A nurse who stole medical supplies from her employer so she could inject a friend and herself with skin lightening medication has been reprimanded.
Registered nurse Joanna Remandaban stole cannula equipment while on night shift in June 2019.
The items included giving sets, bungs, cannulas and saline ampoules - things she used routinely at work and were discarded after use.
After her employer found out about the theft, Ms Remandaban was immediately stood down and two weeks later her employment was terminated.
The Filipino-trained nurse was referred to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia in 2022 for the theft, which uncovered she was using the supplies to administer Glutanex-Drip to herself and a friend.
Glutanex-Drip is a schedule 4 poison commonly used for whitening the skin.
It's not authorised for use in Australia and Ms Remandaban imported the drug without the necessary Therapeutic Goods Administration approval, or a prescription from a medical practitioner.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board suspended Ms Remandaban's registration, by way of "immediate action".
Ms Remandaban told the board she had made an arrangement with a friend to import Glutanex-Drip from South Korea.
They split the $680 cost between them and over eight occasions the women assisted each other in administering the drug.
During a tribunal hearing in 2022, Ms Remandaban described the drug as a "vitamin/antioxidant and beauty product".
"It is popular in a lot of countries in Asia, especially in my own country, the Philippines," she said.
"Prior to all of this, I have taken Glutanex-Drip in the Philippines. Many of my friends over there have also taken it. It is very common over there amongst young people."
In January 2024, VCAT members found Ms Remandaban's conduct amounted to professional misconduct and said the need for general deterrence had been adequately addressed by the 20-month immediate action suspension already served by Ms Remandaban.
It did not impose any further period of suspension, but she will need to continue engaging a mentor over the next 12 months.
She has since returned to practice.
