A paramedic journey to nonmedical prescribing: part 2

This short article follows on from the previous in the series, charting my journey through the process of becoming a paramedic prescriber. Previously, I discussed what led me to getting a place on a prescribing course; here, I will discuss my experience of being a student on the course.

In September 2018, I embarked on the non-medical prescribing (NMP) course at the University of the West of England in Bristol. Having studied at UWE for many years, I was excited to be back on campus and was already aware of the high calibre of the lecturers who would be teaching on the NMP programme.

What surprised me most initially was how multidisciplinary the course was: I was among nurses (from the adult, child, mental health and learning disability branches), pharmacists and, of course, a handful of other paramedics whom I was pleased to see. An immediate advantage of this multi-professional programme was the ability to learn from each other; we gained insight into the respective practices in the group, and a greater respect for the different capabilities. Something I rapidly took away from this is how knowledgeable pharmacists are, and what an excellent resource they are for advice regarding more complex prescribing issues.