Antimicrobial Resistance Nursing CE Course for APRNs

Similarly, the WHO has created a priority pathogen list that was most recently updated in 2024. The threat levels and correlating pathogens are as follows (WHO, 2024):

• critical priority
  • carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa
  • vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium)
  • third-generation cephalosporin and/or fluoroquinolone-resistant N. gonnorrhoeae
  • fluoroquinolone-resistant Salmonella enterica (S. enterica)
  • fluoroquinolone-resistant Shigella
  • MRSA
  • rifampicin-resistant M. tuberculosis
• high priority
  • carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae)
  • CRE
  • ESBL-producing and fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli
  • carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii)
  • macrolide-resistant S. pneumoniae
  • ampicillin-resistant H. influenzae
• medium priority
  • macrolide-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes)
  • toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae (C. diphtheriae)
  • multiresistant Bacillus anthracis (B. anthracis)
  • neurotoxin-producing Clostridium tetani (C. tetani)

Antibiotic Usage Rates

Antibiotic resistance is linked to poor prescribing habits. An estimated 20% to 50% of all hospital antibiotic use and 40% to 75% of all long-term care antibiotic use is unnecessary or suboptimal. Data published by the CDC show inadequate or inappropriate hospital antibiotic prescribing in 79% of patients diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia, 77% of patients diagnosed with urinary tract infection (UTI), 47% of patients treated with a fluoroquinolone, and 27% of patients treated with intravenous (IV) vancomycin (Vancocin). Adverse side effects from antibiotic use affect 20% of hospitalized patients. Some experience severe reactions such as renal and bone marrow toxicity. A retrospective study of 473 hospitals in the United States found that the readmission risk within 90 days was increased by 50% when broad-spectrum antibiotics were used in the treatment of sepsis (CDC, 2019b, 2025a; Holubar & Deresinski, 2023, 2024; Magill et al., 2021; Shrestha et al., 2023).

Overprescribing and misusing antibiotics occur primarily in outpatient care settings. Out of all antibiotic prescribing in primary care clinics, emergency departments, and other outpatient settings, 28% of prescriptions are inappropriate, equating to over 47 million prescriptions annually. The CDC’s 2024 outpatient antibiotic prescription report shows prescribing rates for oral antibiotics per 1,000 people. In 2024, over 255.9 million prescriptions were written for oral antibiotics, equaling 752 prescriptions for every 1,000 people. Individuals under 20 years of age were prescribed antibiotics 55.7 million times, equal to a rate of 679 per 1,000 people. Those 20 and older were prescribed antibiotics 200 million times, or a rate of 775 per 1,000 people. Individuals assigned female at birth of any age were prescribed antibiotics more frequently than those assigned male at birth. Antibiotics were prescribed 155.4 million times (a rate of 905 per 1,000 individuals) for those assigned female at birth, compared to 100.4 million times (a rate of 596 per 1,000) for those assigned male at birth. The most common classes of antibiotics prescribed were:

• penicillins: 58.3 million prescriptions or 171 per 1,000 people
• cephalosporins: 39.4 million prescriptions or 116 per 1,000 people
• macrolides: 37.5 million prescriptions or 110 per 1,000 people
• beta-lactams: 34.5 million prescriptions or 101 per 1,000 people
• tetracyclines: 31.0 million prescriptions or 91 per 1,000 people

Several specific antibiotics are also prescribed more frequently than others:

• amoxicillin (Amoxil) 55.2 million prescriptions or 162 per 1,000 people
• azithromycin (Zithromax) 36.3 million prescriptions or 107 per 1,000 people
• amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (Augmentin) 34.5 million prescriptions or 101 per 1,000 people
• doxycycline (Vibramycin) 28.4 million prescriptions or 84 per 1,000 people
• cephalexin (Keflex) 22.9 million prescriptions or 67 per 1,000 people (CDC, 2024a, 2025a; PEW Charitable Trust, 2020).

