Knowledge, Attitudes and Perceptions of Medical Students on Antimicrobial Stewardship

Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Nov 17;9(11):821. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9110821.

Abstract

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is an ongoing threat to modern medicine throughout the world. The World Health Organisation has emphasized the importance of adequate and effective training of medical students in wise prescribing of antibiotics Furthermore, Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) has been recognized as a rapidly growing field in medicine that sets a goal of rational use of antibiotics in terms of dosing, duration of therapy and route of administration. We undertook the current review to systematically summarize and present the published data on the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of medical students on AMS. We reviewed all studies published in English from 2007 to 2020. We found that although medical students recognize the problem of AMR, they lack basic knowledge regarding AMR. Incorporating novel and effective training methods on all aspects of AMS and AMR in the Medical Curricula worldwide is of paramount importance.

Keywords: antibiotics; antimicrobial; attitudes; knowledge; medical students; prescribing; stewardship.

Publication types

  • Review