RACS welcomed Skin Cancer New Zealand developing a draft Skin Cancer Nursing Practice Framework. Working within a team, skin cancer nurses are valuable members for ensuring good patient care. Developing consistent nursing guidelines, and nursing pathways, is positive for the management of skin cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, we consider the proposed pathway for non-medically trained practitioners to perform independent diagnostic and therapeutic surgical procedures to be too light. We supported the submission from the New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons (NZAPS).
RACS is accredited by the Australian Medical Board (in conjunction with the Medical Council of New Zealand) to provide surgical training. As part of this accreditation, the training of a plastic surgeon must meet set standards and criteria which are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure the quality of the education, training, and assessment of plastic surgeons.
The draft Framework proposed training for skin cancer nurses be provided by completing courses with the “Skin Cancer College of Australasia”. These courses are designed for medical practitioners who have completed a medical degree with greater depth of knowledge and clinical skills in skin cancer so have a greater foundational start than nurses seeking further training. The Skin Cancer College of Australasia also does not appear to be an accredited body, and it is unclear whether the proposed Framework involves any accreditation by the New Zealand Nursing Council. As currently drafted, the framework outlines a pathway for non-medically trained practitioners to perform independent diagnostic and therapeutic surgical procedures. We consider the training requirements on the proposed pathway to be too light, and the volume of cases needed for credentialing to be too low.
Read submission (PDF 202.57KB).