Edmonton physician sanctioned for improperly representing himself as a psychiatrist in court cases more than a decade ago

An Edmonton physician is facing sanctions after improperly calling himself a psychiatrist in the context of several court cases dating back to nearly 20 years ago.Between 2007 and 2013, Dr. Alec Oskin had acted as an expert witness in court for several criminal cases, often being called to perform psychiatric assessments of accused individuals and convicted criminals.However, in an April 15 decision, the hearing tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta found that he had improperly represented himself during those court cases and in his CV, using the titles “psychiatrist,” “forensic psychiatrist” and “forensic adolescent psychiatrist” despite not holding the necessary certifications to use them.Only physicians who have completed a psychiatry residency and obtained Royal College certification in psychiatry are allowed to call themselves psychiatrists. In Dr. Oskin’s case, he did complete a psychiatry residency and a forensic psychiatry fellowship, but failed to complete the necessary Royal College examinations.During the hearing, Dr. Oskin’s legal counsel admitted to the conduct, but submitted that the misuse of the titles occurred “early in his career after substantial training, including residency and a forensic fellowship, but before Registrar authorization.” His counsel also said that Dr. Oskin stopped stop using these titles in 2012, when the Royal College started to recognize forensic psychiatry as a subspecialty. At this point, Dr. Oskin was prompted to “realize the need to clarify his qualifications.”Although Dr. Oskin hadn’t used the improper titles in 13 years, the tribunal said called his violation “serious” and constituted unprofessional conduct. In addition, the college’s complaints director noted that Canadian courts “have held that an expert misrepresenting their credentials to the court is akin to perpetrating a fraud on the court.”However, the tribunal also acknowledged that there was no evidence to suggest that he had practiced outside his scope and that there were no breaches of standards of care or patient safety concerns. As a result, the tribunal ordered Dr. Oskin to complete an ethics and boundaries course by June 30. A three-month suspension would follow if he were to fail to unconditionally pass this course, along with a one-on-one remediation program with a medical ethicist. In addition. Dr. Oskin as also been ordered to pay $25,000 in costs.

Edmonton physician sanctioned for improperly representing himself as a psychiatrist in court cases more than a decade ago

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