An outcome-based approach for teaching prudent antimicrobial prescribing to undergraduate medical students: report of a Working Party of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

Antibiotic resistance is on the increase. This is evidenced by the almost daily publication of related articles in both professional journals and the media. The Department of Health and the Scottish Executive have published strategies and action plans that highlight the need for prudent use of antimicrobials. A key strategy in facilitating prudent prescribing is the early introduction of the relevant knowledge concepts and skills into the undergraduate medical curriculum. This reflects the need to ensure graduating doctors are fit for practice (General Medical Council) in accordance with evidence-based antibiotic policies. Outcome-based education has gained increasing credibility as an explicit and systematic approach to developing standards for undergraduate prescribing education. This approach enables performance to be measured accurately. This paper provides an introduction to understanding outcome-based education and how it has been applied in the context of prudent antimicrobial prescribing for undergraduate medical education as defined by an expert working party. In addition, the paper shares how this has then been implemented through the development of a new teaching resource custom designed to assist with teaching the skills of antimicrobial prescribing using an outcome framework. To avoid the increase of antibiotic resistance we advocate that the educational approach to prescribing should be one of achieving shared predetermined outcomes, and that the purpose-designed Appropriate Antimicrobial Prescribing for Tomorrow's Doctors (APT) teaching resource should be referred to and used by students, teachers, assessors, curriculum planners and anyone involved in antimicrobial prescribing.