Education for vancomycin: what works?

Introduction. Dosing and monitoring guidelines are readily available for vancomycin. However, hospital audits consistently show suboptimal vancomycin therapy (Davis et al., 2013). Few studies have examined the types, strengths and weaknesses of educational resources used to support vancomycin prescribing.
Aims. To explore the opinions and experiences of Australian educators on the methods used to educate health professionals about vancomycin in order to identify the most effective approach to education.
Methods. Health professionals involved in delivering antibiotic education to clinical staff were approached via email and invited to participate in a semi-structured interview. Questions focused on the use of educational resources and methods for vancomycin dosing and monitoring practices. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed independently by two researchers for emerging themes.
Results. Pharmacists (n=18) and Infectious Disease physicians (n=6) were interviewed. The most frequent mode of vancomycin education reported was an annual lecture during junior staff orientation. This was in contrast to what educators viewed to be ideal education (one-on-one, case-based, tailored learning). Educators reported that different methods were likely to be effective for different healthcare professionals (e.g. doctors vs. nurses). Access to online resources (such as vancomycin.com.au and Qstream) and dosing calculators were also seen to enhance vancomycin education. Time constraints were a major limitation to clinical education, with development of readily accessible and efficient educational strategies a priority.
Discussion. Effective education was reported to be multimodal, including strategies such as academic detailing and interactive, problem based learning using case studies.