Confidence and competence in paediatric drug calculations

Nurse prescibers have a unique role for many reasons, one of which being that they, unlike other prescribing professionals, may be responsible for more than one stage of the drug administration process. They are one of the few groups of clinicians who may prescribe, dispense and administer drugs to their patient, and on occasion may perform more than one of these roles. This holistic function is one of the joys of the autonomous advanced practice role, yet without ensuring that adequate provision is made for patient safety and risk assessment, this fluid procedure also leads to greater vulnerability for the practitioner and the service user, when considering the potential for medication error. This risk is increased if the individual prescriber is not confident in his/her ability to perform drug calculations, particularly in relation to another susceptible group, namely babies and children.