Independent and Supplementary Nurse Prescribing

Overview

Non-medical prescribing has been an important development in nursing.  Prescribing by non-medical practitioners has expanded and become embedded in health and care systems.  The nursing profession in the UK has one of the broadest scopes to prescribe in the world.  Prescribing in nursing has enabled the development of new roles which benefit both service delivery and service users.  

For practitioners, it offers the opportunity to develop genuine autonomy in a range of interesting and varied roles. As an independent prescriber, within your area of competence, this qualification will enable you to prescribe a wide range of medicines from the British National Formulary (BNF). It will also allow you to work with appropriate prescribers in a supplementary prescribing arrangement, prescribing medicines that form part of an identified and agreed Clinical Management Plan (CMP).

The module’s indicative content, learning outcomes and methods of assessment reflect the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s competency framework which is the UK’s accepted standard for prescribing practice. In order to ensure that these competencies are addressed, the indicative content includes such topics as the policies/procedures of independent and supplementary prescribing, consultation and decision making, the influences on and psychology of prescribing, prescribing in a team context, clinical pharmacology and therapeutics and the effects of co-morbidity across the lifespan, evidence based practice and clinical governance in relation to non-medical prescribing, legal, policy and ethical aspects, professional accountability and responsibility, drug licensing, monitoring procedures and reporting of adverse drug reactions, cost effective prescribing, record keeping, and prescribing controlled drugs.

You will be required to participate in group activities and workshops potentially using digital technology, which include problem-based learning, reflection and student seminars. There will be formal and interactive lectures and discussions, including specialist speakers. Additional resources, learning exercises and information will be available via the module virtual learning environment (VLE) Blackboard™.

Teaching strategies will consist of:

• Face to face interactive lectures and online learning
• Group work and collaborative peer working
• Inter professional discussion
• Debate
• Assignment preparation
• Formative group working and collaborative discussion
• Online resources, VLE e.g., Blackboard, MS Teams
• Simulated learning using clinical scenarios