The sustained usefulness of online learning to educate nurses about antibiotic stewardship

The pandemic presented unforeseen challenges for hospitals, including increased burden of care, fluctuations in staffing, supply shortages, and clinician turnover. Momentum was lost for process improvement projects. Antibiotic stewardship, especially in the early days of the pandemic, suffered from overuse of antibiotics in the emergency department, despite their lack of direct activity against the virus.4Treatment optionswere limited early on, and guidance changed often as novel approaches to treatment were introduced. Results of the survey taken by new hires throughout the pandemic showed a change in the level of the nurses’ experience which may be expected as many nurses left the workforce or retired. New hires came with their own experiences and attitudes and although the percentage was small that answered “not my role,” it was significant. The increase in number of units where nurses participated in multidisciplinary rounds increased by 14% but was not significant. This hospital had been rolling out the process of rounding unit by unit, well before the pandemic which may be in part responsible. Lastly, the nurse’s comfort level with participating in rounds was significant. This can be from increased knowledge as provided by the modules, general expectations of the culture itself, or previous experience with rounding. Since the publication of our earlier work, there have been several studies that assessed nurses’ attitudes/behaviors and barriers toward participation in AS.5–7 They corroborated our earlier finding that education remains a barrier to participation in AS and that nurses felt they should be a part of the AS team. One recent pilot study used the premise that standardized education for nurses on principles of AS would improve their knowledge and confidence about AS.7 It suggested that this might motivate participation in AS activities. Our most recent results continue to corroborate these findings. Healthcare systems should continue to explore ways to deliver AS awareness and education to nurses in formats that are convenient.8 Online learning provides such a method as it can be assigned or accessed as needed. Lessons learned around nursing education during the pandemic should be evaluated and studied for future planning. © 2024 Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.