Affiliations 

  • 1 Director of Medical Education, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies , Cave Hill Campus, Barbados
  • 2 Lecturer in Anatomy, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies , Cave Hill Campus, Barbados
  • 3 Lecturer in Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies , Cave Hill Campus, Barbados
  • 4 Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Public Health, School of Medicine, American University of Integrative Sciences , Bridgetown, Barbados
  • 5 The University of the West Indies , St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago
  • 6 Professor of the Unit of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (National Defence University of Malaysia) , Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther, 2020 12;18(12):1245-1258.
PMID: 32684048 DOI: 10.1080/14787210.2020.1796638

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Antimicrobial resistance poses a serious threat to global health with significantly higher morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. This review aims to discuss the importance of the promotion of antimicrobial stewardship in medical and allied health professional curricula and training/educating tomorrow's doctors in combatting antimicrobial resistance. A narrative literature review was conducted to retrieve relevant information related to antimicrobial resistance and stewardship and their implications on medical and allied health professional education and training from searches of computerized databases, hand searches, and authoritative texts.

AREAS COVERED: Antimicrobial stewardship programs improve rational antibiotic use, reduce antimicrobial resistance, decrease complications of antibiotic use, and improve patient outcomes. Though health professional students recognize the importance and impact of antibiotic prescribing knowledge, many studies have consistently demonstrated low levels of confidence and competencies amongst students, highlighting that health professional schools failed to prepare them to prescribe antibiotics accurately.

EXPERT OPINION: There is an urgent call for the integration of antimicrobial stewardship teaching at the undergraduate level of medical education to train future prescribers on this critical aspect of public health. Proper undergraduate education on rational antibiotics use would enable health professional graduates to enter clinical practice with adequate competencies to become rational prescribers.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.