A nurse practitioner in British Columbia has been accused of offering to have sex with a male patient during a blood pressure check at her home.
A nurse practitioner in Canada has been accused of offering to have sex with a male patient during a routine blood pressure check, allegedly telling him it would be good for his health. Lori Chern, who runs a private health and wellness practice for men over 40 in Kamloops, British Columbia, denies any sexual misconduct.
But the province’s nursing regulator, the B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM), has now placed restrictions on her private practice while it investigates.
What the patient claims happened
According to the complaint, the appointment took place at Chern’s home in August. The patient says Chern sat “right next to” him while taking his blood pressure, caressed his arm and made flirtatious comments.
“After taking the reading, the respondent complimented the complainant on their physique as well as heart rate and blood pressure, saying they seemed to have the health of an 18-year-old and making other gestures,” the complaint reads.
He claims she then turned the conversation to sex, telling him that “sex was very important for a man to regulate himself and be in good health,” before offering to help him with that herself, local outlet CFJC reported.
The man says he turned her down. Even so, Chern allegedly “indicated the Complainant was free to text or call them outside of work to meet up for sex.” He later reported the encounter to the BCCNM and handed over screenshots of text messages he says the two exchanged.
She denies the allegations
The regulator stressed that its investigation is at an early stage, and that it has only made a provisional assessment.
“While [Chern] in their submissions denies any sexual misconduct, the Investigation Committee at this stage is only expected to make a provisional assessment of the facts, and in doing so should limit its assessment of the complaint to whether it is manifestly unfounded or manifestly exaggerated,” the BCCNM said.
It found that the allegations, if proven, would count as sexual misconduct, and raised concerns about patient safety during unsupervised appointments at her home. Chern has no previous disciplinary record for crossing boundaries with patients.
She can keep working at the hospital
The regulator has issued what’s known as a Summary Protection Order, which restricts Chern from seeing patients at her home through her private business. It found no reason to stop her from working at Dr. Helmcken Memorial Hospital in Clearwater or Princeton General Hospital, where she is employed by Interior Health.
“This would address the risk identified but also allow [Chern] to continue to practice as a nurse, outside their home and business,” the BCCNM said.
Chern also regularly posts health advice videos on Facebook, including tutorials on how men can inject testosterone.
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