[The nursing assistant: the main issues in the Italian debate].

. The nursing assistant: the main issues in the Italian debate. The recent approval by the State-Regions Conference of the figure of the nurse assistant has sparked a heated debate in the professional community and beyond. Numerous objections have been raised. In this contribution, which has considered what has been published in the press and on the web in the last two months, we attempt to the analyse the pros, the cons, and the main critical issues. Certainly, the nurse assistant should not be considered as a measure to counter the nursing shortage but only as one piece of a set of measures urgently needed to be planned and communicated. However, if implemented carefully with new models of care delivery, and under strict monitorization and assessment of the outcomes on patients and on the organization, nurses may be supported by a dedicated aid, as already happens in other countries.