Mr Stephen Nocher1
1Queensland Health, Herston, Australia
Method: The education program was implemented in stages following key stakeholder engagement of local Hospital and Health Service staff, including Nurse Educators, facility Directors of Nursing (DON’s) and Registered Nurses (RN’s).
AMS topics and include discussion of local cases and experiences. Presentations are recorded and available for staff to download
Results: As of March 2022 the program has implemented 63 presentations to over 260 participants across 40 Queensland Health facilities have been given to nursing students, Assistants in Nursing, Enrolled Nurses, RN’s, midwives, Clinical Nurses, Clinical Nurse Consultants, Rural and Isolated Practice RN’s, Nurse Educators and DON’s. Review and change of practice in routine urine testing has occurred at some QH Aged Care facilities as a result of this education program.
Conclusions: A sustainable and locally targeted nursing and midwifery AMS education program was able to be successfully implemented across rural and remote QH facilities.
Background: Providing optimal healthcare in rural, remote, and very remote locations in Queensland can be challenging due to a number of factors, including having limited access to local diagnostic resources, lack of local specialist and support services and chronic issues attracting and retaining experienced clinical staff. Ongoing professional development, learning and training opportunities can also be challenging to access.
To support and develop the role of nurses and midwives in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS), the QSAMSP team developed and implemented a targeted education program for Queensland Health (QH) rural and remote hospitals, aged care facilities, correctional health facilities and primary health centres in Queensland.
Biography: I am a Registered Nurse with 28 years experience. Having trained and worked in the NHS in the UK, I have for the last 25 years worked at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, the last two years as the CNC for the Queensland Statewide Antimicrobial Stewardship Program