Date of this Version

2023

Document Type

DNP Project

Abstract

Improving nurses' knowledge and perceptions on antibiotic stewardship (AS) was the focus of this quality improvement project. The development of a pretest and posttest survey along with the distribution of an educational PowerPoint presentation on nurses' role on AS was introduced for the intervention. Survey participants were recruited anonymously through Florida Nurses Association's (FNA) membership database and were contacted via e-mail communications. Recruited participants included staff nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers, and nurse practitioners. The quality improvement project implemented two surveys to assess nurses’ knowledge and perceptions on AS. Recruited participants completed the pre-test survey initially to assess their baseline knowledge. Following the pretest survey, participants then viewed an educational PowerPoint presentation on AS and nurses' role. Upon completing the pretest survey and educational power point presentation, participants then completed the posttest survey which mimicked the pretest questions. The educational power point presentation provided evidence-based practice guidelines and research on nurses' role on AS. This included how to evaluate and document allergies in the patient's chart, obtain urine or blood cultures prior to antibiotic initiation, following up on culture sensitivity testing results and verifying the correct antibiotic is being utilized, and questioning the provider if the right drug, right route, right time, right dose, and right duration was prescribed. In conclusion, the posttest survey revealed that nurses had an increased knowledge and perception on AS and their role. Despite the small sample size, the desired outcome of improving nurses' knowledge and perceptions on AS was achieved.

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