§435. Administering catheters; conditions; restrictions

A. No city or parish school board shall require any employee other than a registered nurse or licensed medical physician to catheterize any student until all of the following conditions have been met:

(1) A registered nurse or licensed medical physician, employed by a city or parish school board, has assessed the health status of the specific child in his specific educational setting. The registered nurse has determined that according to the Louisiana Legal Standards of Nursing Practice the procedure could be safely performed, the results are predictable and could be delegated to someone other than a registered nurse following documented training.

(2) The registered nurse or licensed medical physician shall train at least two employees to catheterize the specific child in his educational setting. The employees shall be given not less than eight hours of training in the area of catheterization of students.

(3) Following the training provided for in Paragraph (2), no catheterization may be performed unless prescribed in writing by a licensed medical physician. The employee, other than the registered nurse or licensed medical physician, shall be required to complete, under the direct supervision of a registered nurse, a minimum of five catheterizations. Upon one hundred percent successful completion of these catheterizations, the registered nurse or licensed medical physician and the trainee shall sign a standard form indicating that the trainee has attained the prescribed level of competency. A copy of this form shall be kept on file by the school system.

(4) Individuals who are required to perform catheterizations and have been trained according to the provisions of this Section, may not decline to perform such service except as exempted by a licensed medical physician or a registered nurse. The reasons for such exemption shall be documented and certified by the licensed medical physician or a registered nurse within seventy-two hours.

(5) Any employee shall have the right to request that another school board employee be present while catheterizing the student, to serve as a witness to the procedure. After making such a request, the employee shall not be required to catheterize a student without such a witness.

B. The provisions of this Section shall be restricted to those students who have had intermittent catheterization prescribed as a treatment for urinary or neurologic disfunction and not for continuous bladder drainage or to obtain urine specimens for diagnostic purposes. No employee shall be requested to catheterize any student for continuous bladder drainage or to obtain urine specimens for diagnostic purposes.

Acts 1990, No. 1048, §1, eff. July 27, 1990.