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Section 7 Restricted Activities

Limits and conditions

Restricted Activity

Limits & Conditions

7  (1) A registrant in the course of practising nursing may do any of the following:

(a) perform a procedure on tissue below the dermis, below the surface of a mucous membrane or in or below the surface of the cornea;
(a.1) cast a fracture of a bone;

Registered nurses must successfully complete an RN First Assist Program before doing surgical suturing or harvesting veins under a physician’s order.

Registered nurses who cast a fracture of a bone:

  • Require a client-specific order from a physician or nurse practitioner registered in BC.*
  • Must successfully complete additional education.

*Registered nurses may only act on a client-specific order to cast a fracture of a bone given by a medical practitioner or nurse practitioner who is registered in British Columbia as per the Nurses (Registered) and Nurse Practitioners Regulation Section 7(3).

(b) administer a substance

(i)   by injection,
(ii)   by inhalation,
(iii)   by mechanical ventilation,
(iv)   by irrigation,
(v)   by enteral instillation or parenteral instillation, or
(vi)   by using a hyperbaric chamber;

Registered nurses do not induce general anesthesia or give the first dose of anesthetic agents administered through a catheter.

(c) put an instrument or a device, hand or finger

(i)   into the external ear canal, up to the eardrum,
(ii)   beyond the point in the nasal passages where they normally narrow,
(iii)   beyond the pharynx,
(iv)   beyond the opening of the urethra,
(v)   beyond the labia majora,
(vi)   beyond the anal verge, or
(vii)   into an artificial opening into the body;

Registered nurses may not carry out endotracheal intubation.

Registered nurses who carry out pelvic exams or cervical​ cancer screening must possess the competencies established by the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and follow decision support tools established by PHSA.

 

(d) put into the external ear canal, up to the eardrum, a substance that is under pressure;

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(d.1) apply ultrasound for diagnostic or imaging purposes, including application of ultrasound to a fetus;
(e) apply electricity for the purposes of destroying tissue or affecting activity of the heart or nervous system;
(e.1) apply laser for the purpose of destroying tissue;

Registered nurses must successfully complete an RN First Assist Program before doing electrocautery under a physician’s order

f) in respect of a drug specified in Schedule I or IA of the Drug Schedules Regulation,

(i)   compound the drug,
(ii)   dispense the drug, or
(iii)   administer the drug by any method;

Registered nurses may, with a client-specific order by a listed health professional, administer experimental medications not yet listed in any drug schedule as part of a formal research program.

Registered nurses do not induce general anesthesia or give the first dose of anesthetic agents administered through a catheter.

(g) conduct challenge testing for allergies

(i)   that involves injection, scratch tests or inhalation, if the individual being tested has not had a previous anaphylactic reaction, or
(ii)   by any method, if the individual being tested has had a previous anaphylactic reaction;

(h) conduct desensitizing treatment for allergies

(i)   that involves injection, scratch tests or inhalation, if the individual being treated has not had a previous anaphylactic reaction, or
(ii)   by any method, if the individual being treated has had a previous anaphylactic reaction.
(i) and (j) Repealed. [B.C. Reg. 157/2009, s. 5 (e).]

none

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We acknowledge the rights and title of the First Nations on whose collective unceded territories encompass the land base colonially known as British Columbia. We give specific thanks to the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ speaking peoples the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh-ulh Sníchim speaking Peoples the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), on whose unceded territories BCCNM’s office is located. We also give thanks for the medicines of these territories and recognize that laws, governance, and health systems tied to these lands and waters have existed here for over 9000 years.

We also acknowledge the unique and distinct rights, including rights to health and wellness, of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples from elsewhere in Canada who now live in British Columbia. As leaders in the settler health system, we acknowledge our responsibilities to these rights under international, national, and provincial law.​