The prescribing of medicines by a range of health professions is pivotal to the success of the future NHS. Prescribing is a key enabler of specialist and advanced practice, and health professionals that can prescribe medicines are crucial members of healthcare delivery teams. Widening the prescribing of medicines to some professions in addition to the medical profession has changed the role boundaries of those prescribing professions, necessitating changes to relationships between those involved in the patient’s care. The teams in which prescribers work are across the full range of professions, extending beyond traditional boundaries, and include consideration of housing, education, employment as well as physical, mental and social health. This diversity has introduced a need for further integrated working and collaboration across the system. Excellent teamwork, clinical governance, communication and information sharing are crucial, as is the need for team members to have a clear understanding of one another’s roles and the ability to communicate with one another.

This chapter provides a concise overview of the key principles of pharmacology that prescribers should be familiar with in their day-to-day prescribing practice. It includes sections on pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, drug interactions and adverse drug reactions. This third edition includes updated examples and reference to deprescribing in relation to applied pharmacology, as well as information on biosimilars and bioequivalence

As healthcare professionals we strive to provide the best treatments for all our patients. We should have the confidence that after we have made an accurate diagnosis and assessment of clinical need, then the treatment which we recommend should be the best available for each patient. Evidence-based prescribing can be defined as using the best available information to recommend the most effective treatment for the person you are treating. At present we appear to be under siege from an assault of ‘fake news’ stories or ‘alternative facts’. As clinicians we have a duty to do the best for our patients on the most accurate information. In order to do this we require an armamentarium which includes the ability to sift fact from fiction. This chapter will provide a practical outline of how to sift the evidence and give you the confidence to prescribe using the best evidence base. It will also cover the issues of pharmacovigilance, adverse drug reactions and consider the future of evidence-based prescribing.

This chapter describes how independent and supplementary prescribing can be used by non-medical prescribers in the treatment management of patients with dermatological conditions. Valuable insights are provided into the burden of skin conditions in healthcare today. Skin assessment using a biopsychosocial approach is addressed and discussion on how skin assessment influences prescribing decisions for topical and systemic treatments in primary care and the community. Three main principles of management are presented using atopic eczema, psoriasis and acne as examples, with a key focus on prescribing considerations. Remote prescribing is also discussed highlighting the 10 principles of safe and effective prescribing practice when traditional face-to-face consultations are not available. This chapter aims to optimise the decision-making skills of the non-medical practitioners involved in prescribing for common skin conditions

This chapter focuses on supporting families to promote optimal child development. It takes a systems-based approach to examining factors that influence child development, explores some of the most common problems and concerns that nurses who care for children and young people encounter on a regular basis, and draws on the latest research evidence to outline foundational principles for improving health and developmental outcomes.

The chapter is grounded in an understanding that the family environment has a tremendous influence on children’s health and development, and that a strong working partnership with parents and caregivers is essential. It begins with a brief overview of current challenges faced by children in Australia and New Zealand before examining important social and environmental determinants of children’s development. The remainder of the chapter comprises a series of case studies illustrating common child development concerns and outlines current best-practice, evidence-based strategies to support families with child behaviour, sleep, nutrition, physical activity and technology use.

The focus of this chapter is the role of the nurse in optimising child and youth mental health. An overview of mental disorders experienced during childhood and adolescence is followed by a discussion of mental health promotion for children and young people. Although the lifetime prevalence of eating disorders is very low, they are common, and nurses play an important role in the care of those affected children and young people admitted to hospital for treatment. The chapter looks specifically at how nurses can help support children and young people with eating disorders, and also considers the effects of digital technologies on the mental health of young people growing up in today's society. The importance of working closely with the parents and families of children and young people disabled by mental illness and the services available to them is emphasised throughout the chapter.

This chapter focuses on the role of the school nurse. It begins by exploring conceptual frameworks underpinning school nursing practice, and the range of factors that influence the target and scope of their role activities. Readers then learn how the Health Promoting Schools Framework may be used to guide nursing activities to create a health-promoting environment that encourages and supports healthy behaviours. This includes an examination of how nurses work with children and families to promote their health literacy through both formal and informal health education.

The chapter concludes with an overview of the priority health and wellbeing issues for children and adolescents, and evidence-based strategies required to address these concerns and optimise their healthy growth and development. This entails a close examination of the impacts of childhood overweight and obesity, and consideration of the primary, secondary and tertiary prevention activities that may be used by school nurses to help arrest this alarming epidemic.

This chapter covers the systems and services aimed at supporting Māori, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, their families and communities in achieving optimal health and wellbeing outcomes. New Zealand and Australia are separate countries with distinct colonial histories, policies, healthcare systems, practices and ways of life, although their First Peoples may share common experiences. Contemporary health services in each country are also separate and unique, so the content in this chapter is provided in discrete sections. Throughout the chapter, you will be able to identity key concepts related to the delivery of care that is culturally safe for Māori tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young people). This includes a whānau (family) and community approach to health and wellbeing. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors use their cultural lens of knowing, being and doing through Aboriginal ways to highlight the key challenges in relation to meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their connections . The authors bring to your attention cultural awareness, sensitivity, and safety in paediatric settings.

Children contract infections regularly during early childhood, so they can experience episodes of acute illness. They are also at greater risk of injury. For the most part, these episodes are of short duration and resolve with the care of parents at home, sometimes with support from community healthcare professionals such as a general practitioner. However, in some instances the illness can reach a level of severity that requires nursing care and medical treatment in a hospital setting. Infants and children are still developing, so they have physiological and anatomical differences from adults that require specialist skills and knowledge. Hospital environments can be challenging for both the young child and their family. In this chapter, some key nursing considerations and interventions for the acutely unwell and injured child and adolescent will be discussed. This is followed by an exploration of some of the illnesses and injuries children and adolescents can acquire that may require hospital care. You will be asked to reflect upon the nursing management of some of these conditions through review of case studies and reflective questions.