The aim of this assignment is to demonstrate the use of safe and effective prescribing in practice. I will achieve this by presenting and analysing a prescribing scenario which I have encountered in my current area of practice within a District Nursing Team.
During the case study the patient I have chosen will be referred to as Jean. This is to maintain her anonymity in line with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) guidelines of confidentiality.
I feel it is important for the purpose of my scenario to acknowledge the new skills which I have acquired whilst undertaking the V150 and explain the background to Nurse Prescribing.
The Cumberledge Report (DHSS, 1986) made the initial recommendations for nurses to …show more content…

White (2003) suggests that the symptoms Jean was experiencing indicate critical colonisation. As there was an absence of positive signs of infection such as cellulitis, pyrexia and malodour (Patel
2007) my clinical experience advocated treating the wound as being critically colonised.
Following full assessment of the wound and further discussions with
Jean we agreed on a plan of care. We decided that there was a need for a wound dressing to be prescribed. Moffatt and Vowden
(2008) suggest that discussions combined with clinical skills are important in care planning. Once the need for a prescription was agreed upon I utilised the mnemonic EASE (NPC, 1999). This helped me consider the choice of products I was prescribing by looking at how effective the product was, how appropriate it was in Jeans care plan, how safe the product was and whether or not the prescription would be cost effective. Using EASE would help ensure that I prescribed the most appropriate items. It was important that
I chose products based on effectiveness and wasn’t influenced by commercial factors or by others (NMC, 2006). Jean advised me at this point that she was exempt from prescription charges.
The choice of primary dressing was aquacel AG, a silver containing hydrofiber with hydrocolloid fibres. Allevyn adhesive was chosen for the secondary dressing.

My aim was to debride the