Cpl. Kevin Megeney was shot in the chest while in his tent at Kandahar Airfield in March 2007. (Department of National Defence/ Canadian Press)

A doctor in British Columbia has been fined and ordered to undertake ethics training for publishing a graphic account of the death of a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan.

Dr. Kevin Lee Patterson admitted to unethical and unprofessional conduct for breaching confidentiality when he wrote the story that identified Cpl. Kevin Megeney, 25, and gave a detailed account of his March 2007 death.

The B.C. College of Physicians has ordered Patterson to pay $5,000 for the cost of his hearing and make a charitable donation of $7,000 — the amount he received for the story published in Mother Jones magazine.

"The penalty imposed by the College took into account Dr. Patterson's admission of guilt, his contriteness and remorse for his conduct, and his full co-operation throughout the College's investigative process," college registrar Dr. Heidi M. Oetter said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Patterson could not be reached for comment.

Karen Megeney, the deceased soldier's mother, said she was satisfied with Patterson's admission.

"I'm glad he did admit it," Karen Megeney said from her home in Stellarton, N.S. "We were shocked at the article. It was very graphic."

Patterson, of Saltspring Island, B.C., will also get a formal reprimand from the college and will have to participate in ethics education.

The Canadian Forces did not charge Patterson for writing the account, but Cpl. Matthew Wilcox faces multiple charges in connection with the death.

Megeney, a reservist from Stellarton, died after he was shot in the chest in his tent at Kandahar Airfield, the main NATO base in southern Afghanistan.

Graphic details

In the Mother Jones story, Patterson named Megeney and described in detail the final moments of his life. The article also described the incisions doctors made in Megeney's chest to try to repair the damage that led them to the discovery of a bullet hole in his heart.

Megeney's family was outraged by the publication. Karen Megeney said she and her husband had never heard of Mother Jones and were unaware of the article until it was published.

"We were out of town and by the time we got home and found out about it [the article] was already on the market."

Megeney seemed to accept the college's penalties.

"They know what they're doing, I guess. That's what those people are there for."

She is a licensed practical nurse "and I know about ethics … I know I can't go and talk about any case — not name names, not discuss it, nothing."

It's been almost two years since her son's death and she and her husband are "doing well."

"The family's just changed. The whole world changed that day. We're just not the same but I think we're doing rather good,"

The statement from the college said it took into account in disciplining Patterson his efforts as a civilian contract physician for the Canadian Forces working in war-torn countries.

It said Patterson assured the disciplinary board that any future writings based on medical scenarios, either journalism or fiction, would not include the identities of patients or any information that could identify patients.