Antimicrobial Academy 5-month program
Antibiotics to treat infections are the most commonly prescribed medicine in remote Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This high level of prescription is needed to treat the common, serious infections that are well reported in the north. However, the downside to antibiotic prescribing, is that bacteria may develop mechanisms that stop the antibiotic from working. This is called antibiotic resistance and is a really big problem in remote Australia. For example, skin infections caused by golden staph have a one in two chance of being resistant to the standard antibiotics. Worse still, if the golden staph enters the blood stream via the skin causing sepsis, it is critical that the right antibiotic is selected as quickly as possible to prevent death from sepsis.
The Antimicrobial Academy is a five-month program any health worker or health professional working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector interested in upskilling in antibiotic use, audit, stewardship, surveillance, and resistance. Candidate nominations to participate will come from interested health care organisations who support the candidate to develop skills and implement change in their organisation. Fostering colleagues with these skillsets will be critical for safe prescribing, improved stewardship and advocacy to ensure that remote living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are included in national efforts to address antimicrobial use and resistance.
The training will include skills in how to:
- Perform antimicrobial stewardship audits;
- use surveillance skills to collect, understand and utilise antimicrobial resistance data;
- advocate for antibiotic resistance issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to policy makers and the National Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy.
AMR is a critical risk, affecting Australia’s remote living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families at some of the highest reported rates in the country. HOT NORTH has made this as one of the five key themes of the research program, which aligns with the attention given globally to this issue. The World Health Organisation declared AMR as one of the biggest health threats, with up to 10 million lives lost by 2050, extreme poverty for 24 million by 2030 and billions of dollars in health care costs and lost productivity for the global economy.
The Antimicrobial Academy provides a meaningful opportunity to transfer skills from urban Australia to northern Australia and create a cadre of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander antimicrobial users, advocates and spokespeople to partner with and continue to improve health care delivery, research platforms and advocacy.
Skills transfer for health care workers and health professionals to lead and advocate on AMR safe prescribing, improved stewardship and advocacy to ensure that remote living Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are included in national efforts to address antimicrobial use and resistance.
Any health worker or health professional working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector.
Candidate nominations to participate will come from interested health care organisations who support the candidate to develop skills and implement change in their organisation.
Applications are currently closed.
A/Prof Asha Bowen, Telethon Kids Institute and Perth Children’s Hospital (WA)
Prof Steven Tong, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Royal Melbourne Hospital (VIC)
Dr Trent Yarwood, Cairns Base Hospital (QLD)
Mr Mike Stephens, NACCHO (ACT / TAS)
Dr Lorraine Anderson, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services (WA)
Dr Kathryn Daveson, Queensland Statewide Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (QLD)
Ms Bonnie Smith, Queensland Statewide Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (QLD)
This is a five-month fortnightly program commencing the first week in August and concluding the first week in December 2022. These sessions are held during the working day, as best fits in with Fellows and Lecturers. We will discuss the timings with you.
A copy of the program can be downloaded here.
Upskilling in antibiotic use, audit, stewardship, surveillance, and resistance.
Sessions will be delivered fortnightly online via Microsoft Teams, during work hours with organisational support, at no cost.
We strongly encourage you to find an organisational buddy to undertake this with. If this isn’t possible, that’s still ok.
A copy of the program can be downloaded here.
1 Aug: Welcome to the Academy. Introduction to drug resistance.
SURVEY
15 Aug: What do we know about AMR in Aboriginal health services. Antimicrobial use in Aboriginal Health Services. Spectrum of antimicrobials.
29 Aug: What is antimicrobial stewardship. The National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey. How to implement AMS in your health service. Introduction to the project (optional).
12 Sep: Using disease surveillance skills to collect, understand & use. How to implement AMS in your health service.
26 Sep: Standard Drug lists and other tools used for stewardship in the North. Standing Orders and (optional) project examples – IV to PO switch.
10 Oct: Antimicrobial stewardship in the hospital setting. Antimicrobial stewardship in the ACCHO setting.
24 Oct: National surveillance of AMR coordination and activities. Antimicrobial Stewardship Governance.
7 Nov: Communicating drug resistance. Media training.
21 Nov: International perspectives on surveillance and antimicrobial resistance. One Health
5 Dec: Project presentations. Academy close.
SURVEY
If you have any questions, please contact: statewide.ams@health.qld.gov.au