Antibiotics: Learning outcomes

Last updated: Monday, July 02, 2018

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After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:
  • Describe the importance of effective antibiotic stewardship.
  • Classify common clinically important bacteria, describe what organisms are usually found where and select appropriate antibiotics.
  • Tailor antibiotic therapy according to your patient's medical history, concomitant medicines and allergy status.

You can download a PDF of the whole tutorial (without interactive elements such as Learning Exercises).

You should allow 120 minutes to complete this tutorial, including Learning Exercises.

Competencies

This tutorial is aimed at hospital pre-registration pharmacists, and will help you achieve GPhC standards such as these:
  • A1.6  Make decisions which demonstrate clear and logical thought
  • A3.1  Recognise and define actual or potential problems
  • A3.2  Identify workable options to resolve the problem
  • A3.3  Select the best solution, based on sound analysis and appropriate evidence
  • B1.4  Elicit all relevant information by the use of appropriate questions
  • C2.1  Provide considered and correct answers to queries, founded on research-based evidence

If you are a foundation pharmacist, this tutorial may help you meet competencies from the RPS framework including:
  • 1.2 Need for the medicine
  • 1.4  Selection of the medicine (medicine-medicine, medicine-patient, medicine-disease interactions)
  • 1.5 Medicine specific issues (ensures appropriate dose, selection of dosing regimen, selection of formulation and concentration)
  • 1.8 Evaluation of outcomes
  • 3.2  Knowledge 
  • 3.3  Analysing information

Continuing professional development


Finally, here are some CPD activities you could consider:

★  Shadow your microbiology multi-disciplinary team on a ward round. Reflect upon, and learn from their expert decision making.
★  Does your department record the clinical questions received by the on-call pharmacists out of hours? Review the calls involving antibiotics - would you have known the answer or where to look for information? Identify and prioritise your knowledge and experience gaps.
★ Choose a patient with an interesting infection and present the case to your team. Teaching others is an effective way to improve your knowledge of a particular topic and increase your confidence if faced with a similar case again.