Nurses To Prescribe Medicine

Nurses General Nursing

Published

  1. (Under limited conditions) Should nurses be allowed to prescribe medicine?

    • 43
      Yes
    • 37
      No

80 members have participated

Specializes in Geriatrics, Med-Surg.

My Mom lives in New Zealand and she sent this article to me. She thinks NZ nurses are starting a trend that will eventually end up here. What do you all think?

Today In New Zealand News

Fotopress

Nurses To Prescribe Medicine

26/11/2002 04:52 PM

IRN

New regulations delegate powers to nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists to prescribe certain medicines.

They come into effect next month and will strengthen the framework for delegating powers to nurses and other healthcare workers.

The Health Ministry says the main aim is greater consistency, and to ensure those involved receive written instructions from a medical practitioner or dentist.

It says a uniform approach will also help ensure safe and effective treatment of patients.

Bulletin supplied by IRN Limited Copyright 2001 IRN Limited. All copyright in this bulletin remains the property of IRN Limited. Terms and Conditions.

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I think certain medications would be acceptable with the proper training -- pain meds, for example. As it is, in critical care anyway, we nurses do a lot of "recommending" to physicians that is borderline prescribing. More training would be needed, though, as well as some sort of legal certification, I think.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

When I was in England last, I think I heard that pharmacists there can prescribe and dispense certain meds. UK nurses is this right?

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I would agree with advanced practice nurses with a masters but otherwise no-way.

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UK nurses with specialised training have been prescribing from a limited formulary for some time now. (Some without a diploma!)

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Specializes in Specializes in L/D, newborn, GYN, LTC, Dialysis.

I have no desire to take on that responsibility and/or liability. Happy to leave it up to advanced practice nurses, myself.

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Here in Washington state pharmacists can dispense Plan B, the emergency contraceptive pack, directly to patients without consulting a physician.

I agree though that I wouldn't want to take on the liability of prescribing medication routinely without being an ARNP.

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Specializes in LTC/Peds/ICU/PACU/CDI.
originally posted by fence

i would agree with advanced practice nurses with a masters but otherwise no-way.

jimmy

they're referring to apns aren't they???
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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

I don't think so SKM. See what donmurray wrote:

UK nurses with specialised training have been prescribing from a limited formulary for some time now(Some without a diploma!)
.
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I wouldn't want to prescribe meds...they don't pay us enough to deal with all that liability. Plus, it would just be another thing that Doc's could blame on us when things go wrong.

Kristy

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Well, can't nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists prescribe meds anyway?I don't know how I would feel about a staff nurse prescribing meds though. I don't know. MAybe.

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I wouldn't want that added responsibility either (at least not without a HUGE pay raise). Like Kristy said, just one more thing for the doctors to find fault with the nurses. I can't see the AMA sitting still for this anyway. A lot of doctors already feel threatened by NP's and advance practice nurses, I can't imagine they would go for your average floor nurse prescribing meds.

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