Opinion Letter No. 32-80
Contents of letter
January 17, 1980
Mr. David R. Freeman
Director
Department of Social Services
Broadway State Office Building
Jefferson City, Missouri 65101
Dear Mr. Freeman:
This letter is intended to clarify several questions which have arised as a result of our opinion issued to you on January 2, 1980, with respect to the Rural Health Clinic Services Act, Pub. L. 95-210.
As a result of an unwarronted misinterpretation of what was stated in that opinion, we wish to offer the following advice to those interested:
(1) Opinion No. 32, being a technical opinion must be read carefully and in its complete context;
(2) Opinion No. 32 does not impair the authority of a registered professional nurse to perform customary and necessary functions in handling emergency situations;
(3) A registared professional nurse may act on the orders of a physician with respect to a particular patient even though the physician is not present. In this respect, we define "direct supervision" as including those situations where such a nurse acts on the physician's instructions with respect to a particular patient although not in the physician's presence; and
(4) Opinion No. 32 does not hold that there are no rural health clinic functions which a nurse in that setting may perform. To the contrary, there clearly are functions which the nurse may perform alone, such as have been historically so performed by the nursing profession.
Very truly yours,
John Ashcroft
Attorney General