Abstract
Approximately 39 000 nurses across the UK are qualified to prescribe medicines, and around 14 000 are able to prescribe any licensed medicine (including some controlled drugs) within their area of competence. In order that these nurses are able to maintain and develop their professional knowledge and competence, it is important that appropriate support and education is available. This study aims to provide an overview of the therapy areas in which nurses prescribe medicines and their continuing professional development needs. An online questionnaire was sent to 878 nurses, 546 (62%) of which were completed. This article reports on the findings of these 546 nurses. The high number of nurses who reported that pharmacological educational needs, and that e-learning is their preferred method of learning, should be considered by those involved in the development and delivery of continuing professional development for nurse prescribers. In addition, the large numbers of nurses prescribing for respiratory conditions and pain, and the high percentage of these nurses reporting continuing professional development needs, should be borne in mind by those involved in undergraduate training.