Germans love abbreviations. And they need them too. Because they also love long, complex, unwieldy names – especially when it comes to laws. That’s why the new Nursing Competence Act is also called the ‘Act on the Expansion of Powers and Debureaucratisation in Nursing’, abbreviated to BEEP.

The Bundesrat, the representative body of the federal states, has now also approved this law, following the Bundestag, the German parliament. A compromise had to be reached on the financing of hospitals.

The core of the law concerns nursing: nursing professionals will be given additional medical powers that were previously reserved for doctors. In addition, applications and forms are to be simplified in order to reduce bureaucracy. The aim is to secure care provision and make the profession more attractive.

The German Nursing Council (DPR) welcomes the passing of the bill and at the same time urges that it be implemented quickly. Patient care will benefit from this in the long term, precisely because nursing professionals will be allowed to take on more responsibility.