M-9, r. 1.1 - Regulation respecting certain surgical first assistance activities that may be engaged in by a nurse

Updated to 1 October 2024

This document has official status.

chapter M-9, r. 1.1

Regulation respecting certain surgical first assistance activities that may be engaged in by a nurse

Medical Act

(chapter M-9, s. 19, 1st par., subpar. b).

Professional Code

(chapter C-26, s. 94, par. h and s. 94.1).

1. The purpose of this Regulation is to determine, among the professional activities that may be engaged in by physicians, those that, pursuant to the terms and conditions set out in the Regulation, may be engaged in by a surgical first assistant nurse.

O.C. 344-2012, s. 1.

2. A surgical first assistant nurse may, within the scope of providing surgical first assistance and according to a prescription, perform the following surgical techniques and clinical procedures during surgery:

(1)  using and installing various complex surgical instruments and devices within the surgical site;

(2)  incising, manipulating, dissecting and removing tissue;

(3)  performing certain steps of the surgical procedure within the surgical site;

(4)  choosing and using an in-depth hemostatic method;

(5)  suturing deep tissue of the surgical wound and ligating thoroughly.

O.C. 344-2012, s. 2.

3. To be authorized to engage in the activities referred to in section 2, nurses must

(1)  have a minimum of 24 months of experience in an operating suite during the last 5 years;

(2)  hold a certificate of 30 credits of nursing practice as surgical first assistant issued by a Québec university;

(3)  hold a bachelor’s degree in nursing;

(4)  hold a biennial attestation in advanced cardiac life support issued by an instructor trainer recognized by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Québec, according to the standards of the Handbook of Emergency Cardiovascular Care for Healthcare Providers by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada;

(5)  engage in those activities in the following places:

(a)  a hospital centre operated by an institution within the meaning of the Act respecting health services and social services (chapter S-4.2) or the Act respecting health services and social services for Cree Native persons (chapter S-5);

(b)  a specialized medical centre within the meaning of the Act respecting health services and social services;

(c)  a private health facility within the scope of medical services provided as “associated medical clinics” within the meaning of those Acts;

(6)  engage in those activities in the presence of the surgeon responsible for the surgery, except for the opening or closing of the surgical wound where the surgeon must be present in the building and available at all times to intervene rapidly;

(7)  at no time practise simultaneously as a scrub nurse.

O.C. 344-2012, s. 3.

4. A nurse may engage in the activities referred to in section 2 if, before 3 May 2012, the nurse meets the requirements provided for in sections 2 and 4 of the Regulation respecting the activities contemplated in section 31 of the Medical Act which may be engaged in by classes of persons other than physicians (chapter M-9, r. 13).

O.C. 344-2012, s. 4.

5. A nurse who has been issued the following meets the training requirements provided for in paragraph 2 of section 3:

(1)  a registered nurse first assistant (RNFA) certificate upon completion of a program recognized by the Competency and Credential Institute (CCl);

(2)  a registered nurse first assistant (RNFA) certificate issued by the British Columbia Institute of Technology or by the Centre for Nursing Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

O.C. 344-2012, s. 5.

6. A person registered in a training program leading to the certificate provided for in paragraph 2 of section 3 is authorized to engage in the activities referred to in section 2 for the purpose of completing the program, provided that the person complies with the other conditions provided for in this Regulation and engages in those activities in a hospital centre operated by an institution within the meaning of the Act respecting health services and social services (chapter S-4.2) or the Act respecting health services and social services for Cree Native persons (chapter S-5).

O.C. 344-2012, s. 6.

7. This Regulation replaces Division I of the Regulation respecting the activities contemplated in section 31 of the Medical Act which may be engaged in by classes of persons other than physicians (chapter M-9, r. 13) and strikes out “a nurse first surgical assistant,” in section 1 of that Regulation.

O.C. 344-2012, s. 7.

8. (Omitted).

O.C. 344-2012, s. 8.

REFERENCES

O.C. 344-2012, 2012 G.O. 2, 1137