Dialogue Volume 14 Issue 4 2018 | Page 71

DISCIPLINE SUMMARIES DR. ASHRAF FEKRY ZAKI MOURCOS PRACTICE LOCATION: Kitchener AREA OF PRACTICE: General Practice HEARING INFORMATION: Plea of No Contest; Statement of Uncontested Facts; Joint Submission on Penalty On January 15, 2018, the Discipline Committee found that Dr. Mourcos committed an act of profes- sional misconduct in that he engaged in conduct or an act or omission relevant to the practice of medi- cine that, having regard to all the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded by members as dis- graceful, dishonourable or unprofessional. Dr. Mourcos is a general practitioner who received his certificate of registration authorizing independent practice in Ontario in 2001. At the relevant time, Dr. Mourcos practised family medicine in his clinic in Kitchener. DISGRACEFUL DISHONOURABLE OR UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT In or around March 2013, Ms. A commenced em- ployment for Dr. Mourcos as a medical receptionist. In June 2013, after the last patient for the day had left, Ms. A and Dr. Mourcos were alone in the office and engaged in conversation. Ms. A commented that it had been a busy day. Dr. Mourcos offered to give her a massage. He had offered massages on earlier oc- casions, and had massaged the back of her neck while she sat at her desk working. On those occasions, Ms. A agreed to the massage and when she asked Dr. Mourcos to stop, he stopped. On that day, Ms. A declined Dr. Mourcos’ offer. When Dr. Mourcos per- sisted, telling her that this would be a good practice for him as he was taking classes in massage therapy, Ms. A gave in and agreed to the massage. Dr. Mourcos told Ms. A that he could give her a better massage if she lay down on the examination table. Ms. A lay on the examination table face down and Dr. Mourcos commenced massaging her back over top of her shirt. She was wearing scrubs at the time. Dr. Mourcos then inserted his hands under- neath her shirt. Ms. A did not object to this touching as she felt it was like a regular massage. Ms. A felt Dr. Mourcos slip his hand underneath the waistband of her pants and move his hand towards her right hip. He asked if he could massage under her pants and she said “no”. Dr. Mourcos then moved his hand upwards and continued to massage Ms. A’s back un- der her shirt for about a minute. He then moved his hands towards Ms. A’s mid-back and unclasped her bra, without Ms. A realizing it. Without warning or consent, Dr. Mourcos moved his right hand toward her right breast, placing his fingers on the side and upper part of her right breast for a couple of seconds. Ms. A sat up quickly, and ended the massage. At that point, Ms. A realized that her bra was undone. Dr. Mourcos asked Ms. A to kiss him. Ms. A refused. He leaned in to kiss her, but Ms. A turned her head and he ended up kissing her on the cheek. Ms. A left the examining room and returned to her desk in the reception area. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Mourcos engaged her in conversation in the recep- tion area, asking her about her marriage and whether she had engaged in sexual relations with other people. The conversation ended when the phone rang and Ms. A attended to the call. Ms. A finished her duties for the day and left the office. She was upset about what had occurred. She told her mother what happened and then contacted police that evening. She did not return to work. ORDER The Committee ordered: a six-month suspension of Dr. Mourcos’ certificate of registration; a reprimand; terms, conditions and limitations on Dr. Mourcos’ certificate of registration, such that he shall be sub- ject to workplace monitoring in all practice locations by a regulated health professional, approved by the College, for a minimum of two years. The Commit- tee also ordered that Dr. Mourcos to pay costs of a one day hearing at the rate of $5,500.00. For complete details, please see the full decision at www.cpso.on.ca. Select Find a Doctor and enter the doctor’s name. At the conclusion of the hearing, Dr. Mourcos waived his right to an appeal and the Committee administered the public reprimand. ISSUE 4, 2018 DIALOGUE 71