An Antimicrobial Stewardship Curriculum to Incorporate in the South African Bachelor of Pharmacy Degree Program

Objective. To develop an antimicrobial stewardship curriculum that is suitable for incorporation in the undergraduate pharmacy degree programs offered by South African schools of pharmacy. Methods. A mixed methods approach was employed involving four consecutive study phases: content analysis, academic review, expert consultation, and curriculum development. The curriculum development phase involved collation of the findings of the prior three study phases. Results. The final proposed antimicrobial stewardship curriculum included recommendations for: level of incorporation of the curriculum in the undergraduate degree program, minimum contact hours, pedagogical techniques, and assessment methods. The curriculum content was split into four units: pharmacology for antimicrobial stewardship, microbiology for antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial stewardship in practice, and hospital antimicrobial stewardship. Conclusion. An antimicrobial stewardship curriculum that highlights key findings in relation to the role of the pharmacist in antimicrobial stewardship was developed. This was the first such study conducted in South Africa.