I found out about a new free online antimicrobial stewardship course yesterday. The course is a collaboration between the the University of Dundee and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, and comes highly recommended. The course is designed for healthcare professionals.
If anybody completes the course, I’d be interested to hear your feedback.
Reflections on Infection Prevention and Control 
These are my personal views (I am an internist with IPC training).
Easy and pleasant interface, with new course subjects every week (over a 6-week span) that include educational videos, interviews, small assignments and evaluation tests. Communication between participants and exchange of information and personal views is strongly encouraged and promoted. Relevant websites and published literature are also provided.
The course offers knowledge that is mostly well established, but it is presented in a solid and methodical way, making it easier to comprehend and apply. Success stories from various healthcare centres are also presented.
The level of difficulty depends on participants’ background and specialty, but I believe that overall it is widely acceptable and quite easy to cope with.
After completing it, I recommend it to colleagues who are interested not only in antimicrobial stewardship, but also in CM and ID in general.
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hi Jon, I completed this course last year when it ran. I personally found the course very useful, although a few bits were too technical and went over my head! You would have to have some knowledge of antimicrobials before you did it and the way drugs work, so it is not suitable for all. It is well put together and follows a logical order through the course. I think the way it combines both video’s, power points and exercises is very effective. It is also useful that you can study at your own pace. The online discussion is very useful to follow and contribute to. certainly when I completed it there were people from many walks of life and parts of the world which made it all the more interesting. Certainly worth doing especially as it being free.
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I completed the course last year. Really found it useful, it made me think about what we have in place where I work. Also made me aware of the problem of antimicrobial resistance in other countries, by reading comments from other participants around the globe. Since then I have also completed a course about Influenza and registered for one on Ebola virus.
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I completed this course last year, really enjoyed it. It made me think about what is in place where I work. Wears strict with antimicrobial s in this country and there has been a big push to reduce prescribing rates, yet in other countries, antibiotics can be bought over the counter. You work at your own pace and contribute as much as you want. Whilst it is free, if you want a certificate you have to pay for that. Well worth doing and have completed other courses with Future Learn including Influenza, Impact of Nursing and registered for a course about Ebola.
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