As an advance nurse practitioner, it is our duty and responsibility to practice according to
standards related to the scope of practice. In the state of Arizona, a Registered Nurse Practitioner
(RNP) with prescribing and dispending authority is prohibited by law to dispense a drug or
device that might induce harm of a patient or the public, this includes prescribing a controlled
substance to family or oneself (AZBN, 2015). In the event that a RNP is found in violation of
this particular regulation they will be subject to face legal implications.
Guided Decision Making as a Practitioner
The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports more than 100,000 suspected
medication errors annually (U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 2019). It is the
responsibility of a healthcare professional to maintain patient and the public free from harm.
Patient safety involves preventing errors, limiting harm, and reducing the likeliness of mistakes.
The National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention states that, a
medication error is any preventable event leading to misuse of a medication or patient harm
while the medication is in the control of the healthcare professional, patient, or consumer (FDA,
2019). There are several safety precautions prescribers can do to ensure patient safety. Nurses
should always follow proper procedures for medication administration.
There are seven crucial parts in the process of prescribing prescriptions. These parts
include, the prescriber’s information, the patient’s information, the medication, the instructions,
the dispensing instructions, the number of refills, and the prescriber’s signature including the
National Provider Identifier and/or Drug Enforcement Agency number (Rosenthal & Burchum,
2021). Practicing the five rights is one strategy to minimize medication errors
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