The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Courses

Vaccine Development: Finding a Vaccine for COVID-19 and Future Pandemics

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Discover how new vaccines are developedThis course will provide healthcare professionals with a deeper understanding of the role and development process for a COVID-19 vaccine and the value of vaccine intervention within the patient pathway.Vaccines are instrumental in protecting people against infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The current situation with COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of vaccines and the difficulty in developing them in a timely but safe manner.On this course, you’ll learn about the role and development process for new vaccines, from manufacturing to vaccine safety and testing.You’ll consider the value of vaccine intervention within the patient pathway, and learn how to assess the efficacy of a vaccine for preventing infection or disease.Find out more about the COVID-19 vaccine development processThe challenges of vaccine development have never been more apparent to the public than during this global pandemic.As you explore how vaccines are used to control pandemics, you’ll examine the current COVID-19 vaccines in development and learn how they’re being produced and tested.Explore the latest vaccine research with the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC)This course offers the chance to learn from BSAC’s global faculty of experts who will provide up-to-date content and insights on their individual areas of expertise.Providing a number of courses on FutureLearn, BSAC are experienced in providing engaging and informative online courses for healthcare professionals around the world to improve their practical skills and understanding.This course is for healthcare professionals working in any setting and individuals interested in gaining more knowledge on vaccines and how they save lives.It would also appeal to anyone interested in the development of a vaccine for COVID-19.

Procalcitonin: PCT as a Biomarker for Antimicrobial Stewardship

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Explore the various uses and benefits of PCT within the medical fieldProcalcitonin (PCT) is a crucial biomarker in clinical diagnostics. Its wide usage in diagnosing infections and sepsis saves lives every day. Discover its various usage, benefits, and even its limitations on this course, that connects procalcitonin to antimicrobial stewardship.Discover the benefits of procalcitonin in the ICUEven in some of the most challenging areas of the medical field, PCT is used every day. Discover the benefits of procalcitonin in and out of ICU.Learn about the connection between procalcitonin and COVID-19COVID-19 has changed the world. This course will explore the benefits of using procalcitonin with COVID patients, to bring you a modern and up-to-date education.What are the limitations and controversies of procalcitonin?This course also addresses the controversies and limitations associated with procalcitonin. Discover the other side of this biomarker, not just its benefits. After this course, you’ll be familiar with how it should be used in your practice.Learn why procalcitonin is crucial in antimicrobial stewardshipThis course will let you learn about the connection between procalcitonin and antimicrobial stewardship. Find out how PCT can benefit AMS practices and ensure antimicrobials are used appropriately to avoid antimicrobial resistance.The course is aimed at clinicians who want to know more about diagnostics and the uses of procalcitonin within the medical field.Health care professionals, laboratory workers, and researchers will also find useful information here about PCT as a biomarker.

Uso racional de antibióticos en el tratamiento de heridas

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Aprende a tratar las infecciones causadas por heridas como un profesional sanitaEs habitual recurrir a antibióticos para tratar las infecciones causadas por heridas. Por ello, es fundamental comprender el uso racional de antibióticos a la hora de tratar correctamente distintas infecciones provocadas por bacterias, parásitos, virus u hongos y así evitar las resistencias.En este curso, estudiaremos la resistencia a los antibióticos, aprenderemos cómo abordarla y veremos cómo influye en el tratamiento seguro de los pacientes con heridas. También aprenderemos a reconocer y diagnosticar las infecciones en heridas y a tomar medidas de control de infecciones en nuestra práctica diaria. Aquí puedes escuchar un anticipo.AgradecimientosTraducción al español ofrecida por Essity.Este curso está dirigido a profesionales sanitarios entre cuyas labores se encuentren el tratamiento y prevención de heridas.

