Views on nurse prescribing: a survey of community mental health nurses in the Republic of Ireland

A nurse prescribing scheme has recently been implemented within the Republic of Ireland. This paper reports on the views of community mental health nurses on nurse prescribing just prior to the implementation of the scheme. Data were gathered through a 13-item questionnaire administered to 103 members of the Association of Community Mental Health Nurses in Ireland. Results indicated a distinct difference of view between male and female community mental health nurses, with female nurses having greater reservations towards the desirability of nurse prescribing in relation to educational preparation and impact on professional relationships. Overall, only 17% of respondents favoured being supervised in their prescribing practice by their consultant psychiatrist. The paper concludes that there is ambivalence towards prescribing in this important group of nurses which may need to be taken into account if nurse prescribing is to be successfully implemented within the Irish mental health service context.