"A qualitative study of the perceptions of pharmacy educators regarding how the teaching, learning and assessment of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) should be incorporated into the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum in the United Kingdom"

Abstract

This doctoral thesis examines the perceptions of pharmacy educators regarding the teaching, learning and assessment of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in the United Kingdom (UK) undergraduate pharmacy curriculum through an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach.
As healthcare professionals, pharmacists have key roles promoting AMS to slow the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In 2021 updated standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists (IETP) were published that incorporated additional skills for independent prescribing. Teaching of AMS and AMR is spiralled up through the busy pharmacy curriculum, with the underpinning science of antimicrobials taught early in the programme subsequently built upon with increasingly complex application to case-based clinical scenarios and work-based learning.
Eight pharmacy educators were purposively recruited and interviewed one to one utilising a qualitative semi-structured topic guide. Inductive IPA data analysis produced five group experiential themes: “AMS curriculum development”, “AMS syllabus”, “Delivery of AMS teaching”, “Assessment of AMS knowledge” and “Pharmacy students and AMS”.
Pharmacy educators considered that AMS is an important topic in the IETP. Perceptions were that spiral, integrated approaches support AMS curricula development and delivery but there should also be standalone AMS teaching. Having specific national AMS competencies for pharmacy education were identified as beneficial. Challenges for AMS curricula included student retention of foundational science knowledge and arranging consistent AMS experiential learning opportunities. No single teaching or assessment method was identified as the most effective, with participants suggesting that different approaches were required at different stages of the curriculum to support prior learning and the AMS topic being taught. AMS was considered an authentic topic for interprofessional education and participants recommended that valuable teaching opportunities could be provided by expert patients describing their lived experiences of infection.

Date of Award	16 Mar 2026
Original language	English
Supervisor	Jo Bishop (Main Supervisor)