Infection Prevention for Vulnerable Patients

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Learn how to be mindful regarding treatment of infections in vulnerable patientsPrevention of infection in the vulnerable patient is an area of unmet educational need and, considering the current COVID-19 pandemic, has become even more important.This two-week infection control course investigates a wide range of patients with infectious diseases in a variety of locations and situations.Identify the unmet needs of vulnerable patientsYou’ll begin the course by learning what it means to call a patient ‘vulnerable’, and which kind of patients this refers to.You’ll then explore how to identify the unmet needs of vulnerable patients and how you can help combat this within your healthcare practice.Using real-life case studies, you’ll examine topics like care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic and how homelessness, mental illness, and poverty can lead to vulnerability.Reflect on your own personal experiences in dealing with vulnerable patientsYou’ll also explore the different ways a patient might be classed as vulnerable and the problems faced in their treatment.Reflecting on your own personal experiences in dealing with vulnerable patients, you’ll decipher how this could be improved.You’ll then study the health of migrants and refugees and develop your understanding of the legal and ethical responsibilities with regards to these types of patients.On the final section of the course, you’ll examine religious and cultural differences and how these must be navigated in patient care.Learn from infection control experts at the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC)Throughout the course, you’ll be learning from experts at the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), an inter-professional organisation with 50 years of experience in education, research and leadership.The target audience for this course arehealthcare professionals at a junior doctor level who are looking to improve their practice and become more aware of how healthcare can be made more accessible.

The Role of Antifungal Stewardship

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Learn how fungi can cause disease and explore effective forms of treatmentFungal diseases affect millions of people worldwide each year. Antifungal stewardship helps ensure antifungal agents are prescribed correctly to achieve the best patient outcome.On this course, you will investigate the benefits of antifungal stewardship through case studies that feature successful strategies. You will cover basic mycology and common fungal diseases as well as look at ways to treat fungal diseases like candidemia. By completing this course, you will be able to use your knowledge in a clinical setting.AcknowledgementsThis course is designed for any healthcare professional involved with caring for patients who may experience fungal disease. This may be in a primary care or hospital setting.

Utilising Social Science and Behaviour Change in Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes: Improving Healthcare

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Hospital healthcare delivery is complex with changing priorities and demands.Improvements are required but how can we ensure they are delivered. Understanding behaviour is essential for change. This course builds on Week 5 of Antimicrobial Stewardship: Managing Antibiotic Resistance but is not a prerequisite for taking this course.This course is designed for those involved in healthcare improvement, and will be of particular interest to members of Antimicrobial Stewardship Committees and team leads.

Fungal Diagnostics in Critically Ill Patients

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Decipher the role of fungal diagnostics to guide treatment decisions.This three-week fungal diagnostics course is aimed at educating healthcare professionals to a greater degree on the understanding and role of fungal diagnostics to guide treatment decisions.You’ll decipher what makes a ’good’ fungal diagnostic test and will get behind the science of these tests.Understand the use of diagnostics in driving treatment introductionYou’ll improve suspicion and early diagnosis of invasive fungal infections by highlighting a wide range of diagnostic techniques and methodologies. You’ll then get to grips with the use of diagnostics in driving treatment introduction.You’ll reflect on individual cases presented - such as cases from intensive care or haematology-oncology - and will ultimately be able to suspect opportunistic invasive fungal infections.Interpret clinical signs, symptoms and risk factors for diagnosis of a fungal infectionYou’ll then explore clinical signs, symptoms and risk factors to diagnose the presence of an invasive fungal infection, and will apply appropriate diagnostic & radiological tests to confirm the type of infection using real world case studies.You’ll round off by discussing the role of guidelines and protocols, and how to implement behavioural change within an organisation to incorporate a diagnostic driven approach.Learn with healthcare and fungal infection experts at the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC)Throughout the duration of the course you’ll be learning from epidemiological experts from the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), an inter-professional organisation with over 40 years of experience and achievement in antibiotic education, research and leadership.This course is designed for all healthcare professionals, including infectious disease physicians, clinical microbiologists, onco-haematologists, ICU physicians, pulmonologists, internal medicine physicians, abdominal surgeons, and anyoneinvolved in the management of immunocompromised or critically ill patients globally.

