Integrating antimicrobial stewardship in pre‑registration nursing curricula in Australia and New Zealand: A discussion paper on challenges and opportunities.

AIMS: This paper discusses the challenges and opportunities of integrating antimicrobial stewardship within the pre-registration nursing curricula in Australia and New Zealand and proposes a practical curriculum-integrated blueprint in the implementation of this capability in alignment with evolving nursing practice.

BACKGROUND

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat requiring workforce capability towards antimicrobial optimisation. In Australia and New Zealand, national strategies and clinical standards explicitly prioritise antimicrobial stewardship and academic preparation for this role. Despite recommendations, it remains inconsistently embedded in pre-registration nursing curricula and often confined within pharmacology, rather than integrated longitudinally across the curricula.

DESIGN

A discussion paper.

METHODS

An integrative policy and literature-informed design was used to inform the discussion paper. Related peer-reviewed literature surrounding curricular focus on antimicrobial stewardship in nursing were searched using PubMed, Scopus and CINAHL Ultimate databases. The synthesis is guided by an integrative synthesis of international and national policy frameworks, surveillance data, competency frameworks, clinical standards and national learning e-tools.

RESULTS

Antimicrobial stewardship can be embedded within existing learning designs, including clinical reasoning, simulations, pharmacology, infection prevention and control, microbiology/pathophysiology and other core theoretical/clinical units. While implementation is feasible, faculty time, expertise and redesign effort will be required. Antimicrobial stewardship can be operationalised as observable and assessable behaviours aligning with nationally recognised metrics. This paper presents a transferable blueprint that supports consistent implementation and accreditation alignment.

CONCLUSION

Antimicrobial stewardship is a core nursing responsibility and an ethically and clinically necessary component in pre-registration nursing curricula. Longitudinal integration is required to strengthen workforce capability against the growing threats of antimicrobial resistance.