Efficacy of a Microbial Reality Simulator (AMRSim) as an education tool for antimicrobial stewardship teaching for veterinary undergraduates

Efficacy of a Microbial Reality Simulator (AMRSim) as an education tool for antimicrobial stewardship teaching for veterinary undergraduates

Antimicrobial stewardship in veterinary clinical practice with effective infection prevention and control (IPC) measures is important in reducing the use of antibiotics. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the AMRSim tool (simulating the pre-surgical preparation of a dog patient) in influencing the knowledge, confidence levels and perception of veterinary students towards antimicrobial resistance (AMR), asepsis and IPC contributing to pre-surgical sterility. A quasi-experimental study was conducted as a voluntary sign up series of facilitated workshops independent from the curriculum for the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Science degree program students at the University of Surrey vet school. 69 students from years 1-4 participated in the study (41; experimental group) from February to March 2020. Participants completed Jisc® online questionnaires, before (7-10 days), during (only experimental group) and after (7-10 days) the workshop. Data were analysed with Mann-Whitney U Tests. At baseline, no statistically significant differences were found between the experimental and control groups on any of the pre-tests for baseline IPC knowledge questions (p > .05). Post-tests indicated some significant improvements for the experimental group in that they agreed that they would be more likely to carry out IPC behaviours in future veterinary practice than the control group (U = 527.50, p < .001). They also demonstrated improved IPC knowledge about whether to use antibiotics when preparing an animal for surgery depending on the type of surgery undertaken (U = 432.00, p = .043). Post workshop questionnaire responses indicated that the learning experience with the AMRSim tool was enjoyable (100% positive), engaging (97% positive), changed attitude of participants towards asepsis and its role in AMR (82.5% positive) and that they understand more about asepsis than before (80% positive). Percentage of participants who felt “very/extremely informed” about IPC increased 3-fold from 26% (before) to 79% after the workshop. Participants further agreed that they would be more likely to adhere to IPC measures in clinical placements in the remainder of their undergraduate years due to the learning archived at the workshop. Further pedagogical research is being carried out using the AMRsim tool within the curriculum as this project continues.