nurses rounding with physicians

[trishat08, ASN, RN]

In the facility where I work, there are several physicans who have 'nurses'. A couple that I know of are surgeons, orthopedic and general, cardiologist, and pulmonolgist. Everyone refers to these people as "...Dr. so and so's nurse". These nurses make rounds with doctors in the hospital setting and work with them in their office? What kind of nurse is this and what education does this require? I am curious as to what it is these people are responsible for. When they make rounds in the hospital, they write orders for the patient as if it is a "verbal order". This is very intriguing to me and I am having a hard time getting information. Any help would be appreciated.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

based on my own frame of reference & experience . . .

These are usually nurses who are employed by the physician - if they touch anything in the hospital, (including just serving as a 'scribe' to write orders so the physician doesn't have to) they have to be credentialed through medical staff services to perform only those specific duties. The salary is typical for office nurses... much less than hospital nurses.

As electronic charting & meaningful use requirements become ubiquitous in acute care settings, it is very unclear how these roles will fit in. Strict interpretation of the meaningful use rules require physicians to enter their own orders and interact directly with the electronic charting systems.

Some surgeons in my part of the country employ nurses who are privileged to do minor follow-up tasks for them such as staple/suture removal, dressing changes, etc. Although it is becoming more rare, it is not unheard of in rural areas for surgeons to employ their own scrub "nurses" (not all are licensed nurses) to assist in surgery. I also know of some medical specialists (endocrinologist, cardiologist) that work with NPs who do admission H&Ps and make rounds.

Bottom line - any clinician who is not an employee of the facility (and is not a student in training) has to be credentialed by medical staff before they can participate in any aspect of patient care. The facility-specific rules are outlined in the medical staff bylaws.