Trainee doctor is suspended for 12 months for faking signatures over competencies

A trainee doctor who used a senior nurse’s computer account to sign off assessments of his work in her name has been suspended from the UK medical register for 12 months.

In December 2016, Joon Faii Ong was a foundation year 1 trainee working at Lister Hospital, Stevenage. As part of his training he was obliged to gain proficiency in 15 core procedures. Trainees who feel confident performing a core procedure may ask a senior member of staff to observe them and, if they are considered competent, sign a positive assessment on their e-portfolio.

The ward sister working with Ong on the short stay unit that day, Rebecca Klinnert, told a medical practitioners’ tribunal that he had asked her a …