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2 - Non-medical prescribing in a multidisciplinary team context

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2011

Molly Courtenay
Affiliation:
University of Surrey
Matt Griffiths
Affiliation:
University of the West of England, Bristol
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Summary

The demands by patients for a more streamlined, accessible and flexible service (Department of Health (DoH) 2000), demands for the integration of services (DoH 2008) and a high-quality accountable service, and demands for roles which extend beyond traditional boundaries acknowledging the range of knowledge and skills held by practitioners and offering them the opportunity to achieve their full potential (DoH 2001; 2002), have meant that the roles of healthcare professionals have changed dramatically over recent years. These changes have placed a great emphasis on teamwork and multiprofessional co-operation.

The success of non-medical prescribing is dependent upon the contributions from a number of practitioners, including specialist nurses, pharmacists and doctors, and the ability of these professionals to work together as a team. This chapter examines the key issues that need to be considered by healthcare professionals if non-medical prescribing is to be implemented effectively. It commences with an exploration of teamwork and then moves on to discuss clinical governance. Communication, sharing information and supplementary prescribing are then examined.

Teamwork

In order to work effectively as a team, a number of key elements are required. These include:

  • Effective verbal and written communication.

  • Enabling and encouraging supervision.

  • Collaboration and common goals.

  • Valuing the contributions of team members and matching team roles to ability.

  • A culture that encourages team members to seek help.

  • Team structure (Vincent et al. 1998).

Underpinning each of the above elements is the need for team members to have a clear understanding of one another's roles and the ability to communicate with one another.

Type
Chapter
Information
Independent and Supplementary Prescribing
An Essential Guide
, pp. 7 - 14
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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References

,DoH (1989). Report of the Advisory Group on Nurse Prescribing (Crown report). London: DoH.Google Scholar
,DoH (2000). A Health Service of All the Talents: Developing the NHS Workforce. London: DoH.Google Scholar
,DoH (2001). Essence of Care. London: DoH.Google Scholar
,DoH (2002). Liberating the Talents. London: The Stationery Office.Google Scholar
,DoH (2008). High Quality Care for All: NHS Next Stage Review Final Report. London: DoH.Google Scholar
Downie, G., Mackenzie, J., Williams, A. (2003). Pharmacology and Medicines Management for Nurses (third edition). London: Churchill Livingstone.Google Scholar
Jasper, M. (2002). Challenges to professional practice. In: Hogston, R., Simpson, P. Foundations of Nursing Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Loxley, A. (1997). Collaboration in Health and Welfare. London: Jessica Kingsley.Google Scholar
McCray, J. (2002). Nursing practice in an interprofessional context. In: Hogston, R., Simpson, P. Foundations of Nursing Practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Scally, G., Donaldson, L.J. (1998). Clinical governance and the drive for quality improvement in the new NHS in England. British Medical Journal 317: 61–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vincent, C.A., Adams, S., Stanhope, N. (1998). A framework for the analysis of risk and safety in medicines. British Medical Journal 316: 1154–1157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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