Queensland Health nurse Jenny Maree Selfe pleads guilty to forgery

A magistrate heard that a once-respected nurse forged several prescriptions over a two-year period, which ultimately led to her being stood down and brought before the court.

Jenny Maree Selfe at Maroochydore Magistrates Court.

A registered nurse with a decades-long unblemished career pleaded guilty to forging prescriptions for diazepam and other offences spanning more than two years.

Jenny Maree Selfe, 60, appeared in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Friday, where she pleaded guilty to one charge of stealing by clerks and servants, 25 charges of using a forged document, four counts of forgery, and one count of possessing dangerous drugs.

The court heard Selfe began forging prescriptions in September 2021 and used them between October 2021 and July 2024 while employed by Queensland Health in Nambour.

Selfe, a registered nurse since 1983, moved to Queensland in 2004 and built a distinguished career, including roles in intensive care and medical wards.

Jenny Maree Selfe at Maroochydore Magistrates Court.

She became a nursing unit manager in 2009, mentoring junior nurses and overseeing training programs.

Her lawyer, Ken MacKenzie, said her history was “unblemished” and “exemplary”.

However, Mr MacKenzie told the court that personal struggles, including a marriage breakdown and a strained relationship with her adult daughter, contributed to what he described as a “failure of judgment”.

“She’s surviving by living on her savings,” Mr MacKenzie said.

“She finds it humiliating to be here, to have this misconduct disclosed in the public.

“She’s remorseful to the greatest extent a person can be.”

Jenny Maree Selfe at Maroochydore Magistrates Court.

Magistrate Kurt Fowler questioned whether Selfe’s actions were driven by self-diagnosing a condition and personally filling the prescriptions, but her lawyer declined to answer.

“That is a question I would prefer not to answer,” Mr MacKenzie said.

Despite the offences, Magistrate Fowler acknowledged Selfe’s previously exemplary record and imposed a $3000 fine without recording a conviction.

The court heard Selfe has also been suspended from her nursing role without pay since she was charged.