Botox nurse ordered to pay $30k, face five-month professional suspension

A nurse who got Botox from someone who wasn’t a pharmacist and injected clients without a doctor present has been professionally reprimanded, following a recent decision from the B.C. College of Nurses & Midwives.

Roshanak Rahi, who operated out of a Westwood Plateau medical clinic, is facing a five-month suspension and has been ordered to pay the college $30,425 due to her “dangerous and dishonest” conduct, according to decision from the BCCNM’s discipline committee.

Rahi previously said there was “no proof” she bought Botox or injected anyone, an assertion the panel concluded was “wholly incorrect,” according to the ruling.

Rahi’s “Nurse Rosha” website listed Plateau Medical Clinic on its appointment page and advertised Botox and: “face vitamin filler” for $1,260, despite the clinic not offering cosmetic injections.

An investigation into Rahi’s business started after medical professionals saw her Groupon ad.

The ad touted “Wrinkle-Reducing Cosmetic Injectables,” facial contouring for males, and Botox injections, prompting the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC to launch an undercover investigation.

CPSBC investigator Kristin Pytlewski called Rahi and asked several times if she would see a physician at her appointment. Rahi told her she wouldn’t.

Besides the fact that she got “a prescription-only substance without a prescription and from someone who is not a pharmacist,” the condition of the Botox was also a point of concern.

Rahi picked up “Botox in preloaded syringes in a bag of ice,” the panel noted. She administered Botox: “without personal experience, without physician involvement, and in a medical clinic that had no knowledge or experience with Botox.”

Rahi was aware both of the potential dangers of Botox and derma fillers, as well as the fact she was advertising services which: “she knew were outside of her scope of practice,” according to the panel.

By promoting her nursing licence and setting up her business at an established clinic, Rahi: “capitalized on the trust between Plateau Medical Clinic and its patients,” the panel ruled.

Working on a book

Rahi later defended herself, claiming she was offering free consultations while working on a book.

“I have nothing to be blamed for,” Rahi testified. “And any step I have taken in my career was all based on communications and information that I obtained from college of nursing to ensure that my actions are in line with nursing scope of practice, standards, and professional practice.”

However, Rahi was unable to produce documentary information about those free consultations. She was also vague about many elements of her book, including its topic, according to a previous decision.

There was no evidence any members of the public were harmed by Rahi’s actions, according to the panel.

“The purpose of a penalty is to protect the public from unprofessional conduct,” the decision stated, noting the need to promote public confidence in nurses.

‘No business’

The panel found Rahi made false statements to investigators and didn’t take meaningful responsibility for her actions.

Instead, Rahi asserted she was a victim. She also told an investigator they had “no business investigating her and that the matter should be thrown out,” the panel noted.

The hearing was prolonged due to Rahi’s lengthy cross-examinations, refusal to answer questions, and failure to make reasonable admissions, according to the panel.

“She made excessive and unfounded objections throughout most of the witnesses’ testimony and did not adhere to many of the panel’s directions,” the decision stated.

While inexperience is sometimes a mitigating factor in these cases, the panel noted Rahi’s: “dangerous and dishonest” actions couldn’t be attributed to inexperience, and that her misconduct began shortly after she became a registered nurse.

Rahi demanded compensation due to her inability to work.

The panel informed Rahi that the college doesn’t have the jurisdiction to award her compensation and wouldn’t even if it did, as the provided no evidence to support that claim.

Ultimately, the panel deemed the penalty was warranted due to the seriousness of the misconduct and Rahi’s lack of accountability.

The penalty

Rahi’s five-month suspension begins when she obtains an active certificate. Before getting that certificate, Rahi would have to pass remedial education courses at her own expense.

Rahi isn’t a registrant of the college, having allowed her membership to lapse.

Before returning to work, Rahi would also have to meet with a representative from the college to discuss her prior acts, their potential consequences, and strategies for preventing similar misconduct in the future.

Following the suspension, Rahi is also barred from being self-employed for 18 months or 2,700 nursing practice hours unless approved by a professional mentor.

The decision was made Nov. 8 and published Dec. 20.