The Infusion Nurse's Role in Antibiotic Stewardship

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Patient Safety
• Nursing Practice

Background:

• Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat to medication efficacy.
• Optimizing antibiotic use is essential for patient safety.
• Nurses' role in antibiotic stewardship is under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the unrecognized role of nurses in antibiotic stewardship.
• To explore how nurses can lead efforts to enhance antibiotic stewardship programs.
• To emphasize the importance of nurses in combating antibiotic resistance.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on nursing roles in antibiotic stewardship.
• Analysis of the scope of practice for infusion nurses.
• Exploration of opportunities for nurse leadership in stewardship programs.

Main Results:

• Nurses are frontline providers uniquely positioned to impact antibiotic use.
• Infusion nurses' practice spans various settings, enabling continuum of care stewardship.
• Increased nurse engagement can significantly enhance antibiotic stewardship program effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• Nurses can and should play a principal role in developing and implementing antibiotic stewardship programs.
• Empowering nurses is key to improving antibiotic use and patient safety.
• Further research is needed to fully integrate nurses into stewardship initiatives.