What barriers to nurse prescribing remain?
July 30, 2009 by admin It is clear that despite the rapid growth in nurse prescribing, some obstacles remain, particularly in certain clinical areas. Two recent articles discuss some of these issues. In one [1], the author traces the recent development of nurse prescribing and how it is now being implemented and argues that although it is now mostly supported by doctors, and there has been much progress, some barriers remain. As predicted, the proportion of nurses qualified to prescribe independently who use supplementary prescribing has fallen since the formulary was opened up. According to Professor Molly Courtenay, that figure is now 20%, down from 40% in 2006, and she points out that some nurses prefer to use supplementary prescribing, to help build confidence and skills, or because their patients have complex conditions. Some trusts are, however, requiring nurses to practice as supplementary prescribers for a period after qualifying, for a variety of reasons. These policies have t
