2036. A Quasi-Experimental Survey Study of Antimicrobial Stewardship Education for Registered Nurses

Background Antimicrobial stewardship (AS) efforts have led to improved patient outcomes, reduction in unnecessary costs, and decrease in antimicrobial resistance (AR). Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC) is a quaternary care-system that has a comprehensive multidisciplinary Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP). Registered nurses (RNs) have been shown to be a vital part of ASP; however their role and engagement in ASP should continue to be investigated and explored. Methods In February 2018, a voluntary online survey was created and disseminated to all RNs at LUMC to evaluate their baseline knowledge and perception of AS and AR, as well as to further investigate their role in AS at LUMC. Based on the results of the survey, our AS team implemented a multi-faceted education program. This included a series of lectures which were emailed to all RNs, as well as live education sessions by the AS team during nursing huddles. In March 2019, a second survey was distributed to all nurses with the primary goal of evaluating changes in the knowledge and perception of AS and AR after targeted education efforts. The secondary goal was to gather feedback to target further efforts of engaging RNs in AS. Results A total of 179 RNs completed the first survey and 117 completed the second survey. In both surveys, over 90% of RNs agree that they play an important role in AS, and that AS can decrease AR and adverse effects of antimicrobials. The majority in both surveys also agreed that AR can be caused by misuse/overuse of antimicrobials and this can be harmful to patients. Unfamiliarity with AS practices among RNs remains an issue, however this increased from 70% strongly agree/agree in the first survey to 74% in the second survey. Sixty-nine percent of RNs recalled reading the PowerPoint education slides, while only 38% recalled being educated in person by the AS team. A similar number of RNs (58% and 60%, respectively) prefer to be educated in person vs. through email. Conclusion Hospital-specific surveys on nurses’ perception and knowledge on AS and AR can be used to guide future ASP interventions, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions. Our ASP at LUMC implemented strategies to improve nursing education and engagement in AS and evaluated this strategy using a pre-/post-survey. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.