Redefining Antibiotic Stewardship to Include Nurses as Central to Success

May 9, 2024

Historically, antibiotic stewardship teams consisted of infectious disease specialists, specifically physicians, as well as pharmacists, and more recently, specialized ID pharmacists. As antibiotic resistance surges, antibiotic stewardship teams have only in recent years grown to include nurse practitioners and physician assistants. With this progression, it is only natural NP’s and PA’s would identify gaps in education and understanding among the very individuals who are charged to collect the labs that drive all future antibiotic decision making.

Nurses understand the concept of avoiding contamination during blood culture collection as a learned procedure, but education beyond that is lacking. Nurses need to understand what happens after the blood cultures are sent to the micro lab, and the serious implications of how contaminated specimens negatively impact the nurse, lab, provider, patient, community, and the globe at large.

Target Audience

Nurse

Nurse Practitioner

Physician

Physician Assistant

Learning Objectives

1. Advance education of nurses to understand the concept of antibiotic stewardship and how each subsequent step and action in the entire process is directly affected by the quality of their blood culture collection skills.

2. Provide updates about new rapid blood cultures and BioFire.

3. Disseminate education that empowers nursing to not just passively accept orders, but understand what is happening in the micro lab, and understand why they are giving the antibiotic order.

4. Improve understanding about larger human/global implications of antibiotic resistance, starting with even one dose of unnecessary antibiotics, and how nurses are key to prevention

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
    • 1.00 Pharmacotherapeutic
  • 1.00 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
    • 1.00 Pharmacotherapeutic
  • 1.00 Attendance
    • 1.00 Pharmacotherapeutic
Course opens: 
05/09/2024
Course expires: 
06/09/2024
Event starts: 
05/09/2024 - 1:00pm EDT
Event ends: 
05/09/2024 - 2:00pm EDT

Historically, antibiotic stewardship teams consisted of infectious disease specialists, specifically physicians, as well as pharmacists, and more recently, specialized ID pharmacists. As antibiotic resistance surges, antibiotic stewardship teams have only in recent years grown to include nurse practitioners and physician assistants. With this progression, it is only natural NP’s and PA’s would identify gaps in education and understanding among the very individuals who are charged to collect the labs that drive all future antibiotic decision making.

Nurses understand the concept of avoiding contamination during blood culture collection as a learned procedure, but education beyond that is lacking. Nurses need to understand what happens after the blood cultures are sent to the micro lab, and the serious implications of how contaminated specimens negatively impact the nurse, lab, provider, patient, community, and the globe at large.

UPMC Harrisburg
Harrisburg, PA
United States

Casey Pinto, CRNP

Melissa McMurtrie, CRNP

In support of improving patient care, the University of Pittsburgh is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physician (CME)
The University of Pittsburgh designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nursing (CNE)
The maximum number of hours awarded for this Continuing Nursing Education activity is 1.0 contact hours.

Other health care professionals will receive a certificate of attendance confirming the number of contact hours commensurate with the extent of participation in this activity. 

Available Credit

  • 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
    The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
    • 1.00 Pharmacotherapeutic
  • 1.00 ANCC
    UPMC Provider Unit is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
    • 1.00 Pharmacotherapeutic
  • 1.00 Attendance
    • 1.00 Pharmacotherapeutic
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