SNAP JUDGMENT Kristen Johnson pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disseminating an unlawful surveillance photo.

A now-former nurse from upstate New York has surrendered her license after taking an iPhone photo of an unconscious patient's penis and texting it to coworkers.

It could have been worse for Kristen Johnson, 27, who worked at Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y. She initially faced a felony charge, but as part of a plea deal, she pleaded guilty to disseminating an unlawful surveillance photo — a misdemeanor — and was given 3 years' probation.

Coworkers had complained about Ms. Johnson, who was arrested last May after an investigation by local authorities. She'd also allegedly taken a video of another nurse cleaning an unconscious patient's gastrointestinal blood clot, capturing an image of the patient's rectum in the process, according to court records. Police found both the photo and the video on Ms. Johnson's laptop.

In surrendering her nursing license, Ms. Johnson didn't contest a charge of "moral unfitness in the practice," according to the New York State Education Department Board of Regents.

Jim Burger