Prescribing habits and rates of antibiotic use vary based on provider credentials or specialty and geographical location. Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs) prescribe the most antibiotics, with 103.1 million prescriptions at a rate of 176 per provider annually, followed by primary care physicians (PCPs) with 68.9 million antibiotic prescriptions and a rate of 171 per provider. Providers working in different specialties also have varying rates of antibiotic prescribing:

• dermatology: 271 per provider and 5.1 million prescriptions
• emergency medicine: 201 per provider and 14.2 million prescriptions
• dentistry: 126 per provider and 25.3 million prescriptions
• surgical specialties: 112 per provider and 16.3 million prescriptions
• obstetrics and gynecology: 74 per provider and 4.1 million prescriptions

All other disciplines not listed prescribed 18.9 million antibiotics with a rate of 27 per provider. Antibiotic prescribing rates differ between states and geographical regions. The southern United States has the highest antibiotic prescribing rate (844 per 1,000 people, or 112.0 million prescriptions), followed by the midwest (763 per 1,000 people or 53.1 million prescriptions), the northeast (784 per 1,000 people or 45.3 million prescriptions), and lastly, the west (532 per 1,000 people or 42.6 million prescriptions; CDC, 2024a, 2025a).

Medications and Resistant Organisms

Since penicillin was discovered in 1928 and utilized clinically to treat bacterial infections, bacteria and other microorganisms have been adapting to become resistant to the drugs commonly used to destroy them. Table 1 lists common medications and the organisms that have developed resistance to their use (CDC, 2019a).

Table 1

Antibiotics and Resistant Organisms 

(CDC, 2019a)

Antibiotic Development 

Few new antibiotics are being developed, which further exacerbates the problem of antibiotic resistance. Between 1935 and 2003, fourteen new classes of antibiotics were developed and approved for use; however, since 2017, only eleven new antibiotics have been released, and only two of them represent a new class and have a new target of action. This decrease in innovation is attributed to the cost and risk of antibiotic development. Antibiotics are also not as profitable as medications used to treat more common chronic diseases. Due to the lack of new antibiotic alternatives being produced, antibiotic resistance limits treatment options, making antibiotic stewardship essential to decrease the emergence of new drug-resistant organisms with limited alternative treatment options (Shrestha et al., 2023).

Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs 

In response to the poor prescribing habits of providers across all patient care settings, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), CDC, Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), PEW Charitable Trust, and the Joint Commission (TJC) developed antimicrobial use standards for hospitals, long-term care facilities, and outpatient care settings. CMS, CDC, and TJC also require all hospitals to have an AMS program in place. APRNs must understand their essential role in changing prescribing habits. They are responsible for utilizing antibiotics properly and educating patients on correct antibiotic use when initiating treatment (CDC, 2025c; Holubar & Deresinski, 2023, 2024; Shrestha et al., 2023).

Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Goals

AMS programs have established goals to address AMR (Shrestha et al., 2023). The goals are outlined as follows:

• work with providers to highlight the 5 Ds of antimicrobial prescribing:
  • the right drug
  • the right dose
  • the right drug-route
  • the right treatment duration
  • timely de-escalation to a pathogen-specific treatment based on culture results
• prevent the overuse and inappropriate use of antimicrobials in various clinical settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, and community settings (agriculture industry)
• reduce the prevalence of antibiotic-related adverse effects, including secondary infections (e.g., C. difficile)
• minimize the emergence of new resistant organisms
• improve patient outcomes
• reduce health care spending on the treatment of infections with resistant organisms (Shrestha et al., 2023)

In addition to the AMS program goals, there are associated core elements of AMS programs that must be present (CDC, 2025c; Holubar & Deresinski, 2024; Shrestha et al., 2023).

