D.C. Code § 3-1206.41: 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.