The Prime Ministerial Decree (DPCM) of February 28, 2025, which incorporates the agreement signed on October 3, 2024, between the Government, the Regions, and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano (Official Record No. 176/CSR) regarding the establishment of the professional profile of the nursing assistant, was published in the Official Gazette (General Series No. 142 of June 21, 2025).

As a member of the care team, this intermediate role between the nurse and the OSS will carry out tasks involving direct care of individuals, following nursing plans or instructions under the supervision or in collaboration with a nurse. They will contribute useful information for care planning and may be involved by multidisciplinary assessment teams to help identify care needs. They will be responsible for maintaining safety for both themselves and the person receiving care, and for correctly performing the tasks assigned to them.

Specifically, the decree outlines three types of competencies for the new role: collaboration with nurses in detecting health parameters, signs, and functions; collaboration with nurses in performing healthcare-related assistance activities; execution of organizational tasks and coordination with other professionals and workers.

To obtain the nursing assistant qualification, which will be managed by the individual Regions, one must already hold the OSS qualification and a secondary school diploma, with at least 24 months of work experience. Alternatively, candidates without a diploma but with at least five years of OSS experience in the past eight years may access the training, provided they first complete a preparatory theoretical module of at least 100 hours.The training course itself must comprise a minimum of 500 hours and ends with a qualification exam.

At the same time, the DPCM of March 25, 2025, has updated the role of the healthcare support worker (OSS). The main changes concern the training program, which will now be at least 1,000 hours long, including enhanced practical activities through simulations, labs, and structured mentoring. The program will also cover assistance in school, prison, and psychiatric settings, in addition to traditional healthcare and social care environments.

To enroll, candidates must be at least 18 years old and hold a lower secondary school diploma.