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State v. Wiberg3/17/1988
d. Here, the qualifying words are "employed by a hospital or physician." We apply that phrase to the preceding term "technologist" but not to the more remote terms. See id.
Pursuant to the doctrine of the last antecedent, the grammatical sense of the language in Section 66-8-103 would be that the employment condition does not apply to a licensed professional nurse. In the absence of a showing that something different was intended by the legislature, we believe that this is how the statute should be read and understood.
In Trujillo, we settled on a construction of the statute that would accomplish the legislative purpose of deterring drunk drivers and aid in discovering and removing the intoxicated driver from the highways. The construction urged upon us in Trujillo would have thwarted that salutary, and indeed necessary, legislative purpose. So too, here, the construction urged by defendant would significantly and unnecessarily limit the classes of individuals who could assist in furthering the statute's legislative purpose.
Henderson is a licensed registered nurse. He obtained an associate degree in nursing and has successfully completed competency and licensing examinations administered by the State of New Mexico. A registered nurse is one who practices professional nursing, and whose name is listed in the register of licensed registered nurses maintained by the state board of nursing. NMSA 1978, § 61-3-3(C) (Repl.1986). Section 61-3-3(A) defines professional nursing as:
he performance of any act in which substantial knowledge derived from the biological, physical and behavioral sciences is applied:
(1) to the care, counsel and health teaching of persons who are either experiencing changes in the normal health processes or who require assistance in the maintenance of health, in the management of illness, injury or infirmity or in the achievement of a dignified death; or
(2) to the administration of medications and treatments as prescribed by a person authorized in this state to prescribe such medications and treatments.
Before one can qualify for licensure as a professional nurse, there is a graduation requirement from a four-year high school course of study or its equivalent, the graduation from an approved school of nursing, and the successful completion of the national licensing examination for registered nurses. NMSA 1978, §§ 61-3-13; 61-3-14 (Repl.1986). New Mexico does not impose greater experience, educational qualifications or skill requirements on professional nurses who are employed by physicians or hospitals, as opposed to those professional nurses who are not. The requirements to be a licensed professional nurse or registered nurse are sufficiently rigorous to fulfill the purpose of Section 66-8-103, that is, the safety of the subject and the reliability of the sample. See Steere Tank Lines, Inc. v. Rogers, 91 N.M. 768, 581 P.2d 456 (1978).
Our statutory interpretation is consistent with our holding in Trujillo. Moreover, in furthering the purpose of the Implied Consent Act, see NMSA 1978, Section 66-8-105 to -112 (Repl. Pamp.1987), to deter drunk driving and to aid in discovering and removing intoxicated drivers from the highways, a construction of the statute requiring that licensed professional nurses be employed by a physician or hospital would needlessly impose burdens on the discovery and removal of the intoxicated driver and, thus, thwart the legislative p
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