Competency-based training modules for antimicrobial stewardship and infection prevention in veterinary and veterinary nursing curricula

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Improved understanding and practice of principles of antimicrobial stewardship and infection control in veterinary medicine are urgent One Health needs. This project will more fully incorporate learning key concepts of antimicrobial stewardship and infection control into veterinary medical and veterinary nursing curricula. The multidisciplinary team includes two boarded veterinary clinical microbiologists, a boarded veterinary nurse (also a veterinary pharmacist), a boarded small animal internal medicine specialist (expertise in infectious disease/infection control), and a veterinary epidemiologist (expertise in educational epidemiology and outcomes assessment). The team has the support of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, and will utilize expertise of instructional designers in the Information Technology department. The project proposes development of interactive learning modules and outcomes-based assessments to improve students’ understanding of principles of antimicrobial stewardship and infection control and prevention for students in all preclinical years of the veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing programs at Purdue University. Modules will be integrated into existing lessons in multiple preclinical courses. The American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges Competency-Based Working Group has stated that educational and assessment experiences that are learner-centered, such as those proposed here, benefit student learning, faculty teaching, and the profession by helping to provide veterinary graduates who have more reliably mastered strategically identified competencies. The project timeline includes two years. Year one work includes development of milestones for learning in the areas of antimicrobial stewardship and infection control and prevention, and development of modules with outcomes-based assessments to facilitate students reaching those milestones. Year one also includes development of surveys to assess student understanding of the concepts taught; surveys will be used to compare the understanding of students completing courses before and after integration of the modules into preclinical courses. In year two, modules will be integrated into selected preclinical courses, surveys assessing student understanding will be administered and results analyzed. This approach is expected to improve student learning and understanding of the key concepts in antimicrobial stewardship and infection control. We anticipate sharing the results through publication in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. We will create modules that can be used not only in veterinary medical curricula, but also for training and continuing education of veterinary practice personnel. We expect to provide access to completed modules to partners in the profession to support their development of individual antimicrobial stewardship programs and infection prevention protocols and processes tailored to their unique situations.