Antibiotic Review

Participant will have access to course for 1 year.

Course Description: Increasing antimicrobial resistance is now a worldwide problem, compounded by the lack of development of new antimicrobial medicines. This leaves the prudent use of antimicrobial medicines, along with infection control, as the major strategies to counter this emerging threat. A safe and effective strategy for antibiotic use involves prescribing an antibiotic only when it is needed and selecting an appropriate and effective medicine at the recommended dose, with the narrowest spectrum of antimicrobial activity, fewest adverse effects and lowest cost.

Choosing an antibacterial agent can be challenging, given the wide array of drugs available. This course is intended as an overview of the general characteristics of the major antibiotic classes, with a brief discussion of the individual agents, indications, adverse reactions, and dosing. The course will focus on the major groups of antibiotics: penicillin, cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, sulfonamides, and tetracyclines. This is a self-paced course. Videos are self-read materials.

Nurse Nerd Inc is approved as a provider of continuing education by the Kentucky Board of Nursing (KBN). KBN approval of individual nursing continuing education providers does not constitute an endorsement of program content. KBN Provider #7-0074-12-23-301 Provider expires 12/31/2025.

1. Describe the mechanisms of action associated with drugs that inhibit cell wall biosynthesis, protein synthesis, membrane function, nucleic acid synthesis, and metabolic pathways
2. Understand how antibiotic resistance develops and how this impacts current and future prescribing practice.
3. Discuss mechanism of action, indications, dosages, and precautions for the most commonly ordered antibiotics.
4. Integrate new learning of appropriate antibiotic use into practice