A B.C. man has agreed to a one-week suspension of his nursing registration over numerous issues with his practice—including instances in which he fell asleep while on duty.
Surrey resident Eskhander Balawag is facing discipline for at least 11 practice issues that occurred between November 2020 and July 2021 while working in an intensive care unit, according to an online notice of his consent agreement with the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives.
According to BCCNM, Balawag failed to do requirements such as checking blood glucose levels, following closed-loop administration procedures and administering medication—in some cases the college says he gave patients the wrong dosage.
He’s also facing discipline for “providing incomplete physical assessments, not initiating physician orders, not documenting in a complete and timely manner or at all, falling asleep while on duty and failing to respond to patient alarms,” according to the online notice.
Other practice issues include “not following facility policy, procedures, or guidelines, and breaching an interim undertaking wherein he promised not to work night shifts,” says BCCNM.
As a result Balawag has voluntarily agreed to a suspension of his nursing registration for one week “for breaching the terms of an interim undertaking.”
When he returns to work, the consent agreement requires him to be under direct supervision for two weeks, as well as a workplace mentorship for six months.
According to BCCNM, Balawag has also agreed to complete a nursing specialty program before returning to a critical care environment, on top of other remedial education.
