Continuing Education and Curriculum Opportunities

Several organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provide continuing education (CE) opportunities related to antibiotic resistance and appropriate antibiotic prescribing practices.

Healthcare Professionals

Below are continuing education opportunities for healthcare professionals regarding judicious antibiotic prescribing and antibiotic resistance.

To Prescribe or Not To Prescribe? Antibiotics and Outpatient Infections
This communication training activity from Stanford University provides a practical approach to the management of common outpatient infections through the use of both instructional and interactive videos and patient role plays. National guidelines will be reviewed with emphasis on the most appropriate empiric antibiotic choice and duration of therapy. This course is designed for physicians in family practice, primary care, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and emergency medicine— as well as pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and allied health professionals. *CE is available for this resource.

The Primary Care Office Visit: Antibiotics
This role-play simulation is designed to help patients and physicians improve their skills in leading real-life conversations about the appropriate prescription and use of antibiotics, improve collaboration at the point of care, and change behaviors. Visit conversationsforhealth.com/antibiotics to build your knowledge and skills by engaging in practice conversations with a virtual patient or physician. *CE is not available for this resource.

Educating Patients About Antibiotic Usage
This communication training resource from the New York State Department of Health features sample patient/provider interactions in a video format. Use this tool to develop and refine “talking points” to have more productive conversations about antibiotics with your patients. *CE is not available for this resource.

ePROM: Enhancing Proficiency in Otitis Media
This series of interactive, image-rich online courses aim to improve knowledge in understanding middle ear disease diagnosis. The courses were developed at the Hospital of Pittsburgh/University of Pittsburgh with support from CDC. Site registration and CME are free. Topics include the epidemiology of otitis media with effusion and acute otitis media; pneumatic otoscopy (equipment and techniques); and tympanometry, acoustic reflectometry, and tympanocentesis.

Medical Students

Below are continuing education opportunities currently available for medical students about antibiotic resistance and the importance of antibiotic stewardship.

An Antibiotic Stewardship Curriculum for Medical Students
This curriculum focuses on antibiotic resistance, judicious antibiotic use, and common respiratory tract infections, and is intended for use in U.S. medical schools. It is comprised of didactic lectures, corresponding exam questions, and small group activities with facilitator guides. Didactic lectures are meant for medical students in the pre-clinical years. The small group activities are for students on clinical clerkships.

Pharmacists

CDC is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Below is a continuing education opportunity for pharmacists about antibiotic resistance.

Weighing in on Antibiotic Resistance: Community Pharmacists Tip the Scale
A free, 1-hour continuing education course comprised of various video clips and slides that review the importance in understanding antibiotic resistance, the latest trends in antibiotic resistance in the community, mechanisms of resistance, why antibiotics are often prescribed inappropriately, and how to promote the proper use of antibiotics within the community pharmacy setting.
Expires 12/21/2018