DISCIPLINE SUMMARIES
DR. SWARAN KAUR SYAN
PRACTICE LOCATION: Brampton
AREA OF PRACTICE: Family Medicine (Cosmetic Practice)
HEARING INFORMATION: Agreed Statement of Facts,
Admission, Joint Submission on Penalty
On May 16, 2016, the Discipline Committee found
that Dr. Syan committed an act of professional mis-
conduct, in that she engaged in conduct or an act or
omission relevant to the practice of medicine that,
having regard to all the circumstances, would reason-
ably be regarded by members as disgraceful, dishon-
ourable, or unprofessional.
Breach of the Order of the Discipline Committee
At the relevant times with respect to the facts de-
scribed below, Dr. Syan maintained a family and
cosmetic practice in Sudbury, Ontario. In the past,
she also took shifts at walk-in clinics.
On April 14, 2015, a panel of the Discipline Com-
mittee found that Dr. Syan had failed to maintain
the standard of practice of the profession in respect
of 20 patients. The Discipline Committee ordered
that Dr. Syan’s certificate of registration be suspended
for a period of two months, beginning on April 14,
2015.
On May 4, 2015, Dr. Syan saw four patients in
her cosmetic practice, and on May 5, 2015, she saw
a further seven patients. Dr. Syan saw all of these
patients in breach of the April 2015 Order of the
Discipline Committee which had suspended her
certificate of registration.
The Committee in the present case found that, in
breaching the April 2015 Order, Dr. Syan engaged in
conduct or an act or omission relevant to the practice
of medicine that, having regard to all the circum-
stances, would reasonably be regarded by members as
disgraceful, dishonourable, or unprofessional.
REASONS FOR PENALTY
The Committee concluded that a breach of an order
of, or an undertaking to, the College is a serious
transgression. Viewed through the lens of protecting
both the public and the profession, this misconduct
undermines the ability of the profession to self-regu-
late in the public interest.
The Committee was particularly concerned that
this was the third time Dr. Syan had breached an
undertaking or order. Her two other breaches were as
follows:
1. In 2009, Dr. Syan entered into an undertaking
with the College to cease practising mesotherapy.
On July 25, 2012, the ICRC found that Dr.
Syan had breached her undertaking by providing
Lipodissolve, which is constitutionally similar to
mesotherapy, from the time of her undertaking in
2009 until 2011.
2. Dr. Syan’s second breach of an undertaking oc-
curred in 2013, after she had entered into an un-
dertaking to undergo a preceptorship in cosmetic
record-keeping for 12 months. Dr. Syan ceased
meeting with her preceptor after only five months
and did not notify the College. Dr. Syan resumed
her preceptorship only after the College advised
her that she must do so.
Counsel for both the College and Dr. Syan agreed
that her breach of the order suspending her cer-
tificate of registration in May 2015 may have been
unintentional. Dr. Syan had previously been subject
to an interim (Section 37) order which required
supervision of her family and walk-in practice. The
interim order did not affect her cosmetic practice. It
is plausible that Dr. Syan thought the order imposed
by the Discipline Committee did not include her
cosmetic practice. Although her breach may have
been unintentional, the Committee considered that
this did not negate the gravity of breaching an order
of the Discipline Committee.
The Committee found there were several mitigating
factors in this case. Dr. Syan voluntarily disclosed her
breach to her preceptor. After being informed that
she could not see patients in her cosmetic practice,
she ceased doing so, and instructed her counsel to in-
form the College of the breach. Dr. Syan has admit-
Full decisions are available online at www.cpso.on.ca.
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ISSUE 3, 2017 DIALOGUE
71