SA woman who faked being a nurse and vaccinated patients jailed

A woman who repeatedly impersonated being a nurse and administered vaccinations to some patients will spend 30 days behind bars.

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

In court on Tuesday, Magistrate Brett Dixon sentenced Mibus to four months and 28 days in jail, though all but 30 days of that sentence was suspended.

She will be required to serve an 18-month good behaviour bond upon her release.

Magistrate Dixon labelled the offending as serious and said it was important not to undermine the training of health professionals and the ability to conduct procedures safely.

“In my view the only appropriate penalty for your offending is a term of imprisonment,” Magistrate Dixon said. 

The court heard just a month after being convicted of an “identical” crime at her former workplace, Mibus told several lies to Plympton Park Day and Night Surgery in Adelaide’s south where she was working as the practice manager.

Mibus also administered a vaccine to a colleague and his parents while she claimed to be a registered nurse.

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

Mibus had also previously stolen $136, 290 from another workplace, and was fined around $10,000 as a consequence.

Her defence lawyer previously asked for mercy saying his client was battling with bi-polar disorder, but Magistrate Dixon rejected that claim and said two mental health experts concluded she does not have the condition.