Practicing antimicrobial stewardship requires an integrated understanding of microbiology, immunology, pharmacology, clinical medicine, and public health. Many veterinary colleges find it challenging to teach antimicrobial stewardship in a vertically integrated, outcomes-based manner due to the number of courses and faculty involved, as well as rapid changes in the scientific understanding of antimicrobial resistance and regulatory restrictions on antimicrobial use. To meet these challenges, ESS joined forces with a multi-institutional team of experts to develop an online collection of evidence-based educational resources to teach veterinary students the knowledge and skills to support judicious use of antimicrobials in clinical practice. The collection is available for free to all schools of veterinary medicine within the United States.

To access the course, click here.

The online resource library covers:

• Antimicrobial pharmacology
• Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance
• Public health implications of antimicrobial resistance
• Judicious antimicrobial use in clinical practice

The lessons and sub-sections can be used modularly, in any sequence, allowing faculty to utilize the items that best fit their students and course needs:

• Lesson 1: Antimicrobial Use and Resistance
• Lesson 2: Antimicrobial Resistance and Public Health
• Lesson 3: Antimicrobial Stewardship in Clinical Practice

Each peer-reviewed lesson contains:

• Foundational learning material
• Flexible learning activities that can be implemented inside or outside of the classroom
• Assessments that have undergone psychometric analysis to ensure validity and reliability

Funding:

This project was developed in collaboration with Texas A & M University and made possible through a Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.