Clients refunded in exchange for their silence: This nursing assistant who offers beauty treatments could be urgently struck off to protect the public

Over-the-counter injections, clients reimbursed in exchange for their silence, and obstruction of the investigation: a young nursing assistant who provides cosmetic treatments risks being urgently struck off the register to protect the public.

Cindy Stead, a licensed practical nurse since 2020, owns two beauty clinics in Laval and Gatineau. The Disciplinary Council of the Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers auxiliaires du Québec (OIIAQ) is seeking to have her deregistered as a matter of urgency, a rare procedure aimed at protecting the public.

On Thursday, ^Ms. Stead gave a written undertaking to stop practicing cosmetic treatments until a decision is made. She did not attend the hearing scheduled for Thursday, which was postponed until June 12.

A panoply of reproaches

In total, 13 charges have been filed against her. She is accused of:

–Having given injections without a prescription and/or supervision from a doctor.

–Failing/neglecting to promptly notify the physician after a patient has experienced symptoms related to treatment.

–Having exceeded his scope of practice by assessing the health status of several patients.

–Requesting advances on fees from patients before treatment.

–Having reimbursed patients in exchange for a signed agreement not to “make negative reviews on all available platforms.”

–Having installed functional cameras in the consultation rooms without informing patients.

–Revealing confidential customer information on the Google Reviews site.

Furthermore, she is accused of having falsely used the title of nurse (instead of nursing assistant) since 2021 and of having obstructed the work of the syndic during her investigation since last February, notably by asking her to leave the clinic. The OIIAQ's complaint was served on May 14.

Training in New York and Dubai

On her website, ^Ms. Stead writes that she founded her aesthetics clinic at age 22. She states that she is "currently pursuing her studies full-time" at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières with the goal of completing her bachelor's degree in nursing.

"She trained with Dr. Katz in New York in 2020, Dr. Toma in Dubai [...] and continues her ongoing training to ensure we offer you the highest standards, safely," her bio reads.

Professional orders of doctors and nurses have been concerned about the non-compliance with rules in the field of aesthetics for several years.

Increasingly popular, these treatments are often trivialized, but the consequences can cause havoc.

Remember that an individual treatment plan (for injections or other) must always be developed by a doctor and that the doctor must be able to come to the clinic within 15 minutes in the event of complications.

^Ms. Stead will return to the Council on June 12. She had not returned a call to the Journal at the time of publication.