Evidence based practice is fundamental to safe clinical practice, prescribing and is integral to prescribing programmes.

Being able to answer the question "why this drug" for items you are likely to prescribe is a simple way to think about the pertinence of evidence informed prescribing. While this is can be answered in part in relation to the pharmacology, you also need to include the research and evidence base underpinning treatment choices.

It is useful to review the pathophysiology, pharmacology and other information about medications you are likely to be prescribing, as well as reviewing the evidence informing prescribing practice.

Evidence, research and guidelines are also required to inform the assessment. You need to know what questions to ask, or red flags / serious symptoms to be alert to for a safe and effective clinical assessment.

To view a good example of helpful guidance for evidence based diagnosis and treatment options, visit NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries. Not all clinical topics and conditions are covered, but there is a good range and it provides links to the evidence base underpinning the recommendations (including published guidelines).

As a prescriber, it is important to be able to answer questions around your sources of knowledge. Explanations may be needed for the people in your care to promote informed choice. Citing or acknowledging your information sources can also be helpful for students, or if something were to go wrong, you may need to explain decisions and the research / information underpinning them to your manager, or a court. Being able to articulate knowledge sources starts with asking how you know something as illustrated below.

Image from: Gould, J. and Bain H. (2022) Principles & practice of nurse prescribing. First edition. London. https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/principles-and-practice-of-nurse-prescribing/book265193

Useful websites to support evidence based practice for all professionals include: