Unprofessional Conduct And Addictions

A health professional steals narcotics from her employer, falsifies narcotic records to cover-up the thefts and then consumes the narcotics when she is off-shift. This conduct continues for an extended period of time until the professional is caught by her employer. Does this conduct constitute unprofessional conduct such that the professional can be sanctioned by the discipline tribunal of her professional regulatory organization?

At first blush this seems pretty straight forward. By any reasonable definition, theft of narcotics from an employer and falsification of records would be considered unprofessional conduct. But what if the health professional says the following after being caught?

I have developed an addiction to narcotics. I stole the narcotics because of the compulsion caused by my addiction. Under human rights law, addictions are considered to be both an illness and a disability. Given that I have a disability, my regulatory body has a duty to accommodate me up to the point of "undue hardship". My expectation is that the accommodation will include an informal resolution process in which my addiction and the necessary medical treatment will be addressed but I should not be expected to go through a formal discipline hearing. While I do not deny the thefts or the falsification of records, I am not prepared to admit that these actions constitute unprofessional conduct since the misconduct was caused by my addiction and disability.

Most of us would agree that this additional information makes this issue anything but "straight forward." Misconduct caused in whole or in part by an addiction raises important public policy issues since some of the most egregious forms of misconduct where the public is most at risk are caused at least in part by addictions. Regulatory bodies take a variety of approaches to misconduct caused by addictions. Some favour an informal resolution without invoking the formal discipline process. These regulators consider that an informal process will satisfactorily protect the public if there is a commitment by the professional to seek and continue treatment. These regulators worry that a formal discipline process will be viewed as "punitive" by addicted professionals perhaps causing professionals to be less likely to seek treatment.

Other regulators consider informal resolution processes to be unsatisfactory in cases where the professional has engaged in serious misconduct. These regulators are concerned about...