• Leadership commitment: For AMS programs to be successful, there must be leadership support. Leaders can show their commitment by championing the development and implementation of practice changes. Leaders should also act as a point of contact for the chair of the AMS program to troubleshoot obstacles, facilitate relationships, and provide additional resources as needed. Regular meetings should be held between the organizational leadership and the AMS program leadership to discuss progress, barriers, and expectations. Organizational leadership can also support AMS programs by including language in job expectations that demonstrates the individual’s responsibility to participate in AMS. Leadership can also bring together other departments that can support the AMS program, including providers, pharmacy, infection prevention and control, quality improvement, microbiology, information technology, and nursing.
• Accountability and drug expertise: Institutions must appoint an AMS program leader, or co-leaders, who will take responsibility and accountability for the program. Having a designated leader increases the success rate of the program. Often, having an infectious disease healthcare provider (HCP) experienced with AMS programs and a clinical pharmacist as co-leaders improves the success rate of newly implemented AMS programs. A 2019 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) hospital survey determined that HCPs and pharmacists co-led 59% of hospital AMS programs. If the leader is not a prescriber, it is essential that an individual who does have prescribing capabilities be appointed to support the leader and act as a point of contact on behalf of the medical staff. Pharmacists have the drug knowledge to support and lead the implementation of the stewardship program. Pharmacists can facilitate appropriate prescribing by verifying true medication allergies, avoiding duplication of antimicrobial coverage, reassessing the need for antimicrobial treatment, avoiding the treatment of certain infections, such as asymptomatic bacteriuria, and ensuring that treatment is given for the shortest duration possible while maintaining effectiveness.
• Action: For an AMS program to succeed, new policies and procedures must be implemented to optimize appropriate antibiotic use. Some of these policies include:
  • incorporating a requirement that antibiotic use must be reassessed after 48 hours of initiation to ensure the appropriateness of the medication being used
  • utilizing pharmacists for dosing modifications based on laboratory testing to measure drug levels and organ function (i.e., hepatic and renal)
  • creating infection-specific prescribing protocols that are based on community infection data regarding common strains of infection (e.g., community-acquired pneumonia)
• Tracking and reporting: Tracking antibiotic prescribing habits can help determine whether prescribers are following diagnostic guidelines and policies for antibiotic use. Further education may be indicated based on antibiotic use monitoring results.
• Education: Frequent education is required to keep prescribers updated on changes in prescribing practices, emerging antibiotic-resistant organisms, and the management of infectious diseases.

Antibiotic Stewardship Programs

One aspect of AMS is the appropriate use of antibiotics to limit resistance. Antibiotic stewardship programs have been used in hospitals and outpatient care settings to address antibiotic resistance (CDC, 2025c, 2025d; Holubar & Deresinski, 2023, 2024).

Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs

Hospital antibiotic stewardship programs follow the same guidelines and are composed of the same elements and goals as hospital AMS programs. The only difference is that AMS programs encompass preventing resistance to viruses, parasites, fungi, and bacteria, while antibiotic stewardship programs focus on preventing bacterial resistance to antibiotics (CDC, 2025c; Holubar & Deresinski, 2024).

Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship Programs 

Outpatient antibiotic stewardship programs focus on improving antibiotic prescribing habits in primary care clinics, emergency departments, urgent care clinics, dental offices, and ambulatory specialty medical offices and care centers. Four core elements of outpatient antibiotic stewardship programs act as a framework for changing the use of antibiotics (CDC, 2025d). These core elements are as follows:

• commitment: demonstrate a dedication to improving prescribing practices and adherence to best practice guidelines
• action for policy and practice: implement policy and procedures that set guidelines aimed at improving antibiotic prescribing practices
• tracking and reporting: monitor antibiotic prescribing and provide education and constructive feedback to improve prescribing practices
• education and expertise: provide education to providers to optimize antibiotic use and prevent resistance (CDC, 2025d; Holubar & Deresinski, 2023)

The initial step in implementing an antibiotic stewardship program is identifying the conditions that providers most frequently treat with antibiotics either inappropriately or ineffectively. This includes prescribing the wrong drug, dose, or duration; underprescribing; or overprescribing. Conditions that cause this phenomenon are known as high-priority conditions due to their impact on antibiotic resistance. Conditions that providers frequently overprescribe antibiotics to treat include viral pharyngitis, acute bronchitis, and nonspecific respiratory infections. A condition that is frequently diagnosed and treated with antibiotics, even when the diagnostic criteria are not met, is streptococcal pharyngitis, which is often diagnosed and treated without testing for group A Streptococcus. Underprescribing commonly occurs in the case of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), which are often not diagnosed and treated promptly. Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for acute otitis media (AOM) or uncomplicated sinusitis despite the best practice being to take a watch-and-wait approach. Once high-priority conditions are identified, program leaders should determine why best practices regarding antibiotic use and disease management are not followed. Causes include a lack of knowledge of the providers on clinical guidelines, wanting to meet patient expectations regarding treatment options and increase their satisfaction, and the pressure from management to see too many patients per day, limiting the time spent diagnosing and treating each patient. To address these barriers, health care facilities should establish prescribing guidelines based on established best practices, based on patient presentation and diagnostic guidelines (CDC, 2025d; Holubar & Deresinski, 2023).

