The introduction of nurse/midwife prescribing is a real and significant change in nursing and midwifery practice in Ireland.

There are now 273 registered nurse prescribers (RNPs) in practice across the country and a further 150 preparing for registration. Improving patient care is at the heart of the initiative on nurse/midwife prescribing.  

Ms. Maureen Flynn of the Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director, HSE launched the new Certificate in Nurse Prescribing (Nurse/Midwife) at the Department of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Limerick (UL) on the 22^nd March 2011. The new progamme, open to Registered General Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, Registered Intellectual Disability, Registered Children’s Nurses, Registered Midwives and Registered Public Health Nurses (with more than three years experience) runs over a six month period with two courses each year ( first Cohort - 29^th August 2011). At the launch, Mr. Larry O’Connor, Head of Department outlined their aim in creating the new post-graduate education pathway ‘to develop nurse/midwives' professional knowledge base and competence in medication management within the statutory professional and interdisciplinary framework and in response to working within the challenges of health care provision’. Ms. Jill Murphy, Course Director at UL said the programme has been designed to facilitate flexible, student friendly access to learning (10 days on campus in UL and 18 days on line).  The availability of the course in UL allows nurses and midwives to balance busy work schedules with personal commitments while having the opportunity to study at their closest university.  

For Applications Contact: Admissions Office: 061 202015- admissions@ul.ie www.ul.ie/admissions

In 2009 The National Evaluation of the Nurse and Midwife Prescribing Initiative carried out by University College Dublin, found that patients and parents of children who received a prescription from a nurse/midwife with prescriptive authority were highly satisfied with the care they received from nurse/midwife prescribers. Waiting time was also perceived to have been impacted upon with over ninety per cent of patients reporting that it had reduced their waiting time for treatment.  Overall satisfaction with the consultation process was also high with the majority of patients surveyed of the opinion that the nurse/midwife prescriber was comprehensive in the delivery of their care, listened to their concerns and treated them as a person. This provides evidence to support the demand for continued educational provision for nurses and midwives.