Medication safety book published
November 15, 2009 by admin
Medication Safety - An Essential Guide is a new book aimed at all healthcare professionals involved in the management of medicines, is edited by Molly Courtenay and Matt Griffiths, and has a team of well-known contributors. It covers subjects such as calculations, controlled drugs and patient safety, safety in prescribing, dispensing and administering, and ensuring safety through evidence-based medicine. The book is published by CUP and costs £23.99.
Nurse prescribing in diabetes: professionals’ views
October 30, 2009 by admin
Nurse prescribing for people with diabetes supports advanced practice in this area, according to the results of this study involving interviews with nurse prescribers, doctors and non-prescribing nurses.
Prescribing was seen as a natural progression of the advanced roles that nurses have moved into over recent years and as supporting and enabling these new ways of working. Of the three nurses who were not prescribers, the diabetes specialist nurse said that the qualification was seen as necessary for career progression but the two in general practice had not felt under any pressure to become prescribers. Respondents working in general practice felt that nurses should complete disease-specific modules before undertaking the prescribing course. The prescribing nurses caring for people with diabetes found the generic prescribing information on the course useful. There was, however, variation between the courses in terms of the workload. The doctors interviewed felt they should be involved in mentoring, as at present, particularly because of the complexities of prescribing for diabetes, but thought that nurse prescribers also have a role to play.
Courtenay M, Stenner K and Carey N. Nurses’ and doctors’ views about the prescribing programme. Nurse Prescribing 2009; 7(9): 412-417.
The impact of nurse prescribing on dermatology services
October 30, 2009 by admin
Nurse prescribing has enabled nurses to use their knowledge and skills more effectively, overcome treatment delays and allowed faster medication access, according to the conclusions of the first study to explore the impact of nurse prescribing on the configuration of dermatology services. Stakeholders felt that there had been benefits to both patients and staff but that access to support and continuing professional development, and the capacity of the workforce, remain barriers to further progress.
Data were collected from 10 case study sites in 2006-2007 using semi-structured interviews with nurse prescribers and doctors, non-prescribing nurses and administrators. The cases were selected to represent both primary and secondary care in different locations and included nurses working in general practice and specialist nurses.
The results suggested that the dermatology services were now dependent upon nurse prescribing: in general practice, the impact was mostly felt through nurses prescribing in previously established minor illness clinics; in specialist areas, in contrast, new clinics and nurse-led services had been established as a result, both in outpatients and primary care.
Carey N, Stenner K and Courtenay M. Stakeholder views on the impact of nurse prescribing on dermatology services. J Clin Nursing 2009; published online 11 September.
Nurse prescribers: what do dermatology patients think?
July 30, 2009 by admin
Dermatology patients were found to be very satisfied with the care they were given by nurse independent prescribers and nurse supplementary prescribers, in this study in which 165 (82%) patients treated by nurse prescribers from different convenience samples returned questionnaires.
The questionnaires asked patients about access and waiting times, continuity of care, communication during the consultation, outcomes of the consultation and satisfaction with the care received.
Continuity of care was seen as good and rated highly, suggesting that relationship continuity is an important aspect of the nurse-patient relationship: in particular, patients of the specialist nurses rated continuity highly - these patients are more likely to have long-term conditions.
All aspects of communication during the consultation were rated highly by patients, with slightly lower ratings being given to the amount of information patients received about their medicines. Patients of specialist nurses rated this aspect higher than those of GP nurses.
Overall, the authors conclude that the relationship nurse prescribers have with their dermatology patients and the length of the consultations are important features in this type of consultation. More research is needed on the information needs of dermatology patients, and on the effect of the nurse prescriber/patient relationship on medicines concordance and clinical outcomes.
Courtenay M, Carey N and Stenner K. Dermatology patients’ views on nurse prescribers. Dermatological Nursing 2009; 8(2): 38-44.
Diverse views on nurse prescribing in a children’s hospital
June 6, 2009 by admin
How is nurse prescribing being implemented in a specialist children’s hospital? Healthcare professionals had a range of views on this in a series of interviews in this small study in a highly specialist setting. The nurses had differing views on autonomy - how much they have at present and how much they aspired to - and the authors conclude that this is reflected in the way prescribing was used in practice. Some nurses primarily used prescribing to improve the efficiency of their existing practice, with fewer diagnostic and assessment skills and little feeling of needing prescribing support; in contrast, those wanting to develop their practice further had greater involvement in new patient assessment, greater assessment and diagnostic skills, and would like more support. The authors highlight the importance for organizations of the link between nurses’ expectations of their prescribing roles, the extent to which they use their prescribing qualifications, and the support they need.
The findings highlight the importance of a strategic approach to workforce planning: this approach had quickly superseded selection of nurses based around individual needs, and fostered consideration of issues such as education and support.
Carey N, Stenner K and Courtenay M. Views on implementing nurse prescribing by children’s nurses. Nurse Prescribing 2009; 7(5): 205-210.
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