Sense of self-efficacy of nursing staff and their willingness to write prescriptions and prescribe medicines

Introduction:
A sense of self-efficacy plays a significant role in the work of nurses. It influences the motivation of this professional group to take on new tasks and expand their competences. This translates into patient satisfaction and impacts the functioning of the entire healthcare system. The aim of this study was to determine how the sense of self-efficacy of nursing staff affects their willingness to write prescriptions and prescribe medicines.

Material and methods:
The study was carried out between May and September 2021 in 19 primary healthcare facilities located in Kielce. Two facilities from each of the 13 districts of Świętokrzyskie Province were also drawn to participate in the study. The study was conducted among 188 nurses. The directors of the drawn establishments gave their written consent for the survey to be carried out at the respective primary health care facility. The list of all facilities in the Świętokrzyskie region was compiled based on data from the National Health Fund on entities that provide primary health care services. The research tools were an original survey questionnaire and the Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES).

Results:
Nurses with competences to issue prescriptions were characterised by higher scores of generalised self-efficacy. Based on the estimated logistic regression it can be concluded that the chance of willingness to prescribe medication is 10 times higher in nurses who are competent in relation to those who are not (OR = 9.934, 95% CI: 3.067-32.172, p < 0.001) and who have a higher sense of self-efficacy (OR = 3.559, 95% CI: 1.463-8.653, p = 0.005).

Conclusions:
The inclusion of the new competencies in nurses’ career paths can help improve their sense of self-efficacy and contribute to their motivation to use their new powers.