Senate Bill 174 amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapter 6, concerning the certification of surgical assistants. The bill updates the certification requirements by replacing the existing reference to "the National Commission for Certification of Surgical Assistants or their successors" with "the National Commission for Certification of Surgical Assistants, the American Board of Surgical Assistants, or their successors." This change broadens the recognized certifying bodies for surgical assistants.

Additionally, the bill removes the deadline previously set for certification, specifically the language "by December 31, 2019," from the relevant section. This amendment allows for greater flexibility in the certification timeline for surgical assistants. The act is set to take effect immediately upon becoming law, emphasizing the importance of the changes for public welfare.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 63-6-219(b)(1), 63-6-219, 63-6-219(b)(3)