ABSTRACT
In almost every practice setting, nurses administer medicines or supervise their
administration. To do this safely, nurses require a breadth of knowledge, including
pharmacology, legal and policy issues, how to administer medicines via a variety
of routes, and how to do calculations. Nurses must also have the skills to work in
partnership with patients and colleagues (such as the pharmacist). Only a registered
nurse can administer medicines unsupervised, but to develop competence requires
considerable experience and practice. Therefore students should take every opportunity
to develop their knowledge and skills during the pre-registration nursing programme.
