News and presentations from today's Nurse Prescribing Summit chaired by Professor Angela Alexander MBE, Professor Emerita, School of Pharmacy, Chair, Task and Finish Group for the 2021 review Competency Framework for all Prescribers, and Chair Working Party, The Competency Framework for Designated Prescribing Practitioners (DPP), Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Nurse prescribing leadership & advanced nursing roles
Heather Randle UK Head of Professional Learning and Development and
UK Professional Lead for Primary Care, Royal College of Nursing
• where are the standards for advanced roles and nursing within speciality
• recognition of advanced practice
• implications for nurse prescribers
• the challenges of Covid-19
• enhanced practice and implications for NMPs
• what support do nurse prescribers need at each stage of their prescribing journey
• ensuring nurse prescribing practice is integral to service development
Heather discussed the RCN Standards for Advanced Practice and the purpose of Credentialing for quality assurance. She went on to look at the difference between advanced and enhanced practice, she said this has caused a lot of debate. More recently it has been described as working at an advanced level but not necessarily enhanced practice. ECP is an extended role rather than an advanced role.
Heather said it is a legal requirement for qualified prescribers to have a scope of prescribing practice and you are able to recognise your own limitations. A proportion of CPD needs to be relevant to prescribing, and regularly auditing your own practice. On leadership Heather said everyone can be a leader, consider how you can influence others in the future.
Resource: www.rcn.org.uk/library/Subject-Guides/advanced-nursing-practice
A carers perspective on the impact nurse prescribing can have on patient care, and lessons since becoming a non-medical prescriber
Kate Parry Clinical Team Lead, Perinatal Mental Health
Leicestershire Partnership Trust
• the importance of considering the person behind the symptoms
• responsibility of a non-medical prescriber in providing holistic care
• the importance of asking what is important to the patient / carer
Kate gave a powerful presentation sharing her family experience of her dads ill health and treatment that sadly led to him taking his own life at 79 years old. She described how her dad was due to have 8 clinical appointments the week after his death all with different specialists who would only be focused on those specific symptoms. She said the problem was each intervention had a knock on effect to the others. Being on multiple medications can increase the risk of hospital admission. It's important to recognise if symptoms are the side effect of medicines or part of the aging process and presentation of disease. No one has overarching responsibility. In summary Kate said as nurse prescribers we need to commit to see the patient as a person and not just that set of symptoms. It's important to be clear as a prescriber what we are aiming for by prescribing that medication and consider drug interactions.
Exhibitor - Servisource Efficient, effective and streamlined recruitment process