Outpatient Treatment Guidelines 

Treatment recommendations are published on prescribing antibiotics appropriately in outpatient settings. These guidelines take into consideration patient presentation, including assessment findings and symptoms. Based on the clinical data, appropriate treatment options are outlined for providers to follow. Recommendations for conditions commonly treated incorrectly in both adult and pediatric patients across outpatient settings are described in Table 2 and Table 3 (CDC, 2024c, 2024d).

Table 2

Outpatient Adult Treatment Recommendations

(CDC, 2024c)

Table 3 

Outpatient Pediatric Treatment Recommendations 

(CDC, 2024d)

Barriers to Antibiotic Stewardship

Clinical 

Many clinical barriers must be overcome to implement stewardship programs and improve prescribing habits (CDC, 2019a). These barriers include:

• a lack of personal recognition of poor prescribing: when polled, 60% of prescribers believed that they prescribed antimicrobials more appropriately than their peers and therefore did not have any reason to improve their prescribing habits
• pressure from patients to prescribe antimicrobials despite best practices: 47% of providers reported feeling moderate pressure, and 37% felt high to very high pressure from their patients to prescribe antibiotics even when not clinically indicated
• situational factors such as the day of the week: on Fridays, there are limited resources, as any tests run may not result by the time the office closes, or the wait-and-see approach may require intervention over the weekend when the office is not open
• lack of time to participate in AMS education or educate patients on the difference between viral infections and bacterial infections
• inconsistent implementation of CDC recommendations when encountering communicable diseases, such as maintaining isolation precautions
• poor hygiene practices that increase the spread of communicable diseases between patients using HCPs as carriers (CDC, 2019a; Jeffs et al., 2020; PEW Charitable Trust, 2020)

Patient Education

HCPs should educate community members on how they can assist in the reduction of unnecessary antibiotic use, leading to resistance (CDC, 2025e; WHO, 2023). Individuals can help address the growing issue of antibiotic resistance by:

• taking antibiotics only when they are prescribed to them by an HCP for their specific illness, and never taking antibiotics prescribed to another individual or leftover antibiotics from a previous illness
• refraining from demanding a specific treatment when seeking medical attention for an illness
• utilizing antibiotics as prescribed and following all instructions for administration (i.e., dietary considerations and duration of treatment; CDC, 2025e; WHO, 2023)

Tools to Combat Resistance

Diagnostic Testing

The CDC and public health departments have specific tests that can be used to determine antibiotic resistance to select effective treatment against the organism. Most of these tests are effective but have a high cost and are time-consuming to perform. These tests also cannot distinguish between an infection caused by fungi or bacteria and a viral infection or identify emerging markers for drug resistance. Information on the organism’s resistance could facilitate more specific treatment for patients in less time, leading to improved patient outcomes (CDC, 2019a, 2024b).

Vaccines

Vaccines are used to prevent primary infections, which can decrease the risk of subsequent infections and antibiotic use. When the WHO increased the number of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines administered to children, the rate of infection with S. pneumoniae—including resistant strains—decreased. This reduced the annual number of deaths related to S. pneumoniae by 250,000. Pneumonia caused by resistant bacteria, such as MRSA, is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients diagnosed with influenza. Vaccinating against influenza decreases the prevalence of bacterial pneumonia. Vaccinating livestock destined for human consumption has also been shown to decrease the prevalence of particular infections in people. The vaccination of poultry against Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium) has decreased the incidence of Salmonella infections in people. Unfortunately, developing and distributing an effective vaccine is a lengthy and costly process (CDC, 2019a, 2024b).

Antibodies

Antibodies can be administered to infected individuals to provide an immediate immune response to a foreign organism. Antibody-based treatment has been developed to target infection with C. difficile and bacterial-associated pneumonia (CDC, 2019a).

Bacteriophages 

Bacteriophages are viruses that can enter and replicate within a bacterium. Researchers have utilized this process and genetically modified phages to kill specific bacteria. Patients in critical condition due to infection with a multidrug-resistant organism have fully recovered after the administration of engineered phages. Further use in patients with severe burns, infection of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD), endocarditis, or bacteremia is being researched. Unfortunately, bacteria may become resistant to phages, requiring a change in the phage therapy utilized (CDC, 2019a).

