Registered nurse first assistant.

(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—The purposes of this section are to:

(a) Encourage the use of registered nurse first assistants who meet the qualifications of this section as “assistants at surgery” by physicians and hospitals to provide quality, cost-effective surgical intervention to health care recipients in the state.

(b) Provide for reimbursement for the registered nurse first assistant from managed health care agencies, state agencies, workers’ compensation carriers, and private insurance companies.

(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Perioperative nursing” means a practice of nursing in which the nurse provides preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative nursing care to surgical patients.

(b) “Recognized program” means a program that:

1. Addresses all content of the Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc. Core Curriculum for the Registered Nurse First Assistant, and

2. Includes 1 academic year, defined as 45 hours of didactic instruction and 120 hours of clinical internship or its equivalent of 2 college semesters.

(c) “Registered nurse first assistant” means a person who meets the qualifications listed in this section.

(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—A registered nurse first assistant is any person who:

(a) Is licensed as a registered nurse under this part;

(b) Is certified in perioperative nursing; and

(c) Holds a certificate from, and has successfully completed, a recognized program.

(4) INSTITUTIONAL POWERS.—Each health care institution must establish specific procedures for the appointment and reappointment of registered nurse first assistant staff members and for granting, renewing, and revising their clinical privileges.