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Aim: To obtain consensus on barriers and facilitators to nurse prescribing following its recent introduction in Spain. Design: A three round online Delphi survey and focus group. Methods: An exploratory method was used with three consecutive rounds of questionnaires based on anonymity and feedback, and a focus group. The study was carried out with primary care, specialized care, socio‐health care and manager nurses. Results: On the basis of the Delphi study that was conducted, a list of 15 barriers and 18 facilitators of nurse prescribing was obtained. However, no general consensus was found with respect to the prioritization of these barriers/facilitators. The analysis of the results of the focus group confirmed the information obtained from the Delphi study. The main barriers highlighted were dependence on the figure of the physician, insufficient training in pharmacology, a lack of institutional support and the limited list of products that could be prescribed. The key facilitators were academic knowledge and ongoing training and education, independence in the functions and responsibilities of the nursing profession, adaptation to new roles and autonomy in the case of chronic care processes. Conclusion: Nurses were generally positive about the introduction of nurse prescribing. The commitment of nurses to training and their accreditation as prescribers (internal forces) and health policy and nursing management (external forces) play a fundamental role in supporting the basis of nurse prescribing and ensuring that it is developed with the identified support resources, such as staff training and the provision of the materials necessary for its proper implementation, all with the aim of guaranteeing quality healthcare. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: Strong models of nurse prescribing are being considered globally to address population needs. The results can help the future implementation of non‐medical independent prescribing and provide guidance to the government and society on the interventions that can be used to consolidate it. Impact: What problem did the study address? By 2027, the world's population will receive more than 4.5 trillion doses of medicine each year. However, the WHO estimates a projected shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030. Inadequacies with traditional physician‐led care systems mean that new approaches are imperative to maintain patient access to prescription medicines, with NP being a key element in this regard. In Catalonia (Spain), the accreditation process for nurses as prescribers was implemented in 2021. It is therefore of vital importance to question and consult the nurses themselves, the main promoters of the process, to find out their perceptions and thus be able to take them into consideration in the implementation process.What were the main findings? A total of 15 barriers and 17 facilitators were identified. The main perceived barriers are dependence on the figure of the physician, insufficient training in pharmacology during undergraduate studies and a lack of institutional support. The main perceived facilitators are academic knowledge and ongoing education and training, independence in nursing functions and responsibilities, and adaptation to new roles and tasks.Where and on whom will the research have an impact? These results can contribute to improving NP implementation in Spain and serve as a reference for other countries, especially where NP education and training have only recently been instigated or are in the planning process. Reporting Method: Standards for reporting qualitative research: a synthesis of recommendations. SRQR. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 crisis in Spain has exacerbated the shortage of nursing staff to respond to increasing healthcare demands. For this reason, nursing students were requested to collaborate voluntarily as auxiliary health staff. This emergency has led to mental health problems in health professionals, hence the relevance of coping techniques. The objectives of this study were to explore the experiences and emotional responses of final‐year nursing students who volunteered to carry out healthcare relief tasks during the peak of the COVID‐19 pandemic, and to identify the coping strategies they adopted to deal with this situation. A qualitative study was conducted in the constructivist paradigm. Purposive sampling was used, and twenty‐two students participated in semi‐structured interviews, which were then content‐analysed. The study is reported using the COREQ checklist. Five themes emerged in the 'Experiences and emotional response' dimension (context, patients, emotions and feelings, risk of contagion, and personal satisfaction), and three themes emerged in the 'Coping strategies' dimension strategies in the work environment, in daily life and personal life. Although the students expressed negative emotions due to the highly complex context and lack of professional experience, they evaluated the experience positively in terms of learning and usefulness. Most notably, the students employed adaptive coping strategies to deal with the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has had an important impact on the academic world. It is known that university studies can influence the mental health of students, and especially those studying health sciences. In this study, we therefore sought to analyse whether the current pandemic has affected the mental well‐being of final‐year nursing students. This was a multi‐centre study, with a descriptive, longitudinal, and prospective design. Mental well‐being was evaluated using the General Health Questionnaire. A total of 305 participants were included in the study, of whom 52.1% had experienced the COVID‐19 pandemic. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups analysed in terms of age, access to university, average marks, mental well‐being self‐esteem, emotional exhaustion, and sense of coherence. In the case of mental well‐being, a direct association was found with both the pandemic situation (OR = 2.32, P = 0.010) and emotional exhaustion scores (OR = 1.20, P < 0.001), while an inverse association was found with sense of coherence scores (OR = 0.45, P < 0.001). This study shows that the mental health of students is a significant factor and one that must be taken into consideration when training nursing staff at university. There is a need to promote healthy habits and provide appropriate coping strategies. It is also important to train and prepare students for pandemic situations as these can have an important impact on the mental health of both the members of the public who will be treated by these future nursing professionals and the students themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]