Nigerian Nurse Stripped Of Australian Licence For Sleeping On Duty I Aged Care Facility
OpenLife Nigeria reports that a Nigerian-born nurse, Chimzuruoke Okembunachi, has lost her right to practise nursing in Australia following a tribunal ruling that found she repeatedly dozed off during work hours, exposing vulnerable aged-care residents to potential harm.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal delivered its ruling on January 20, determining that Okembunachi’s conduct in March 2024 constituted professional misconduct. As a result, her registration as a nurse was cancelled.
At the time, Okembunachi, 25, was the only registered nurse on duty during several night shifts at Hardi Aged Care in Guildford, western Sydney, overseeing around 100 residents with the assistance of nursing aides.
It emerged during the tribunal proceedings that
she slept during six night shifts, missing scheduled medications, including morphine on three occasions.
On one occasion, she reportedly directed an unauthorised assistant to give a patient Panadol.
While the tribunal acknowledged Okembunachi’s remorse and personal struggles, it emphasized that her behaviour posed a real danger to patients’ health and safety, leading to the decision to revoke her licence. She is prohibited from seeking a review of this decision for at least nine months.
The case highlights the critical responsibility nurses hold in aged care facilities, particularly when caring for vulnerable patients during night shifts.
ADAPTING NIGERIAN NURSING PRACTICE TO AUSTRALIA’S STRICT STANDARDS
This case underscores the stark differences in professional expectations and regulatory oversight between Nigeria and Australia.
While nurses in Nigeria often face challenges such as limited staffing, high patient loads, and variable enforcement of workplace standards, Australia maintains rigorous regulatory frameworks that hold healthcare professionals to strict accountability.
In Australian aged care, even momentary lapses in attention especially when overseeing vulnerable populations are treated as serious breaches of duty, reflecting a system where patient safety is non-negotiable and compliance is closely monitored.
For Nigerian-trained nurses like Chimzuruoke Okembunachi, adapting to these standards requires not only clinical competence but also an understanding of the highly structured and legally enforced protocols that govern practice in Australia.
While clinical skills are transferable, professional conduct expectations can differ significantly, highlighting that nursing abroad is not solely about patient care but also about adherence to regulatory norms and ethical obligations.
The tribunal’s decision serves as a reminder that international healthcare professionals must navigate not just the technical aspects of care, but also the cultural and legal expectations of the country they practice in.
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