Abstract
Background & objective: Since the antibiotic therapy is considered more complex due to the incessant in developing epidemiology of infections, the role and importance of pharmacists in combating and managing infectious diseases become crucial. A strong basis about antibiotic therapy and resistance within the curriculum is important, as many pharmacy students will not have the opportunity to obtain advanced education through postgraduate training programs. The objective of this study is to investigate the knowledge and attitude of PharmD students regarding the appropriate use of antimicrobials.
Method: A cross-sectional, online validated survey aimed to assess pharmacy students' knowledge and attitude about appropriate antimicrobial use was conducted among the final year (graduating) pharmacy students.
Results: Sixty graduating pharmacy students filled out the survey. Most of the students were male (66.7. %). Most of the PharmD students (71.6%) agreed that antimicrobials are overused and that antimicrobial resistance is a problem nationwide. Also, half of them face these apparent problems in hospitals where they had clinical rotations. Most of PharmD students (71.75%) believed that knowledge of antimicrobials is important in pharmacy career. However, only 55% of the students rated their pharmacy education aboutantimicrobials as useful or very useful. Students' mean correct knowledge score about the appropriate antimicrobials use was 3.1 +/- 1.4 which considered low.
Conclusion: Pharm D students are aware of the importance of antimicrobial therapy and resistance, and familiar of the challenges about antimicrobial stewardship program. However, there is still low knowledge regarding antimicrobials appropriate use among our students.