Framework for teaching pharmacology to prepare graduate nurse for prescribing in New Zealand
Section snippets
Prescribing roles for nurses
The need for prescriptive authority came as a result of nurses’ expanding role in health care. The vision of expanded roles for nurses follows worldwide trends. In New Zealand the term Nurse Practitioner was introduced in 2001 (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2001a). Internationally a number of different designations synonymous to a nurse practitioner have been found in literature (Castledine, 2000). These include Nurse Clinician, Advanced Practitioner and Clinical Nurse Specialist. These
Competencies for prescribing
The role of the New Zealand Nursing Council includes the approval and accreditation for nursing education programmes in New Zealand. This incorporates ensuring that the clinical Master’s programme for prescribing Nurse Practitioner covers the required aspects of the prescribing process (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2005). Only Nurse Practitioners can become designated nurse prescribers in New Zealand. The requirement for Nurse Practitioner approval is a rigorous process and it is compulsory
Educational preparation for prescribing
Higher education has been suggested as the “gold standard” for advanced practice in nursing (Whyte et al., 2000, p. 1080). The Master’s level of education has been advocated as it presents the students with a range of contextually transferable academic and professional skills that are vital to the changing context of health care (Schwertz et al., 1997, Whyte et al., 2000).
Although in the past, nurses have carried out a number of roles in relation to medication administration that require
Framework for nurse prescribing education
A constructivist learning theory underpins the postgraduate nursing programmes of a leading New Zealand university. The entering students are registered and experienced nurses. Utilising a constructivist learning approach supports the view that students build up their knowledge and skills in interaction with their work environments or own spheres of practice. Learning is a thoughtful and considered activity that occurs when students construct new knowledge based upon what they already know.
Conclusion
Nurse prescribing is relatively new to New Zealand and there is a need to monitor and research the development of the new role to ensure safe and effective prescribing. A number of further areas for research are recommended. These include a formal and comprehensive evaluation of pharmacology education for nurses using the three tier framework. It is recognised that education will not create expert nurse prescribers immediately. Therefore a follow up study is needed to determine the quality of
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Outline of nurse prescribing education programs: A scoping review
2023, Nurse Education TodayNon-medical prescribing assessment - An evaluation of a nationally agreed multi method approach
2016, Nurse Education in PracticeCitation Excerpt :These lower requirements in the UK do not appear to negatively affect clinical outcomes (Latter et al., 2012) and a recent study suggests that non-medical prescribers are satisfied with the educational preparation they receive (Smith et al., 2014). Although most countries where non-medical prescribing is permitted have guidelines and standards to which educational institutes design their programmes (Kroezen et al., 2011) it has been reported that there is variation in methods of programme delivery and assessment (Lim et al., 2007). This variation may pose a risk to patient safety and reduce movement of staff from region to region.
Experiences of nurses as postgraduate students of pharmacology and therapeutics: A multiple case narrative study
2014, Nurse Education TodayCitation Excerpt :While the important contribution of pharmacists as prescribers is acknowledged, the focus of this paper is on the educational preparation of nurse prescribers, using nurse practitioners (NPs) in New Zealand (NZ) as a model. Accredited NPs in NZ have been able to register as independent prescribers since 2005 (Lim et al., 2007). Recent amendments to the Medicines Act have extended independent prescribing authority to accredited diabetes clinical nurse specialists and pharmacists (Ministry of Health, 2011), and more widely to other clinical nurse specialists as delegated prescribers (Ministry of Health, 2013).
Extending the prescribing framework to nurses: Lessons from the past
2011, CollegianCitation Excerpt :Postgraduate nursing education has become increasingly popular over the last decade as universities have introduced clinically relevant master's degrees, and government funds for clinical training have become available for registered nurses. A clinical master's degree that includes pathophysiology, advanced health assessment, clinical pharmacology and a supervised prescribing practicum is a requirement for nurse practitioner registration (see Lim, Honey, & Kilpatrick, 2007). There are now several thousand clinically expert registered nurses who have graduated with this type of clinical master's degree.
Patients' level of satisfaction and self-reports of intention to comply following consultation with nurses and midwives with prescriptive authority: A cross-sectional survey
2011, International Journal of Nursing StudiesCitation Excerpt :The model of nurse and midwife prescribing in Ireland differs in some respects to that seen internationally although there are similarities. Internationally, the extent to which nurses can prescribe is variable, for example in the United States prescribing practices vary from state to state but are generally linked to the role of the advanced practice nurse whereas in Sweden, Australia, Canada and New Zealand prescribing is generally in the domain of nurses working in isolated rural areas (Wilhelmsson et al., 2001; Plonczynski et al., 2003; Lim et al., 2007; Berry et al., 2008). In Ireland prescriptive authority is not related to the grade of the nurse or midwife but is open to all grades from staff nurse to advanced nurse/midwife practitioners.
Anatomy for nurses: Providing students with the best learning experience
2010, Nurse Education in Practice