Abstract
Antibiotic resistant infections are a growing problem in the United States and the world. The main cause of this is antibiotic prescriptions, which can not only cause antibiotic resistance but adverse events. Decreasing the amount of antibiotics prescribed for inappropriate conditions can help to decrease the rates of antibiotic resistant infections and the problems these infections can cause. One illness that is treated frequently with antibiotics, against recommendations, is acute bronchitis. Acute bronchitis is a self-limiting viral infection, characterized by cough. By decreasing the number of providers who are prescribing antibiotics for acute bronchitis, the clinic can help to prevent the chance of antibiotic resistant infections and adverse events. Another benefit is getting all the providers to treat patients the same for this illness. Currently, when one provider doesn’t give the patient what they want, they may be able to see another, who may prescribe an antibiotic.
This project will be accomplished though a training session with all providers and will include clinic staff. Providers will need to take a pre and post training assessment to evaluate the effectiveness. Providers and staff will be presented with a PowerPoint lesson on acute bronchitis, treatment options, antibiotic effectiveness, and improvement timeframes with antibiotics. Providers may feel the need to give patients what they are requesting due to time constraints, patient satisfaction scores, fear of complications, and legal concerns (Evertsen et al., 2010). Educating providers and staff will provide them with the resources needed to explain why patients will not receive an antibiotic.
Success will be determined by reduced prescribed antibiotic scores, and a 50% reduction in the amount of antibiotic prescribed for acute bronchitis. If it works well in the Operational Medicine Clinic it can be expanded to the rest of the facility.
Date of publication
Spring 4-21-2021
Document Type
MSN Capstone Project
Language
english
Persistent identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/3703
Degree
Masters in Nursing
Recommended Citation
Williams, Nicole, "Treatment of Acute Bronchitis in Active Duty Military Members Benchmark Project" (2021). MSN Capstone Projects. Paper 121.
http://hdl.handle.net/10950/3703