Challenges in Antibiotic Resistance: Non-Fermenting Gram Negative Bacteria

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Understand antibiotic resistance in non-fermenting gram negative bacteriaNon-fermenting gram negative bacteria are a group of bacteria which cause infection in a growing number of patients. Many of these bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, so it’s vital to accurately identify the specific bacteria in order to administer appropriate treatment.This informative two-week course will increase your understanding of the mechanisms of resistance, and will teach practical techniques for diagnosis and infection prevention and control.Gain an understanding of antibiotic resistance in non-fermenting gram negative bacteriaIn week one, you’ll get an introduction into different types of non-fermenting gram negative bacteria, such as acinetobacter and pseudomonas.You’ll then get an insight into how these types of bacteria can cause diseases and epidemiological outbreaks, and with specific examples, will identify the prevalence and epidemiology of antibiotic resistance in these bacteria.Apply current guidelines for diagnosis, infection prevention and controlAfter comparing mechanisms of resistance in non-fermenting gram-negative bacteria, you’ll then explore the current guidelines for diagnosis, infection prevention and control, such as the screening of patients, with an aim to understand how best practice guidelines are followed within a clinical setting.You’ll then get to grips with which patients are at high risk of developing infections with non-fermenters, and will reflect on the current and future management of infections.Learn from epidemiology experts at the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC)Throughout the course, you’ll be learning from disease control and epidemiological experts from the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC), an inter-professional organisation with over 40 years of experience.AcknowledgementsThis course is for healthcare professionals interested in furthering their understanding of non-fermenting gram negative bacteria for use in a clinical setting.The course has been approved by the Royal College of Pathologists at a level of 4 credits.

Introducción a la microbiología práctica

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Asienta las bases de las prácticas en la microbiologíaEste curso te enseña todos los conceptos básicos de la microbiología. Desarrolla una base sólida para futuros estudios y prácticas en el campo de la microbiología aprendiendo a definir los microbios, los antimicrobianos y los antibióticos. Adéntrate con confianza en todos los temas, nombres, principios y procesos básicos de la microbiología.Al finalizar el curso, no solo tendrás una comprensión segura de la clasificación, estructura y funciones de los microbios, sino que también estarás familiarizado con su identificación en el laboratorio y los sitios comunes de infección.Conoce los conceptos de optimización de antimicrobianos y resistencia a los antimicrobianos (RAM)En este curso, aprenderás a definir la resistencia a los antimicrobianos, sus mecanismos, impulsores y corresistencia. Aprende cómo actúan los microbios y los antimicrobianos, y cómo se produce la resistencia a los antimicrobianos (RAM).Conoce los conceptos básicos de las «bacterias superresistentes» y analiza los resultados de las pruebas de susceptibilidad antimicrobiana (AST) o antibiogramas, incluidos sus diferentes puntos de ruptura, puntos de corte y su aplicación en el contexto clínico.Aprende las técnicas antimicrobianas de laboratorioDescifra cómo tomar muestras y especímenes para detectar microbios, así como los métodos para estudiar la susceptibilidad a los antimicrobianos en el laboratorio.Aprende a comparar sustancias bactericidas y bacteriostáticas, observa cómo se mueven por el cuerpo mediante el estudio de modelos PK/PD (farmacocinéticos/farmacodinámicos) y aprende cómo aumentar la eficacia de los antimicrobianos en función de los resultados.Este curso está destinado a los profesionales sanitarios, personal de laboratorio, personal comercial de antiinfecciosos, investigadores, estudiantes u otros en formación.El curso está dirigido a personas con conocimientos básicos de microbiología, pero este no es un requisito previo.

