Clinical update
Preparing to Prescribe toolkit: becoming a non-medical prescriber
Updated online resource is a step-by-step guide for nurses considering a prescribing course

Updated online resource is a step-by-step guide for nurses considering a prescribing course
The toolkit guides nurses through what is involved in gaining a prescribing qualification Picture: Jim Varney
Essential information
Until the 1990s, only doctors and dentists were able to prescribe medicines.
Since then, approved post-registration training programmes have enabled others, including nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals, to prescribe.
In March 2020, there were 90,159 nurse prescribers registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) .
Nurses have two options available to them if they wish to train as a prescriber.
The first option involves completing an NMC community practitioner nurse prescriber (CPNP) course – also
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