Relationships in nurse prescribing: revealing the processes

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Nursing Practice
• Primary Care Policy

Background:

• Nurse prescribing is a recent policy in the National Health Service (NHS).
• This initiative has the potential to significantly alter interprofessional relationships in primary care.
• District nurses are a key focus for understanding these changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how nurse prescribers and other primary care professionals interact.
• To understand the impact of nurse prescribing on working relationships and roles.
• To identify challenges and facilitators in the implementation of nurse prescribing.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 healthcare professionals (17 nurse prescribers, 4 non-prescribing nurses, 2 pharmacists, 1 general practitioner).
• A purposive sampling strategy was employed.
• Thematic analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data.

Main Results:

• Interactions and working relationships generally function smoothly.
• Key themes emerged around team working, role changes, prescribing mechanisms, and interprofessional relationships.
• Some staff nurses, pharmacists, and general practitioners expressed uncertainty regarding legal aspects of the nurse prescribing role.

Conclusions:

• Nurse prescribing is integrating into primary care with generally positive working relationships.
• Addressing legal ambiguities surrounding nurse prescribing is crucial for full implementation.
• Further research may explore long-term impacts on patient care and service delivery.