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario. This panel has found that you engaged in professional misconduct. This sort of misconduct cannot be tolerated by the profession that negatively affects the reputation of the physiotherapy profession while undermining public confidence. 

The public interest depends on the integrity of the profession and protecting the integrity of the profession means zero tolerance of inappropriate business practices. We would expect the strictest adherence to College standards, particularly by a physiotherapist who is also a clinic owner. 

We do wish to acknowledge your cooperation with the College, and that you have no prior history with the College. We encourage you to use the resources available to you as a registered professional, and the panel does not expect to see you before us again.