Journals Watch 2003

This section features a regularly updated list of recently published articles relevant to nurse prescribing.

Abstracts of the papers are included and users are encouraged to submit their views about published papers through the feedback section.

Please note: In this section of the website we aim to cover articles on areas where nurses do prescribe. However, not all the treatments or appliances mentioned are prescribable by nurses. For that reason, nurses should check the up-to-date versions of the Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary for District Nurses and Health Visitors (NPF) and the Nurse Prescribers’ Extended Formulary (NPEF) and Drug tariff if they are in any doubt. Alternatively contact your Regional Nurse Prescribing Lead for clarification.

2002 Mental & Neuro Health | 2001 Mental & Neuro Health

Mental and neurological health
Click on the article title below to read the summaries.

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Haque MS. et al. The work and values of mental health nurses observed. J Psychiatr Mental Health Nurs 2002; 9: 673-680

This study used a questionnaire to try to establish how community mental health nurses perceive their role and the extent to which they are able to fulfil it. Of the 79 questionnaires, 40 were returned. In many cases, respondents were concerned about how they are perceived by other healthcare staff, the deficiencies in their therapeutic skills, and the level of support received, although they were enthusiastic about their work.

On the specific area of medication, there was much disagreement, with 40% stating that they disagreed with discouraging clients with serious mental illness from stopping their medication; only 22.5% said that they would. Half the sample, however, thought that mental health nurses should be able to prescribe.
 

Hosking P. Prescribing and the epilepsy specialist nurse. Seizure 2003; 12(2): 74-76

This article argues that epilepsy specialist nurses would be able to provide an enhanced service to patients if they were able to prescribe antiepileptic drugs.

In the UK, 30,000 people develop epilepsy every year: one of the responses to the pressures on the healthcare system has been the emergence of the epilepsy nurse specialist. Despite treatment with first-line drugs, about 20-30% of patients with epilepsy continue to have seizures and require ongoing specialist care.

Although the tasks undertaken by epilepsy nurse specialist vary, some advise patients on medication changes. The treatment plan formulated with the specialist clinician may include a sequence of multiple steps to find a dose that is effective and tolerated. Epilepsy nurse specialists need specialist knowledge and experience to provide advice about drug doses. Nurses who do this generally work in secondary or tertiary care and make recommendations to GPs, who do the actual prescribing.

The author argues that further advances in the services provided by epilepsy nurse specialists depend largely on recognition and expansion of their treatment role and their willingness and ability to prescribe anti-epileptic drugs. Standardised training is therefore needed to ensure that specialist nurses prescribing anti-epileptic drugs do so safely and a registration system will be needed to identify those nurses so qualified.

Website: Science direct