How Should We Think About Clinicians’ Individual Antibiotic Stewardship Duties?

Abstract

The language of antibiotic stewardship is often used to capture the moral importance of individual prescribers doing their part to combat antibiotic resistance. "Stewardship" as an ethics concept borrows from collective action problems-those that cannot be solved by individuals only-like those discussed in the environmental ethics literature. This article suggests that hyper focus on stewardship, however, risks misunderstanding individual prescribers' reasons to limit antibiotic use.The American Medical Association designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ available through the AMA Ed Hub TM . Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.