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In 2013, the Nursing Council of New Zealand consulted on a proposal for introduction of registered nurse (RN) prescribing at two levels (specialist and community) within the designated class of prescriber. The proposal builds on the success of the diabetes nurse specialist prescribing project and the experience of other countries where RN prescribing is well established.

To describe the views and intentions of nurses who work in primary health care (PHC) settings about the two levels of RN prescribing proposed.

The study involved a self-reported survey using a non-probability sample of RNs working in PHC settings (N=305). Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed descriptively.

The respondents were experienced nurses. Overall, 82.3% expressed interest in becoming a community nurse prescriber, and 62.6% expressed interest in the specialist prescriber level …