Strategies in Controlling Antibiotic Resistance

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Recommended: the use and overuse of antibiotics

Summary
The article I chose to summarize discusses many different ways to control antibiotic resistance. I thought it was a good article for me to read so I can adapt some of these strategies in my practice as a nurse practitioner. Healthcare has been forever changed with the discovery of antibiotics. Although considered one of the biggest discoveries in the last century, there has been less work done to create new antibiotics in more recent years. Once antibiotic use became widespread, resistance to these drugs has been slowly brewing. This antibiotic resistance has taken its toll on healthcare and something needs to be done to combat this problem. Encouraging the discovery of new antibiotics, preventing the overprescribing of antibiotics currently on the market, and decreasing the time needed to get lab results are just a few ways to combat antibiotic resistance. Healthcare providers need to play a major role in fixing this problem.
This article discusses how antibiotics work. It is important to understand how antibiotics work so we can better understand how to control antibiotic resistance. Each antibiotic works differently, but they all do the same thing in the end and that is to stop the bacteria from living and growing. This can be done by stopping the cell wall of the bacteria from forming properly which will lead to the cell filling with water and dying due to the membrane rupturing. Another way antibiotics work is by preventing the synthesis of protein. Proteins are needed for chemical reactions and cell division so inhibiting the production of protein will stop cell division so no new bacteria will grow, but also allow the already existing bacteria to die. Antibiotics can also disrupt DNA synthesis. This wi...

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...help prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance. I know that I need to limit my antibiotic prescribing. I know that teaching my patients about common illnesses and infections and about antibiotics will help me in my practice. Teaching infection prevention will also become an important part of my practice. I understand the importance of prescribing the proper antibiotic and I will strive to prescribe narrow spectrum drugs if possible. I will rely on diagnostics and susceptibility tests to improve my antibiotic prescribing capabilities. I will make sure to keep up to date on all the latest information about antibiotics and antibiotic resistance so I can prescribe the best possible medication for me patients.

Works Cited

Aziz, A.-M. (2013). The role of healthcare strategies in controlling antibiotic resistance. British Journal of Nursing, 22(18), 1066-1074.

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