Week 6: Ethical and Legal Implications of
Prescribing Drugs
Week 6: Ethical and Legal Implications of Prescribing Drugs
What type of drug should you prescribe based on your patient’s
diagnosis? How much of the drug should the patient receive? How
often should the drug be administered? When should the drug
not be prescribed? Are there individual patient factors that could
create complications when taking the drug? Should you be
prescribing drugs to this patient? How might different state
regulations affect the prescribing of this drug to this patient?
These are some of the questions you might consider when
selecting a treatment plan for a patient.
As an advanced practice nurse prescribing drugs, you are held
accountable for people’s lives every day. Patients and their
families will often place trust in you because of your position. With
this trust comes power and responsibility, as well as an ethical and
legal obligation to “do no harm.” It is important that you are aware
of current professional, legal, and ethical standards for advanced
practice nurses with prescriptive authority. Additionally, it is
important to ensure that the treatment plans and
administration/prescribing of drugs is in accordance with the
regulations of the state in which you practice. Understanding how
these regulations may affect the prescribing of certain drugs in
different states may have a significant impact on your patient’s
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Week 6: The Ethical and Legal Implications of Drug Prescribing
Week 6: The Ethical and Legal Implications of Drug Prescribing
What type of drug should you prescribe based on your patient’s
diagnosis? How much of the drug should the patient receive? How
often should the drug be administered? When should the drug
not be prescribed? Are there individual patient factors that could
create complications when taking the drug? Should you be
prescribing drugs to this patient? How might different state
regulations affect the prescribing of this drug to this patient?
These are some of the questions you might consider when
selecting a treatment plan for a patient.
As an advanced practice nurse prescribing drugs, you are held
accountable for people’s lives every day. Patients and their
families
