Woman who posed as nurse doesn’t remember administering vaccines on multiple occasions

A South Australian Magistrates Court has heard how a repeat nurse impersonator does not remember administering vaccines to patients while she worked at an Adelaide clinic in 2020.

Alison Mibus, 43, has pleaded guilty to several charges including holding herself out as a registered nurse, despite never being qualified in the profession.

During sentencing submissions today, the court heard Mibus told several lies to Plympton Park Day and Night Surgery in Adelaide’s south while she was working as its practice manager.

She was reported to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) after she resigned from the role in February 2021.

Craig Fabbian, for AHPRA, said in March 2020, Mibus arranged to administer a flu vaccination to a nurse who she managed at the clinic.

“Subsequently Ms Mibus proceeded to give the vaccine to her colleague in the workplace,” Mr Fabbian said.

The court heard Mibus then offered to vaccinate her colleague’s parents at their home address.

“[She] stated that she was a registered nurse and proceeded to give [her colleague’s parents] both vaccines,” Mr Fabbian said.

“That would have not been permitted had there been an understanding that she wasn’t appropriately qualified to do so.”

Mr Fabbian asked Magistrate Brett Dixon to consider an immediate term of imprisonment because Mibus had a history of similar offending in 2017.

“That offending involved administering immunisations to a large number of patients over a period of three days,” he said.

Mr Fabbian told the court Mibus had also previously stolen $136, 290 from another workplace.

The court heard Mibus told the Plympton Park surgery during her job interview that she was previously a registered nurse and had even asked he workplace for leave to complete clinical work elsewhere in order to “maintain her nurse registration”.

Mibus’s defence lawyer asked Magistrate Dixon for mercy, saying his client was battling with bi-polar disorder and did not have an insight into her offending.

“Unfortunately she has limited recollection of her conduct,” her lawyer said.

“It is the case in early 2020 she was not compliant with her medication.”

Mibus returns to court in September.