NAC449.61218. Surgical team: Composition; privileges and qualifications of members; participation of qualified nurses.

     1. A surgical team assigned to each open-heart surgery at an approved hospital must be composed of a cardiovascular surgeon who will be the primary surgeon and at least one other person chosen by the primary surgeon who must be a:

     (a) Cardiovascular surgeon;

     (b) Vascular surgeon;

     (c) General surgeon;

     (d) Person who is authorized by the medical staff of the approved hospital to assist in such surgeries; or

     (e) A senior surgical resident who is enrolled in a medical training program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

     2. The primary surgeon must be certified or eligible for certification by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

     3. A person who is authorized to assist in the surgery pursuant to paragraph (d) of subsection 1 must be accorded the privileges of a member of the allied health professions by the medical staff of the approved hospital. The medical staff shall:

     (a) Establish criteria for authorizing persons to assist in open-heart surgery that are consistent with current professional standards; and

     (b) Reevaluate those criteria at least once every 2 years.

     4. A team of open-heart surgical nurses whose training has been verified by the head nurse shall participate in each operation.

     5. As used in this section, “medical staff” means the medical staff organized by an approved hospital pursuant to NAC 449.358.

     (Added to NAC by Bd. of Health, eff. 8-31-89; A by R107-98, 3-18-99)