After a law in June and a decree at the end of December that redefined the nursing profession, the government will publish "in the first half of the year" the rest of the regulatory texts, and nurses will participate "from March" in colorectal cancer screening, the Minister of Health pledged on Thursday.
Adopted on June 27, the reform of the nursing profession offers them a broader and much more central role in the healthcare system.
Until now paid from a list of procedures that were 20 years old, which they could only perform on the prior prescription of a doctor, nurses will now be able to take care of patients "directly" within their area of expertise.
A "core decree," published on December 24, reorganized the profession into ten "essential missions." It notably created the "nurse consultation" and gave them the right to prescribe "health products and additional tests," the list of which is yet to be specified.
"The texts relating to nursing care and prescriptions are currently the subject of in-depth consultations" with unions, the professional order, and associations. They "will be finalized in the coming weeks for publication before the end of the first half of the year," the Ministry of Health announced in a press release.
"Tomorrow, when you have a wound, whether it is acute – you have just injured yourself – or chronic, you will be able to go to the nurse who will take care of it, who will be able to prescribe what is needed (…) This is a step forward, it will improve access to care by freeing up doctors' time," explained Minister Stéphanie Rist on Ici Champagne-Ardenne.
Regarding prevention, "they will be able to play a more significant role in the fight against tobacco, or distribute kits for colorectal cancer," she explained. And since the colorectal cancer awareness campaign – "Blue March" – takes place in March, the government intends to publish this implementing legislation by then, she added.
For this screening, nurses will receive "financial compensation equivalent to other professions," the ministry specifies.
More broadly, the financial revaluation for new missions, and in particular nursing consultations, must be determined during ongoing contractual negotiations with representative unions.
The reform "is accompanied by an overhaul of nursing training," the texts of which will be published in February 2026, the ministry specifies. It aims for "more modern training, better adapted to the evolving profession," and which would help reduce the "high" dropout rate.
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