Checking nurse prescribers' credentials
Pharmacists are reminded that since 1 April 2002 there have been two
levels of nurse prescribers in England and Wales.
Nurses registered as nurse prescribers with the Nursing and Midwifery
Council may prescribe the items listed in the Nurse Prescribers' Formulary,
which may be found on p773 of the British National Formulary, 44th edition.
Some nurse prescribers have completed further training to allow them
to prescribe from the Nurse Prescribers' Extended Formulary, which may
be found on p777 of the BNF 44th edition. The registration of such nurses
is annotated to confirm that they are able to prescribe from the extended
formulary.
A pharmacist presented with a prescription written by a nurse must make
all necessary checks to ensure that the nurse writing the prescription
is authorised to prescribe the items ordered. If necessary, a nurse's
level of authorisation as a prescriber may be checked with the local primary
care trust. |
