Social representations of nursing through nurse prescription in the primary healthcare network

Introduction: Considering that a parliamentary motion seeks to modify the health code to allow nurses to have the legal power to prescribe drugs and health devices, it is necessary to analyze the social representation that primary healthcare nurses give to prescription. Objective: To describe the figurative (representation field), symbolic (information) and affective (attitudinal) nursing components by means of nurse prescription used by primary health care nursing professionals. Materials and Methods: A descriptive qualitative research with a grounded theory research design was conducted with eight nurses from the primary healthcare network through a semi-structured interview. Results: Five categories were created based on the social representation of nurse prescription: care management, social benefits of prescription, prescription restriction, professional nurse training in prescription, and value attributed to the prescription. Discussion: Primary care nurses perceive the prescription phenomenon as a nursing indication that is influenced by factors associated with undergraduate pharmacology training and work experience, similar to that reported in some studies in Ibero-America. Conclusions: Nurses consider that nurse prescription is a positive element for care delivery, contributing to the resolutive capacity of healthcare. However, adequate training and clear legal support are required to do so.