The role of nursing professionals in spirometry.
Keywords:
Nurse's Role, Spirometry, Professional Competence, Respiratory Function TestsAbstract
Introduction: Spirometry is an essential test for the diagnosis/monitoring of respiratory diseases.
Objective: To review and analyze the regulatory, ethical, and professional support for the participation of nursing staff in performing and basic interpretation of spirometry.
Methodology: Systematic review (June 2025) in PubMed and the Cochrane Library, using the terms "Nurse's Role AND Spirometry." Six articles were included after filtering 13 initial records (exclusion: studies not focused on professional competency).
Results: Nursing staff routinely perform spirometry, including the administration of bronchodilators, patient education, and interpretation of results. Problems of insufficient quality were detected in the procedure due to the inexperience/work mobility of the professionals and poorly calibrated or unused equipment (inefficiency); furthermore, in some healthcare centers, irregular delegation is practiced by assigning the test to unqualified technicians.
Discussion: Legislation establishes that the spirometry procedure is an exclusive nursing competence due to its university training and disciplinary autonomy, as it is a profession that integrates holistic care (clinical assessment, safety, education) and improves outcomes. However, Guidelines such as SEPAR (2013) use the ambiguous term "technical," facilitating illegitimate practices that are compounded by the structural shortage of nursing professionals, exacerbating improper delegations.
Conclusions: Spirometry is a non-delegable nursing competence based on legal, ethical, and technical grounds. Insufficient training and delegation to unqualified personnel compromise diagnostic quality and patient safety. The number of nursing professionals with specific training to perform respiratory function tests should be strengthened.
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