The role of the nurse practitioner in the UK is new. It extends the traditional role of the nurse and may help overcome some of the difficulties in communication that have bedevilled clinical practice in recent years. This paper reviews the emergence of nurse practitioners in the USA and considers their status in the UK. The philosophical basis for clinical interventions by nurses is assessed a...

Adequate treatment of high blood pressure reduces the risk of strokes and other cardiovascular events, but current treatment in UK general practice is often inadequate. Nurse-led management of people with high blood pressure could lead to improvements due to strict adherence to protocols, agreed target blood pressure, better prescribing and compliance, and regular follow-up. However, a review o...

CONTEXT Persons with spinal cord injury or disorder (SCI/D) are at increased risk for antibiotic resistance because of recurrent infections and subsequent use of antibiotics. However, there are no studies focused on providers who care for these patients and their perceptions regarding antibiotic use and resistance. OBJECTIVE To characterize SCI/D provider behavior and attitudes about antibiot...

Background :Nurse prescribing is being implemented increasingly. This article reviews the literature on the effects of it. Methods :Eleven databases and 6 websites were searched. The quality of the studies was determined. Outcomes were classified by the effects on medication prescribed, on patients, on professionals and on the health care system. Results : Twenty-three studies were included. Al...

AIM To evaluate the impact of a Diabetes Specialist Nurse prescriber on insulin and oral hypoglycaemic agent medication errors and length of stay. BACKGROUND The National Health Service has committed to a 40% reduction in the number of drug errors in the use of prescribed medicines. Drug errors in diabetes care are a common cause of significant morbidity and complications. Nurse prescribing c...

Social prescribing is a mechanism for promoting health and well-being whereby people are referred non-clinical interventions to range of services groups in their local community. In social schemes, healthcare professionals and/or link workers connect with community that can support them broad emotional, practical needs, ultimately enabling take ownership health. This article describes the devel...

Over the past decades, professional boundaries in health care have come under pressure, and the expansion of prescriptive authority to include nurses touches on issues of professional domains and interprofessional competition. Knowledge claims play an important role in achieving jurisdictional control. Knowledge can take on multiple forms, ranging from indeterminate to technical (I/T ratio) and...

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a safe and highly effective method to prevent acquisition that underutilized, particularly in marginalized populations. This article describes current emerging modalities with PrEP. Safe prescribing monitoring of PrEP presented enable the nurse practitioner incorporate prevention into their routine clinical practice minimize barriers this valuable strategy.