Coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship: A pilot study
Background: Ward pharmacists are well-positioned to enhance the activities of hospital antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs by reviewing the appropriateness of antimicrobials and making recommendations to prescribers. However, recent studies have identified gaps in ward pharmacists' AMS pra...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276622000300 |
| _version_ | 1828347200030113792 |
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| author | Sharmila Khumra Andrew A. Mahony Kay Stewart Phillip J. Bergen Rohan A. Elliott |
| author_facet | Sharmila Khumra Andrew A. Mahony Kay Stewart Phillip J. Bergen Rohan A. Elliott |
| author_sort | Sharmila Khumra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Ward pharmacists are well-positioned to enhance the activities of hospital antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs by reviewing the appropriateness of antimicrobials and making recommendations to prescribers. However, recent studies have identified gaps in ward pharmacists' AMS practice, knowledge, skills, and confidence which suggests education and training programs are needed. Objective(s): To describe, for the first time, an interactive educational activity – coaching in AMS – targeted at ward pharmacists and explore their perceptions of coaching as a mode of delivering education to improve AMS knowledge, skills, confidence, and practice. A secondary objective was to describe the type, frequency, and acceptance of AMS recommendations made by coached pharmacists. Methods: This was a descriptive pilot study with a qualitative evaluation of pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of coaching. AMS coaching was delivered over 2 months in 2019 to pharmacists providing clinical pharmacy services to general medical and surgical wards. A focus group was conducted one month after the coaching period to elicit pharmacists' perceptions of coaching as a mode of delivering AMS education and how it impacted their AMS knowledge, skills, confidence, and practice. AMS recommendations made by coached pharmacists were prospectively recorded, and the prescriber acceptance rate was determined. Results: Ward pharmacists reported positive experiences with AMS coaching and believed it helped them identify a range of recommendations to improve antimicrobial prescribing and increased their confidence to communicate recommendations to prescribers. Workload issues were identified as the main barrier to implementation. Suggestions were provided to improve coaching implementation feasibility. During coaching, 162 AMS recommendations were identified for a range of antimicrobials, and 69% (113/162) were accepted and implemented. Conclusions: Ward pharmacists believed coaching improved their AMS knowledge, skills, confidence, and practice, including their confidence to discuss recommendations with prescribers. These results can assist with the design and evaluation of future hospital-based AMS educational initiatives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:36:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-21cd5040397c4238b3cd2946f093a294 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2667-2766 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:36:34Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy |
| spelling | doaj.art-21cd5040397c4238b3cd2946f093a2942022-12-22T02:22:20ZengElsevierExploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy2667-27662022-03-015100131Coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship: A pilot studySharmila Khumra0Andrew A. Mahony1Kay Stewart2Phillip J. Bergen3Rohan A. Elliott4Centre for Medicine Use and Safety, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia; Department of Pharmacy, Austin Health, 145 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia; Department of Infectious Diseases, Austin Health, 145 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia; Corresponding author at: Departments of Pharmacy and Infectious Diseases, Level 7, Harold Stokes Building, Austin Health, 145 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia.Department of Infectious Diseases, Austin Health, 145 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, Australia; Department of Medicine, Building 181, University of Melbourne, Grattan St, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, AustraliaCentre for Medicine Use and Safety, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, AustraliaCentre for Medicine Use and Safety, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, AustraliaCentre for Medicine Use and Safety, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia; Department of Pharmacy, Austin Health, 145 Studley Road, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084, AustraliaBackground: Ward pharmacists are well-positioned to enhance the activities of hospital antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs by reviewing the appropriateness of antimicrobials and making recommendations to prescribers. However, recent studies have identified gaps in ward pharmacists' AMS practice, knowledge, skills, and confidence which suggests education and training programs are needed. Objective(s): To describe, for the first time, an interactive educational activity – coaching in AMS – targeted at ward pharmacists and explore their perceptions of coaching as a mode of delivering education to improve AMS knowledge, skills, confidence, and practice. A secondary objective was to describe the type, frequency, and acceptance of AMS recommendations made by coached pharmacists. Methods: This was a descriptive pilot study with a qualitative evaluation of pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of coaching. AMS coaching was delivered over 2 months in 2019 to pharmacists providing clinical pharmacy services to general medical and surgical wards. A focus group was conducted one month after the coaching period to elicit pharmacists' perceptions of coaching as a mode of delivering AMS education and how it impacted their AMS knowledge, skills, confidence, and practice. AMS recommendations made by coached pharmacists were prospectively recorded, and the prescriber acceptance rate was determined. Results: Ward pharmacists reported positive experiences with AMS coaching and believed it helped them identify a range of recommendations to improve antimicrobial prescribing and increased their confidence to communicate recommendations to prescribers. Workload issues were identified as the main barrier to implementation. Suggestions were provided to improve coaching implementation feasibility. During coaching, 162 AMS recommendations were identified for a range of antimicrobials, and 69% (113/162) were accepted and implemented. Conclusions: Ward pharmacists believed coaching improved their AMS knowledge, skills, confidence, and practice, including their confidence to discuss recommendations with prescribers. These results can assist with the design and evaluation of future hospital-based AMS educational initiatives.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276622000300Antimicrobial stewardshipEducationHospitalsPharmacistsCoachingPilot projects |
| spellingShingle | Sharmila Khumra Andrew A. Mahony Kay Stewart Phillip J. Bergen Rohan A. Elliott Coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship: A pilot study Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy Antimicrobial stewardship Education Hospitals Pharmacists Coaching Pilot projects |
| title | Coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship: A pilot study |
| title_full | Coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship: A pilot study |
| title_fullStr | Coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship: A pilot study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship: A pilot study |
| title_short | Coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship: A pilot study |
| title_sort | coaching ward pharmacists in antimicrobial stewardship a pilot study |
| topic | Antimicrobial stewardship Education Hospitals Pharmacists Coaching Pilot projects |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276622000300 |
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