Antibiotic use is a key driver of antibiotic resistance, and improvements in antibiotic use to align with guideline recommendations are needed across the spectrum of health care. Understanding where opportunities exist to improve antibiotic use is key to identifying targets of antibiotic stewardship.

Antibiotic stewardship programs are often evaluated on overall antibiotic...

Faculty

• Katherine Fleming-Dutra , MD

Improved awareness of components of antimicrobial stewardship programs and knowledge of resources available to providers and facilities to meet mandates and conform to regulations & Education on requirements and processes for reporting of multidrug-resistant organisms in Kentucky.

Awareness of available tools for monitoring of antimicrobial use, such as the...

Faculty

• Kevin B. Spicer , MD

Culture stewardship is a pivotal component to appropriate diagnosis and treatment plans. A multidisciplanary approach and staying adept on the newest literature available is essential for optimal patient outcomes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified that 20%–50% of all antibiotics prescribed in US acute care hospitals are either unnecessary...

Faculty

• Shaina Doyen , PharmD

Antibiotic stewardship has primarily involved the physician and pharmacist; however, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics requires interprofessional collaboration and teamwork that includes physician, pharmacist, nursing, laboratory, infectious disease, infection control, case management, hospital leadership, and the patient.

Faculty

• Ardis D. Hoven , MD

Inappropriate and over use of antibiotics lead to antimicrobial resistance, which is a public health threat. 

Faculty

• Donna Burgess , RPh

Unnecessary testing can lead to unnecessary treatments. Improving testing of infectious disease syndromes can be a powerful tactic to improve the use of antibiotics.

Faculty

• Derek W. Forster , MD

Antimicrobial resistance is a global, national, statewide, and facility-wide crisis. Patients with multi-drug resistant infections will continue to require expert nursing care in the hospital, long-term care facilities, and in the community. Nurses are frontline providers of care for patients with resistant infections. Transitions in care require good communication. Nurses can...

Faculty

• Rita Olans , DNP, CPNP, APRN-BC

Healthcare providers often prescribe antibiotics inappropriately, especially in rural areas such as Appalachia area, due to lack of resources and education. In order to decrease antibiotic resistance, providers and nurses need to understand what constitutes appropriate antibiotic prescribing as well as how to manage unique challenges when working with rural populations.

Faculty

• Ginger Baker , ,MBA, LBBP, MS, MT (AAB), ACHE