Antimicrobial resistance curriculum assessment tool for pharmacy education

Overview

The Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) calls for making AMR a core component of professional education and training. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the Competency Framework for Health Workers’ Education and Training on AMR to ensure that academic institutions and regulatory agencies provided pre-service and in-service training to equip health workers with the competencies necessary to address AMR. This was followed by Health Workers’ Training and Education on AMR: Curricula Guide, which outlines the learning objectives and expected outcomes of pre-service training to strengthen curricula across health professions. In 2024, WHO introduced the AMR Curriculum Assessment Tool for Medical Education to guide medical schools in integrating AMR content into their curricula. The AMR Curriculum Assessment Tool for Pharmacy Education extends this series to pharmacy education.

 This tool enables a rapid, systematic review of pharmacy curricula at the national or institutional level to evaluate their robustness in delivering the expected content and competencies. It can also assist institutions in designing strategies to strengthen AMR curricular content, and to facilitate structured, periodic dialogue on AMR and infection-related competencies among pharmacy faculty and other relevant stakeholders. A pharmacy curriculum that comprehensively integrates AMR content will help ensure that future pharmacists have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to address AMR effectively in both clinical practice and public health.