As nursing practices and policies have evolved, including recent advances such as non-medical authorisation of blood components, this article discusses how the nurse’s role in transfusion practices has developed
Abstract
Abstract This article is the second of a two-part series about the history of blood transfusion and explores the evolving role of the nurse in transfusion practices, including recent advances, such as non-medical authorisation of blood and blood components. Limited documentation surrounding the nurse’s role in transfusion history makes it difficult to determine exactly when nurses took over this task. Literature suggests that doctors continued to be responsible for the administration of blood for many years after the procedure began but that the boundary between the work of doctors and nurses began to shift in the 1960s and 1970s. Potential reasons for the developing role of the nurse in blood transfusion administration are discussed in this article.
Citation: Baker C (2023) Exploring blood transfusion 2: the role of the nurse in clinical practice. Nursing Times [online]; 119: 8.
Author: Caroline Baker is senior staff nurse, theatre recovery, Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow.