The nurses who work in the centers of multiple sclerosis in Italy is a trained professional who takes care of the general nursing care of patients with MS.
SISM (The italian nursing society in MS) is a scientific society that promotes skills development and unification of the protocols of MS nurses in Italy. The certification that guarantees the specialization in Nurse Specialist SM is issued after completion of a course “MS Nurse PROfessional”. This distance learning course is valid for the European recognition and preparation of the nurse in MS.
The nurse who works in Italy following a university course of 3 years (Bachelor in Nursing), and subsequently may operate or in the departments of Neurology or in specialized centers in Multiple Sclerosis.
The skills required in Italy for operate in this centers of MS are vast and varied, and relate to the knowledge of the drugs used in MS and the knowledge of specific nursing skills. The nurse takes care of accepting the patient, the administration of drugs, venous blood samples, control and organization of visits and check-ups.
Deals with the 'patient education and self-administration of the correct pharmacology. Performs nursing diagnosis on the state of health of the patient and works with the physician and other professionals. In general, the approach to multiple sclerosis in Italy is multidiscipliare, the full working group consists of the following professionals: doctors, nurses, rehabilitation therapists, psychologists, speech therapist, occupational therapist and social worker.
In addition to the pharmacological treatments and physiatry, is of fundamental importance the relational nature of nursing care with psychoeducational interventions.
A critique of the Italian health care system and in particular the management of the patient in Multiple Sclerosis is the lack of professional autonomy of the nurse in drug prescriptions in the overall management and nursing and the lack of a link between hospital and territory.