"Super nurses" trained at the start of the season

A new profession will be born at the beginning of the season: the nurse in advanced practice (IPA). This expert can " participate in the overall care of patients " and will support the doctor. These caregivers with expanded skills will be trained in September and will hold a master's degree (bac +5). This intermediate status between the doctor (bac +9) and the state-certified nurse (bac +3) already exists in other countries such as Canada, the United States or Great Britain. A decree published Thursday, July 19 in the official journal specifies the contours of this new specialty provided by the Health Act of 2016.

Free time for the doctor

The goal of the Ministry of Health is twofold: first improve care for the chronically ill and the elderly, whose numbers are constantly increasing. Then free up time for the doctor. According to Philippe Vermesh, president of the union of the liberal doctors, " this nurse will be able to visit regularly the people in heart failure, for example, to make a report to the doctor and to avoid that it moves ", explains-t -he. The advanced practice nurse may prescribe additional tests, prolong treatment, adjust the doses of a painkiller, etc. On the other hand, he will not be able to prescribe a prescription drug. He will work in the hospital as well as in a health center or in the treatment of cancer.

The entrance examination into a nursing school disappears

Three areas of intervention are planned, as desired: "Stabilized chronic conditions, prevention and common polypathologies in primary care" with a list of pathologies such as diabetes or Alzheimer's disease, "oncology and hematology-oncology" (cancer study) and finally "chronic kidney disease, dialysis, kidney transplantation" .

A "very conclusive" experiment in Île-de-France

The nursing student union Fnesi sees in this new formation a "first important step towards the autonomy and the emancipation of the nursing sector" . Nevertheless, the leaders asked "that the financing" be "at the height of the stakes" . The ministry ensures that RPNs will earn more than state-certified nurses. He also promises to train 5,000 advanced practice nurses by the end of the five-year period. The list of accredited universities will be published in the coming days.

200 of these nurses have already practiced experimentally, particularly in Île-de-France. The experiment, judged " very conclusive " by the Regional Authority of health, allowed the patients to have " a quicker access to the professionals of health ". It will be two years before the first wave of professionals arrives in health care facilities.

From 2019, all future nurses will be recruited on file via the Parcoursup platform and no longer on competition.

Thomas Porcheron