Different experiences with nurse prescribing

Background Nurse prescribing was introduced to Finnish health care services in 2010. After almost a decade of nurse prescribing, there is still only little research information in a national context.

Method This qualitative research presents Finnish doctors’, nurses’, nurse prescribers’ and managers’ views on and experiences with nurse prescribing. Interviews were conducted between November 2017 and January 2018.

Results Experiences varied among respondents. The most positive view was in student health care units and family planning clinics. Personnel of small health centres saw only minor benefits related to nurse prescribing.

Conclusion The role of nurse prescribers is still not clear and needs to be developed further to provide more benefits. There is a need for more research concerning nurse prescribing and its economic effects in Finland.