On February 15, 2023, the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) referred a matter involving Christina Marie Dzieduszycki to the Discipline Committee for a hearing. 

The hearing took place on December 6, 2023. 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 December 6, 2023, on the penalty on December 6, 2023 and on costs on December 6, 2023. 

After having considered all of the evidence, the panel found Christina Marie Dzieduszycki  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); and
• paragraph 26 (failing to keep records in accordance with the standards of practice of the profession).

Penalty

The panel ordered the following penalty, Christina Marie Dzieduszycki will:

• Receive a reprimand at the conclusion of the hearing (delivered on December 6, 2023)
• Participate in practice enhancement coaching focusing on professional boundaries, draping, consent, conflict of interest and record-keeping
• Serve a three-month suspension if the requirements below are not met by the set-out times
• Review a list of standards and resources
• Successfully complete the PROBE program offered through CPEP
  
  

The panel also ordered Christina Marie Dzieduszycki to pay costs to the College in the amount of $7,000 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:

Ms. Dzieduszycki, as you know, as part of the penalty order, this Discipline Panel has ordered that you receive an oral reprimand. The fact that you received this reprimand will be part of the public portion of the Register and, as such, part of your record.
The panel finds your behaviour constituted serious misconduct and the profession cannot tolerate this sort of misconduct.  Your conduct lacked the required respect for patient boundaries, appropriate considerations when treating sensitive areas particularly when treating a minor.  The ramifications of your lack of adherence to standards of practice have the potential to seriously harm your patients’ particularly vulnerable populations and undermine the public confidence in the profession. 

As a physiotherapist, it is imperative for you to understand your role as an autonomous professional to ensure public safety by knowing and adhering to the standards of your profession including documenting informed consent and accurate record keeping. 

The panel is somewhat reassured by the positive steps you have taken to date.  We expect that you will initiate changes in you practice to reflect the learnings of this experience and that you will not be before a panel of the Discipline Committee of your College in the future.  However, should any matter of a similar nature come before a panel in the future, this finding and reprimand should weigh heavily on the matter of penalty.

You can read the full decision of the Discipline Committee of the College of Physiotherapists of Ontario at: www.canlii.ca