Fecal Microbiota Transplant or Live Biotherapeutics

Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) or live biotherapeutics (LB) have been used to restore healthy microbes to a digestive tract that has had the normal flora colonized for any reason. This includes damage that occurs following the use of antibiotics. The introduction of beneficial bacteria can help prevent infection with C. difficile and decrease the length of infection with a resistant organism (CDC, 2019a).

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2022). AHRQ safety program for improving antibiotic use: Final report. https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/antibiotic-use/overall-antibiotic-stewardship-project-final-report.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019a). Antibiotic threats in the United States, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/data-research/threats/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019b). The core elements of hospital antibiotic stewardship programs: 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/media/pdfs/hospital-core-elements-508.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024a). Outpatient antibiotic prescriptions: United States, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/media/pdfs/2024-Annual-Report-508.pdf

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024b). Controlling the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/prevention/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024c). Outpatient clinical care for adults. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/hcp/clinical-care/adult-outpatient.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024d). Outpatient clinical care for pediatric populations. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/hcp/clinical-care/pediatric-outpatient.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025a). Antibiotic use in the United States. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/hcp/data-research/antibiotic-prescribing.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025b). Antimicrobial resistance threats in the United States, 2021–2022. https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/data-research/threats/update-2022.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025c). Core elements of hospital antibiotic stewardship. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/hcp/core-elements/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025d). Core elements of outpatient antibiotic stewardship. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/hcp/core-elements/outpatient-antibiotic-stewardship.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025e). Patient education resources. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/communication-resources/index.html

Habboush, Y., & Guzman, N. (2023). Antibiotic resistance. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513277

Holubar, M., & Deresinski, S. (2023). Antimicrobial stewardship in outpatient setting. UpToDate. Retrieved October 2, 2025, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/antimicrobial-stewardship-in-outpatient-settings

Holubar, M., & Deresinski, S. (2024). Antimicrobial stewardship in hospital settings. UpToDate. Retrieved October 2, 2025, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/antimicrobial-stewardship-in-hospital-settings

Jeffs, L., McIsaac, W., Zahradnik, M., Senthinathan, A., Dresser, L., McIntyre, M., Tannenbaum, D., Bell, C., & Morris, A. (2020). Barriers and facilitators to the uptake of an antimicrobial stewardship program in primary care: A qualitative study. PLOS One, 15(3), e0223822. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223822

Magill, S. S., O’Leary, E., Ray, S. M., Kainer, M. A., Evans, C., Bamberg, W. M., Johnston, H., Janelle, S. J., Oyewumi, T., Lynfield, R., Rainbow, J., Warnke, L., Nadle, J., Thompson, D. L., Sharmin, S., Pierce, R., Zhang, A. Y., Ocampo, V., Maloney, M., . . . Neuhauser, M. M. (2021). Assessment of the appropriateness of antimicrobial use in US hospitals. JAMA Network Open, 4(3), e212007. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.2007

PEW Charitable Trust. (2020). National survey reveals barriers to outpatient antibiotic stewardship efforts: Physicians don't recognize their own inappropriate prescribing, are skeptical of some stewardship strategies. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2020/08/national-survey-reveals-barriers-to-outpatient-antibiotic-stewardship-efforts

Shrestha, J., Zahra, F., & Cannady, P., Jr. (2023). Antimicrobial stewardship. StatPearls [Internet]. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK572068

Sutton, K. F., & Ashley, L. W. (2024). Antimicrobial resistance in the United States: Origins and future directions. Epidemiology & Infection, 152, e33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268824000244

Uddin, T. M., Chakraborty, A. J., Khusro, A., Zidan, B. M. R. M., Mitra, S., Emran, T. B., Dhama, K., Ripon, M. K. H., Gajdacs, M., Sahibzada, M. U. K., Hossain, M. J., & Koirala, N. (2021). Antibiotic resistance in microbes: History, mechanisms, therapeutic strategies and future prospects. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 14(12), 1750–1766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiph.2021.10.020

World Health Organization. (2023). Antimicrobial resistance. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance

World Health Organization. (2024). WHO bacterial priority pathogens list, 2024: Bacterial pathogens of public health importance to guide research, development and strategies to prevent and control antimicrobial resistance. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240093461

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