The purpose of this essay is to discuss the role of the medical assistant. As it emerged; how it fits into the structure and skill mix of the NHS workforce and the effect it has had on that structure. It will also outline the principles of responsibility and the statutory rules that regulate the daily exercise of the role. In October 1998 the new European Working Time Directive was implemented. Its aim was to prevent employers from expecting their employees to work excessively long hours. This meant that doctors could only work an average of 48 hours a week. As a result, professional nurses had to take on tasks that had previously only been performed by doctors by removing them from the patient's bedside. In March 2000 the government launched a new document. The National Health Service Plan. Its aim was to modernize and reform the National Health Service and its practices and make it more patient-centred. This has put even greater pressure on professional nurses to take on more and more medical roles, thus taking them even further away from the bedside. Lord, M. NT (2002) describes the effect Project 2000 would have on nurse education. The project changed nurse education from an “in-house” teaching style to a university-based education. This led to the abolition of the State Enrolled Nurse (SEN), leaving a large skills gap in the workforce. The general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Dr Peter Carter, told RCN (2007) that 180,000 registered nurses (RNs) will retire in the next decade. Combined with increasingly restrictive budgets putting strain on the health service, it also meant there would be a huge skills shortage. These three events conspired to introduce and further develop the role of...... paper medium ......urse. 5th ed. Oxford: Blackwell Science. p182-195. Lord, M. (14/5/2002). Making a difference: implications for nurse education. Available: http://www.nursingtimes.net/making-a-difference-the-implications-for-nurse-education/206457.article. Last accessed 12/17/2013. Nancarrow, S. (2005). Professional assistants: issues of responsibility, delegation and competence. Available: http://works.bepress.com/susan_nancarrow/5/. Last accessed 12/16/13.RCN (2007). New figures show the NHS has lost almost 7,000 nurses in the last year. Available: http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/press_releases/uk/article2407. Last accessed 12/12/2013. Spilsbury, K Atkins K, Bartlett, C Bloor, K Boglin, G et al.. (2010). Evaluation of the development and impact of medical assistants supporting registered nurses on wards in acute NHS hospitals in England. Available: