Nurse and midwife prescribing: principles, values and beliefs

The last research roundup provided you with an overview of some papers covering guidance impacting on and the current practice of prescribing analgesia in a primary care setting (Robertson, 2021). The review looked at three differing papers covering simple analgesia and guidelines, current analgesia use in people with osteoarthritis and falls, and patterns of analgesia prescribing in low back pain.

This month's roundup has a focus on nurse and midwife prescribing. The articles reviewed look at the principles of prescribing practice and the implementation and evaluation of nurse prescribing, as well as exploring attitudes and beliefs. The papers chosen offer a global perspective, rather than being UK centric.

This overview article in the advanced practice section of the British Journal of Nursing outlines the general principles of nurse prescribing practice in the UK and its current standing (Mitchell and Pearce, 2021). It acknowledges the types of nurse prescriber and their current scope while working in the UK, and the differences between them. It also looks at the increase in complexity of the nurses' scope of practice in general and how nurse prescribing has evolved since its suggestion in 1986 to its current iteration from a legal and professional perspective. While acknowledging the key drivers within the NHS as a primary push for extensions to nurse prescribing it also review the needs of the patient and patient-centred care, as well as the professional development of the nursing role. Among the aspects considered as benefits of nurse prescribing key areas identified were holistic care, patient-centred care, reduction in hospital admissions and reduced length of hospital stays. A major advantage of nurse prescribing practice was identified as an improved quality of life for patients, especially those living with a long-term or chronic health condition. The article also outlines ethical, legal and regulatory frameworks for prescribing, as well as the key areas of clinical and theoretical knowledge and skills required for safe and effective nurse prescribing practice. The authors conclude that nurse prescribing is an essential part of the advanced clinical practice role.