The Attitude and Preparedness of Nurses Working in Tabriz Teaching Hospitals on Nurse Prescribing

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Prescribing is a written or oral prescription that requires complex and challenging skills. Prescribing in nursing is a relatively new category; Therefore, it is necessary to examine the attitude and readiness of nurses. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitude and readiness of nurses in Tabriz educational centers towards prescribing in nursing. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed with the participation of 335 nurses working in different wards of Tabriz educational and medical centers. Sampling was done randomly from clusters of ten centers in Tabriz. Demographic questionnaire and 20-item attitude questionnaire and prescription preparation questionnaire were completed by the nurse after obtaining the consent of the nurses of 10 educational and medical centers in Tabriz. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21. Results: The mean scores of attitude and readiness were 34.79 (8.15) and 36.99 (6.01), respectively. 28.4% of nurses disagreed with prescribing in nursing and 71.6% agreed. The lowest score of the preparation questions 3.25 (1.02) is related to the phrase "I can take full responsibility for my copying and transcription." And the highest average score of 4.07 (0.82) is related to the phrase "If I have the right to write, I will need more training in pharmacology." The results of Spearman correlation coefficient test to calculate the relationship between these two variables showed a positive and significant correlation (r = 0.72, P <0.05). Also, people with more than 15 years of experience, formal and contract employees, and those with master's degrees had a higher attitude and readiness than people with lower backgrounds, contract and contract employees, and undergraduates. Conclusion: Nurses who had a higher attitude score had a higher readiness score and in contrast, nurses who had a lower attitude score had less readiness than nursing prescribing. It is suggested that in the research, the attitudes of the officials of the nursing system and the Ministry of Health regarding the prescription of nurses should be examined.