由法律面論臺灣專科護理師之發展與挑戰

A Legal Research of Nurse Practitioners’ Development and Challenges in Taiwan

護理人員法於二○一四年八月修正部分條文，修法重點在於提供專科護理師執行醫療業務之法源依據，免受密醫罪之處罰。其中，第二四條對於醫療輔助行為或醫師監督下所執行之醫療業務之界線，仍須中央主管機關後續以法規命令位階明定。本文目的由法律面探討此次修法對於專科護理師之影響。本文建議釐清專科護理師之設置目的，若為「受法令限制」之醫師替代人力，應將社會期待與所受職能訓練一致化，以保障專科護理師之執業安全，進而維護病人安全福祉、減少醫療糾紛與提升醫療品質。

The “Nursing Personnel Act” was amended in August 2014. The main point of this amendment is to provide a legal basis for nurse practitioners to avoid being punished as not being a doctor when implementing medical practices. However, in Act 24 of the “Nursing Personnel Act”, the difference between medical assistance and medical activities under the supervision of a physician is still unclear. Thus, the central competent authority shall establish the related regulation by a legal order level. The aim of this article is to discuss the influences of amending the “Nursing Personnel Act” on nurse practitioners by a legal perspective. This article suggests clarifying the purpose of setting up nurse practitioners. If nurse practitioners are alternative manpower of physicians under legal restrictions, social expectation and professional competence shall be consistent. Therefore, nurse practitioners’ safety could be adequately protected, patient safety could be maintained, medical malpractices could be minimized, and medical quality could be upgraded.