Mapping Antimicrobial Stewardship in Undergraduate Medical, Dental, Pharmacy, Nursing and Veterinary Education in the United Kingdom

Abstract

ObjectivesTo investigate the teaching of antimicrobial stewardship (AS) in undergraduate healthcare educational degree programmes in the United Kingdom (UK).Participants and MethodsCross-sectional survey of undergraduate programmes in human and veterinary medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing in the UK. The main outcome measures included prevalence of AS teaching; stewardship principles taught; estimated hours apportioned; mode of content delivery and teaching strategies; evaluation methodologies; and frequency of multidisciplinary learning.Results80% (112/140) of programmes responded adequately. The majority of programmes teach AS principles (88/109, 80.7%). ‘Adopting necessary infection prevention and control precautions’ was the most frequently taught principle (83/88, 94.3%), followed by 'timely collection of microbiological samples for microscopy, culture and sensitivity’ (73/88, 82.9%) and ‘minimisation of unnecessary antimicrobial prescribing’ (72/88, 81.8%). The ‘use of intravenous administration only to patients who are severely ill, or unable to tolerate oral treatment’ was reported in ~50% of courses. Only 32/88 (36.3%) programmes included all recommended principles.DiscussionAntimicrobial stewardship principles are included in most undergraduate healthcare and veterinary degree programmes in the UK. However, future professionals responsible for using antimicrobials receive disparate education. Education may be boosted by standardisation and strengthening of less frequently discussed principles.

O Ensino de Gestão de Antimicrobianos em Escola Médica do Rio de Janeiro

“…Foi utilizado como referência o questionário aplicado por Castro-Sanchez et al 7 para avaliação semelhante realizada em escolas de saúde do Reino Unido, adaptado para o português. O formulário, que continha oito questões objetivas, foi preenchido pelos professores de forma presencial ou respondido por correio eletrônico.…”

“…No entanto, o conhecimento dos mecanismos de resistência antimicrobiana, do uso apropriado de antimicrobianos e do controle de infecção foi limitado, sendo que somente 50% identificaram a presença de um PGA ou programa de controle de infecção em suas unidades 6 . Já Castro-Sanchez et al 7 , em estudo transversal realizado em 112 cursos de graduação da saúde do Reino Unido, identificaram que 69,5% das 24 faculdades de Medicina selecionadas ensinavam todos os princípios de gestão de antimicrobianos. Diversas iniciativas educativas e de treinamento para profissionais da saúde têm sido realizadas com o intuito de promover um melhor conhecimento da resistência antimicrobiana.…”

Undergraduate antibiotic stewardship training: Are we leaving our future prescribers ‘flapping in the wind’?

“…While the study did not map AS education among the institutions, [6] existing education in SA medical schools may be augmented by standardisation, focusing on equipping young doctors with the necessary confidence and skills in appropriate antibiotic prescribing at an early stage of their careers, as well as implementing interventions to modify perceptions and behaviours. To mitigate the disparate education that our undergraduates are receiving, consideration should be given to establishing a national collaborative undertaking, similar to the Appropriate Prescribing for Tomorrow's Doctors (APT) project, which was formed to address similar needs at undergraduate level in Scotland and the UK.…”

Exploring How to Conduct Infection Prevention and Control Education in Undergraduate Nursing Programs in Korea: Focus Group Interview Analysis

“…Previous research on IPC education has largely divided into studies focused on IPC education strategies utilizing standardized patient, simulation environments, or actual clinical situations for IPC education [7][8][9] and studies focused on the IPC-education elements such as microbiology, hand washing, healthcare-associated infection with standard precautions, preventive measures for medical personnel, and issues on patient immunity such as HIV/ AIDS patients [10][11][12][13][14][15][16].…”