Skill Profile
Antimicrobial Stewardship
"The observable action of reviewing, guiding, and optimising antibiotic and antifungal prescribing decisions within a healthcare setting in order to maximise clinical effectiveness while minimising the development of antimicrobial resistance."
YOUR SKILLS
Problems This Skill Solves
- A ward is defaulting to broad-spectrum antibiotics for all infections — stewardship review identifies where narrower agents are clinically appropriate
- A patient has been on IV antibiotics for five days — an IV-to-oral switch review identifies that oral therapy is now safe, cutting costs and hospital stay
- A trust has a rising rate of C. difficile — antibiotic restriction policies reduce the high-risk agents driving the outbreak
- A GP is prescribing antibiotics for viral URTIs — stewardship education and delayed prescribing guidance reduces inappropriate community use
Tools Used
Roles That Use This Skill
1 total · 1 industryThis skill is concentrated in one industry.
Pharmacy / Healthcare / NHS
"Antimicrobial stewardship is mainly about prescribing narrower-spectrum agents — if the culture identifies a sensitive organism, switch to the narrowest appropriate antibiotic."
De-escalation to narrow-spectrum agents is one stewardship intervention. The programme also involves optimising dose and duration, reviewing empirical prescriptions against microbiological results when available, managing prophylaxis protocols, monitoring resistance patterns at the institutional level, and educating prescribers on the relationship between antibiotic use and resistance development. Stewardship is a system-level programme, not an individual prescribing decision.
"Antibiotic resistance is a future problem, not a current one."
The UK already sees over 60,000 antibiotic-resistant infections per year and approximately 2,000 deaths attributable to resistance annually. Stewardship is an immediate clinical and public health priority.
Research & Outlook
Rapid diagnostics (PCR panels, MALDI-TOF) are enabling faster pathogen identification and earlier de-escalation. AI prescribing decision support tools are being piloted in electronic prescribing systems. Antimicrobial stewardship roles are expanding into primary care, community pharmacy, and veterinary medicine.
See This Skill In Action
Watch a professional demonstrate Antimicrobial Stewardship in a real working environment — what it looks like, how it's applied, and why it matters.
Clinical / Infectious Disease
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Also Known As
Growth Path
Understands what antimicrobial resistance is and why stewardship matters. Can apply Trust antibiotic guidelines to common infections and recognise when a prescription deviates from guidance.
Reviews and challenges antibiotic prescribing on ward rounds. Leads IV-to-oral switch decisions. Interprets microbiology sensitivity reports to recommend de-escalation.
Chairs or leads a trust antimicrobial stewardship programme. Develops prescribing guidelines, analyses consumption data to drive policy, represents the trust at national surveillance networks, and trains clinical teams.
How to Practise
- 1.Review the antibiotic prescribing on a ward round — for each prescription, ask: is it indicated, is it the right drug, right dose, right duration, right route?
- 2.Complete the PHE (Public Health England) e-Bug antimicrobial stewardship e-learning modules
- 3.Shadow an antimicrobial pharmacist or infectious disease consultant on a stewardship ward round
- 4.Audit antibiotic prescribing against Trust guidelines for a specific infection type (e.g. UTI, CAP) and present findings
How to Prove
- ·Antimicrobial stewardship audit completed and presented to a clinical governance committee
- ·UKCPA Antimicrobial Pharmacist qualification or completion of an ASPIRE-ICU/ward programme
- ·Membership of a trust antimicrobial stewardship committee with documented contributions
- ·Reduction in defined daily doses (DDDs) of high-risk agents during a period you led or contributed to a stewardship programme