Given sufficient training and support, nurses can safely and effectively prescribe antiretroviral therapy (ART) to patients with HIV, according to a Rwandan study published in this week's PLoS Medicine.
As in many other African countries, Rwanda has a shortage of doctors, which implies that many patients with HIV aren't receiving the treatment they need. To tackle this crisis, the World Health Organization recommends "task shifting"—whereby the task of prescribing ART is shifted from doctors to nurses so that more patients can be treated.