Healthcare epidemiology fellows pursuing training in Antimicrobial Stewardship receive formal and informal instruction on fundamental skills in the art and science of antimicrobial stewardship practice:
- Partner and co-lead with pharmacist Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) leaders.
- Set and achieve ASP goals.
- Actively participate and lead in hospital committee decision-making.
- Provide formulary review and streamlining for antimicrobial agents.
- Perform and interpret Medication Use Evaluations (MUEs).
- Design and lead quality improvement ASP implementation initiatives.
- Assess ASP initiatives. Interpret and provide actionable data analyses for ASPs, including novel and standard antimicrobial use metrics.
- Develop personal interaction skills with front-line clinicians for successful stewardship. interventions. Understand the socio-behavioral determinants of antimicrobial decision-making.
- Design and deliver effective ASP educational materials. Develop personal presentation skills.
- Participate in multicenter, federally funded antimicrobial stewardship research.
- Develop an effective professional writing style for the medical literature, hospital policies, and educational materials focused on antimicrobial stewardship.
Faculty in Antimicrobial Stewardship provide the professional connections for fellows to develop personal networks with nationally known leaders and funded researchers in antimicrobial stewardship. In addition, fellows develop an in-depth understanding of the wide variety and practical implementation of ASPs through our partnership with community hospital members in DASON as well as experiences in the academic setting at Duke University ASET. Fellows benefit from interactions and close, project-focused work with highly effective pharmacist and physician leaders and faculty from both of these programs.
Finally, fellows have access to a robust data resource as well as an in-depth and practical application for developing data analysis skills to drive ASP decision making. Fellows help assess ASP implementation utilizing our unique, multihospital data infrastructure and analysis tool: the DASON Antimicrobial Stewardship Assessment Portal (ASAP). This application has 17 different antimicrobial use metrics with the ability to drill down and look at data on specific antimicrobial agents, agent groups, facility locations, and even prescribers. Infectious diseases fellows in antimicrobial stewardship become essential members of the team-based approach to ASP implementation.