A DOCTOR who practised in Dalby has had her medical registration cancelled for one year, after she admitted to exaggerating her experience.
Indian-trained Dr Padmaja Putha was granted approval to work in the Western Downs town – classified as an ‘area of need’ – because she had claimed to have five years of continuous clinical experience in India.
In reality, she had only about five months of intermittent experience.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal heard that Dr Putha submitted a CV containing the exaggerated claims of experience in an application in 2010.
Her registration was granted in 2010, and she was granted approval to practise in Dalby, which she did for 15 months from October 2011.
An anonymous informant then contacted the Medical Board of Australia.
Without the cited experience, Dr Putha would have been required to practise under supervision in a hospital ahead of gaining registration.
The tribunal heard Dr Putha was immediately remorseful when contacted by the Board, and acknowledged her actions as “a terrible mistake, selfish, dishonest and wrong.”
“Her motivation was that she desperately wanted to work as a doctor in
Australia,” the tribunal heard.
“There is no actual suggestion of medical incompetence despite the limited
extent of her prior experience.
“Indeed, she seems to have practiced with a reasonable level of competency.”
The Medical Board sought a ban of five years.
QCAT found that Dr Putha’s misleading statements on her CV amounted to professional misconduct, and ordered that she be prohibited from applying for registration for one year.
She was also ordered to pay court costs.