Antimicrobial Stewardship for the Gulf, Middle East and North Africa

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Learn about antimicrobial stewardship in the Gulf, Middle East and North AfricaOn this course, you’ll examine the threat of antimicrobial resistance in the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa and learn how best to tackle it.You’ll discover the basic principles of Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) and learn how to implement an AMS programme at your practice.You’ll also evaluate AMS strategies, explore the process of developing and updating local antimicrobial prescribing policies and using collaborative interdisciplinary approaches.You’ll gain insight and advice from experts in the field and learn how to make the most effective use of antimicrobials.This course is designed for healthcare professionals working in the Middle East.

e-Bug Health Educator Training

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Learn how to use the e-Bug teaching resourcee-Bug is operated by Public Health England (PHE) as a free educational resource for teaching young people aged 4-18 about the spread, prevention, and treatment of infections and antibiotic use.This course was developed by PHE and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) for teachers/educators, and others who work with children or young people. Use this course to learn more about important health topics and increase your knowledge, skills and confidence in using e-Bug resources, which tie into efforts to reduce the spread of infections and antibiotic resistance in the UK.Primary and secondary school educators, as well as those who lead community groups targeting children and young people. This course is designed for child educators in different settings around the UK, but may be appropriate for other countries and settings. Parents who are home educating might find this course useful if they would like to learn how to teach children about the prevention and spread of infection and caring for themselves and others when ill.The course might also be of interest to healthcare professionals who work with children, for example, school nurses. Local authority or government officials involved in the management of infections and improving antibiotic use within communities, might also find this course useful.

Introduction to Practical Microbiology

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Learn about the basics of microbiology and clinical pharmacologyOn this four-week course, you’ll discover the basic concepts of microbiology from a practical perspective.Get to know how to identify microbes, what antimicrobial resistance is, and how you can analyse and interpret data in a laboratory setting, as well as advice for both low and higher resource settings.Build a foundation in microbiology practicesThis course teaches you about all the basic concepts of microbiology. Develop a solid foundation base for further study and practice in the field of microbiology by learning how to define microbes, antimicrobials, and antibiotics. Confidently navigate every basic topic, name, principle, and process of microbiology.By the end of this course, you won’t just have a confident understanding of the classification, structure, and roles of microbes, but will also be familiar with their laboratory identification and the common sites of infection.Discover the concepts of antimicrobial stewardship and antimicrobial resistance (AMR)On this course you’ll learn how to define antimicrobial resistance, its mechanisms, drivers, and co-resistance. Learn how microbes and antimicrobials work, and how antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens.Discover the basic concepts of ‘superbugs’, and analyse the results of Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (AST), including their different breaking points, cut-off settings, and their application in the clinical context.Learn antimicrobial laboratory techniquesDecipher how to take samples and specimens to detect microbes, as well as methods to study antimicrobial susceptibility in the laboratory setting.Learn to compare bactericidal and bacteriostatic substances, see how they move through the body by studying PK/PD models, and learn how to increase the efficacy of antimicrobials based on the results.This course is for healthcare professionals, laboratory personnel, anti-infectives commercial staff, researchers, students or others in training.The course is intended for those with some basic knowledge of microbiology, but this is not a prerequisite.

Antimicrobial Stewardship in Veterinary Practice

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Learn how to improve antimicrobial stewardship as a veterinary nurse or surgeonVets and human health professionals both have a responsibility to address the challenge of antimicrobial stewardship. Veterinary nurses, surgeons and pharmacists need the skills to prescribe antibiotics rationally and responsibly.On this interactive course, you’ll challenge the norms of veterinary prescribing and gain the tools needed to introduce good antimicrobial stewardship practices in your own context. You will explore the challenges of monitoring responsible medicine use and relevant solutions. You will gain the confidence needed to instil change in your own veterinary practice.This course is for veterinary surgeons, nurses and pharmacists with a basic clinical knowledge of antimicrobial prescribing practice. The course has a focus on the UK context but can be applied internationally.

The Role of Vaccines in Preventing Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance

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Explore the impact of vaccines on infectious diseases and AMRVaccines are instrumental in protecting people against infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). On this course, you will investigate the role of vaccines in preventing these diseases and explore case studies that demonstrate successful strategies.After taking this course, you will understand how vaccines work and are used globally in low, middle and high-income countries. You will also appreciate the factors influencing the availability and uptake of vaccines and understand the important role they play in managing infectious diseases and preventing AMR.AcknowledgementsThis course is for healthcare professionals working in any setting and individuals interested in gaining more knowledge on vaccines and how they save lives.