On 6 July 2018, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) suspended Mr Alfredo Crocetti, a registered nurse, after finding that he acted inappropriately while teaching student nurses at Victoria University (VU).
In late 2014, the Australian Health Practitioner Agency (AHPRA) received a notification from VU alleging that Mr Crocetti had inappropriately touched a female student on the breast and groin area and made sexually suggestive statements to the student while demonstrating how to conduct “head to toe” assessments of patients. Immediate action was taken against Mr Crocetti and the matter was then referred to VCAT for determination.
VCAT found that Mr Crocetti’s conduct amounted to professional misconduct within the meaning of the National Law. In particular, VCAT noted that his conduct was “an abuse of his position of trust and authority” and represented a “disregard for his important role as a student nurse educator”.
Mr Crocetti was suspended from practice for two months and cannot have face-to-face contact with patients for four months. Further, he is unable to practice in any formal education setting for a period of 12 months.
Read the full VCAT decision here.