Scope of practice

(a) A surgical assistant shall be licensed by the Board of Medicine before practicing as a surgical assistant within the District of Columbia. (b) An individual licensed to practice as a surgical assistant, as that practice is defined in § 3-1201.02(20) shall have the authority to: (1) Provide local infiltration or the topical application of a local anesthetic and hemostatic agents at the operative site; (2) Incise tissues; (3) Ligate and approximate tissues with sutures and clamps; (4) Apply tourniquets, casts, immobilizers, and surgical dressings; (5) Check the placement and operation of equipment; (6) Assist in moving and positioning the patient; (7) Assist the surgeon in draping the patient; (8) Prepare a patient by cleaning, shaving, and sterilizing the incision area; (9) Retract tissue and expose the operating field area during operative procedures; (10) Place suture ligatures and clamp, tie, and clip blood vessels to control bleeding during surgical entry; (11) Use cautery for hemostasis under direct supervision; (12) Assist in closure of skin and subcutaneous tissue; (13) Assist in the cleanup of the surgical suite; and (14) Check and restock the surgical suite. (c) A surgical assistant shall not: (1) Perform any surgical procedure independently; (2) Have prescriptive authority; or (3) Write any progress notes or orders on hospitalized patients, except operative notes. (d) A supervising surgeon shall perform the critical portions of a surgical procedure and shall remain immediately available in the surgical suite for delegated acts that the surgical assistant performs or to respond to any emergency. Telecommunication shall not suffice as a means for directing delegated acts. (e) For the purposes of this section, the term “supervising surgeon” means a surgeon licensed by the Board who delegates to a licensed surgical assistant surgical assisting and oversees and accepts responsibility for the surgical assisting.