OAR 333-520-0050
Surgery Services
(1)
For purposes of this rule:(a)
“Circulating nurse” means a registered nurse who is responsible for coordinating the nursing care and safety needs of the patient in the operating room and who also meets the needs of the operating room team members during surgery.(b)
“Rural or medically underserved community” means a geographic area of Oregon that is 10 or more miles from the geographic center of a population center of 40,000 or more individuals.(c)
“Surgical technology” means intraoperative surgical patient care that involves:(A)
Preparing an operating room for surgical procedures by ensuring that surgical equipment is functioning properly and safely;(B)
Preparing an operating room and the sterile field for surgical procedures by preparing sterile supplies, instruments and equipment using sterile techniques;(C)
Anticipating the needs of a surgical team based on knowledge of human anatomy and pathophysiology and how those fields relate to the surgical patient and the patient’s surgical procedure; and(D)
Performing tasks as directed in an operating room, including:(i)
Passing instruments, equipment or supplies;(ii)
Sponging or suctioning of an operative site;(iii)
Preparing and cutting suture material;(iv)
Transferring fluids or drugs;(v)
Handling specimens;(vi)
Holding retractors and other equipment;(vii)
Applying electrocautery to clamps on bleeders;(viii)
Connecting drains to suction apparatus;(ix)
Applying dressings to closed wounds; and(x)
Assisting in counting supplies and instruments, including sponges and needles.(2)
General hospitals are required to comply with this rule. A low occupancy acute care or mental or psychiatric hospital shall comply with this rule if it offers surgery services.(3)
A hospital that provides surgical services shall have operating rooms that conform to the applicable requirements in OAR chapter 333, division 535.(4)
A hospital’s operating rooms must be supervised by an experienced registered nurse or doctor of medicine or osteopathy.(5)
The duties of a circulating nurse performed in an operating room of a hospital shall be performed by a registered nurse licensed under ORS 678.010 (Definitions for ORS 678.010 to 678.410) through 678.410 (Fees). In all cases requiring anesthesia or conscious sedation, a circulating nurse shall be assigned to, and present in, an operating room for the duration of the surgical procedure unless it becomes necessary for the circulating nurse to leave the operating room as part of the surgical procedure. While assigned to a surgical procedure, a circulating nurse may not be assigned to any other patient or procedure.(6)
Nothing in section (5) precludes a circulating nurse from being relieved during a surgical procedure by another circulating nurse assigned to continue the surgical procedure.(7)
In order for a person to practice surgical technology at a hospital, the hospital’s governing body shall ensure that the following provisions are met by the individual:(a)
Documentation showing that the person has completed a training program for surgical technologists in a branch of the armed forces of the United States or in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corp and completes 16 hours of continuing education as described in section (11) of this rule every two years; or(b)
Completion of a surgical technology education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Program (CAAHEP) or the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES) and certification as a surgical technologist issued by the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA); or(c)
Documentation that a person has practiced surgical technology at least two years between January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2017 in a hospital, ambulatory surgical center or as an employee of a federal government agency or institution and completes 16 hours of continuing education as described in section (11) of this rule every two years.(8)
Notwithstanding subsection (7)(b), a hospital may allow a person who is not certified by the NBSTSA to practice surgical technology at the hospital for 12 months after the person completes an educational program accredited by the CAAHEP or ABHES.(9)
A hospital located in a rural or medically underserved community may allow a person to practice surgical technology at the hospital who does not meet the requirements specified in section (7) of this rule until July 1, 2017. After July 1, 2017 a person not meeting the requirements specified in section (7) of this rule may work at a hospital in a rural or medically underserved community while the person is attending an educational program accredited by the CAAHEP or ABHES. Such persons are exempt from these educational requirements for three years from the date on which the person began practicing at the hospital.(10)
These rules do not prohibit a licensed practitioner from performing surgical technology if the practitioner is acting within the scope of the practitioner’s license and a hospital allows the practitioner to perform such duties.(11)
Intentionally left blank —Ed.(a)
The continuing education requirements described in subsections (7)(a) and (7)(c) shall:(A)
Consist of 16 hours every two years;(B)
Be tracked by the surgical technologist and is subject to audit by the hospital in which the person is practicing; and(C)
Be relevant to the medical-surgical practice of surgical technology.(b)
Continuing education may include but is not limited to:(A)
Continuing education credits approved by the Association for Surgical Technologist;(B)
Healthcare sponsored conferences, forums, seminars, symposiums or workshops;(C)
Online distance learning courses;(D)
Live lectures at national conferences; or(E)
College courses.(12)
A hospital shall conduct a random audit of a representative sample of the surgical technologists employed by the hospital every two years to verify compliance with educational requirements.(13)
The requirements identified in section (7), (8) and (10) through (12) of this rule become effective on July 1, 2016.
Source:
Rule 333-520-0050 — Surgery Services, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=333-520-0050.