Pursuant to sections 105 and 105B of the Medicines Act 1981 and the Medicines (Designated Prescriber – Registered Nurses) Regulations 2016, the Nursing Council of New Zealand (“Council”) gives the following notice.

Notice

1. Title and commencement—This notice is the Medicines (Designated Prescriber – Registered Nurses) Notice 2016 and comes into force on 20 September 2016.

2. Purpose—The Schedule to this notice sets out the requirements that the Council has determined must be met by registered nurses practising in collaborative primary health and specialty teams who wish to prescribe specified prescription medicine (A1). These requirements are imposed under Regulation 5 of the Medicines (Designated Prescriber – Registered Nurses) Regulations 2016. The Schedule also sets out the requirements for registered nurses practising in diabetes health who wish to prescribe specified prescription medicines (A2). The requirements for prescribing in diabetes health will commence on 30 November 2016 and will be revoked on 30 November 2017. After this time all registered nurses will be required to meet the requirements in (A1) for prescribing.

Schedule

A. Requirements for Prescribing (Regulation 6)

1. The Council requirements for education and training that registered nurses must complete before commencing to prescribe for the first time in primary health and specialty teams are as follows:

1. A minimum of three years’ full-time equivalent practice in the area they intend to prescribe with at least one year of the total practice in New Zealand or a similar healthcare context;
2. the completion of a Council-approved postgraduate diploma in registered nurse prescribing for long-term and common conditions or equivalent as assessed by the Council;
3. completion of a practicum with an authorised prescriber, which demonstrates knowledge to safely prescribe specified prescription medicines and knowledge of the regulatory framework for prescribing; and
4. a satisfactory assessment of the competencies for nurse prescribers completed by an authorised prescriber.

2. The Council requirements for education and training that registered nurses must undertake before commencing to prescribe for the first time in diabetes health are as follows:

1. The completion of two Level 8 papers or equivalent, as assessed by the Council. The papers must include the following content: pathophysiology, clinical assessment and decision making, and pharmacology;
2. demonstration of a clear understanding of diabetes disease processes at Level 8, or equivalent, as determined by the Council; and
3. completion of a six- to 12-week practicum with the authorised prescriber supervising the prescribing, which demonstrates knowledge to safely prescribe all specified diabetes medicines and knowledge of the regulatory framework for prescribing.

B. Other Training to be Undertaken (Regulation 7)

Registered nurses who prescribe must undertake:

1. sixty hours of professional development every three years of which twenty hours must be related to prescribing; and
2. forty days of prescribing practice per year.

C. Continuing Competence (Regulation 8)

Registered nurses authorised to prescribe must provide to the Council each year, with their application for a practising certificate, evidence that they have maintained their prescribing competence.

Dated at Wellington this 18th day of August 2016.

CAROLYN REED, Registrar, Nursing Council of New Zealand.

Explanatory note

Under the Medicines (Designated Prescriber – Registered Nurses) Regulations 2016 made under the Medicines Act 1981, the Nursing Council of New Zealand may set qualifications, training and assessment requirements for registered nurses commencing to prescribe for the first time and other training and assessments to be completed at specified times. More information can be found in the notice titled Notice of Replacement and Revocation of Notices for Registered Nurses, published in the New Zealand Gazette, 18 August 2016, Issue No. 72, Notice No. 2016-gs4766.