Ethical and Legal Aspects of Prescribing
Ethical and Legal Aspects of Prescribing
ORDER NOW FOR THE ORIGINAL PAPER: Ethical and Legal Aspects of Prescribing
Ethical and Legal Aspects of Prescribing
How do beta-blockers work? What exactly do antibiotics do to the bacteria they target? What effects does an anti-depressant have on blood flow?
Questions like these are related to the underlying pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes of pharmacotherapeutics. As an advanced practice nurse, understanding these fundamental pharmacotherapeutic concepts is important to ensure that the prescription drugs you recommend for your patients will be safe and effective to treat and/or manage their symptoms. Additionally, as the advanced practice nurse, it is your responsibility to ensure that when prescribing prescription drugs, you adhere to the ethical and legal principles set forth for prescribing drugs as an added layer of protection and safety for the patients you will treat.
This week, you will analyze factors that may influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics processes of a patient and assess the details of a personalized plan of care that you develop based on influencing factors and patient history. You will also evaluate and analyze ethical and legal implications and practices related to prescribing drugs, including disclosure and nondisclosure, and analyze the process of writing prescriptions to avoid medication errors.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze factors that influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in patients
- Assess patient factors and history to develop personalized plans of care
- Evaluate ethical and legal implications related to prescribing drugs
- Analyze ethical and legal practices of prescribing drugs
- Analyze strategies to address disclosure and nondisclosure
- Justify advanced practice nurse strategies to guide prescription drug decision-making
- Analyze the process of writing prescriptions to avoid medication errors
Learning Resources
Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)
Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2021). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice nurses and physician assistants (2nd ed.) St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
- Chapter 1, “Prescriptive Authority” (pp. 1–3)
- Chapter 2, “Rational Drug Selection and Prescription Writing” (pp. 4–7)
- Chapter 3, “Promoting Positive Outcomes of Drug Therapy” (pp. 8–12)
- Chapter 4, “Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Drug Interactions” (pp. 13–33)
- Chapter 5, “Adverse Drug Reactions and Medication Errors” (pp. 34–42)
- Chapter 6, “Individual Variation in Drug Response” (pp. 43–45)
This website outlines the code of federal regulations for prescription drugs.
This website details key aspects of drug registration.
This resource introduces the code of ethics for nurses and highlights critical aspects for ethical guideline development, interpretation, and application in practice.
This article provides NPs with information regarding state-based laws for NP prescribing.
The authors of this article assess the impact of a pharmacist‐led educational intervention on family nurse practitioner (FNP) students’ prescribing skills, perception of preparedness to prescribe, and perception of pharmacist as collaborator.
Required Media (click to expand/reduce)
Introduction to Advanced Pharmacology
Meet Dr. Terry Buttaro, associate professor of practice at Simmons College of Nursing and Health Sciences as she discusses the importance of pharmacology for the advanced practice nurse. (8m)