Prescribing and Mental Health Nursing
Over 90 percent of people with mental health problems take medication. Nurses now have the authority to prescribe this medication should they so wish. However, all nurses have a duty of care to administer medication safely. This means all mental health nurses need to critically engage with psychopharmacology, clinical governance and best practice issues. The first section of this book provides a framework for this discussion by integrating the histories of psychopharmacology, mental health nursing and medication legislation. This provides the background for the second section of the book whereby prescribing decisions in schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and insomnia are discussed.