New powers for nurses

Expand the powers of the system nurse in the field of emergency medical services provided for self-performance, and harmonize the regulations for the implementation of emergency medical services performed independently by a system nurse with those for the performance of identical health services by a paramedic.

As the law currently stands, system nurses are not authorized to perform rapid ultrasound examinations as part of the diagnosis of emergency conditions. There is also a need to expand the range of drugs that can be self-administered by system nurses in emergency medical teams for conditions such as acute circulatory failure, acute coronary syndrome and bleeding.

The proposed regulation introduces the possibility for system nurses to perform the following activities:

1) Performing ultrasound according to selected protocols applicable to emergency medicine, subject to completion of a course certified by the Medical Center for Postgraduate Education;

2) 2) added a provision for collecting patient material from the upper respiratory tract and performing antigen tests for viruses.

3) In addition, the proposed regulation expands the catalog of drugs permitted for self-administration by a system nurse to include:

- Noradrenalinum - a drug used in restoring blood pressure in cases of acute hypotension,

- Prasugrel - an antiplatelet drug administered in acute coronary syndromes as preparation for angioplasty,

- Tranexamic acid - a drug with anti-hemorrhagic effects.

The regulation does not specify the routes of administration of medicinal products, as these are derived from the characteristics of the medicinal product. On the other hand, the existing requirements for the administration of medicinal products by the intraosseous route have been retained, conditional on the possession of an appropriate course or specialization covering content in this area.

Source: RCL