Nurses are part of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Team
Nurses are part of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Team
Active engagement of nurses in antimicrobial stewardship activities is long-overdue. We can all appreciate the nursing presence in management of antimicrobials in different clinical settings, however there is little to no evidence that supports nurses as antimicrobial stewards. This is partly due to barriers, and knowledge gaps that currently exist in nursing practice. We have created nursing resources to help address some of the knowledge gaps that currently exist.
Active engagement of nurses in antimicrobial stewardship activities is long-overdue. We can all appreciate the nursing presence in management of antimicrobials in different clinical settings, however there is little to no evidence that supports nurses as antimicrobial stewards. This is partly due to barriers, and knowledge gaps that currently exist in nursing practice. We have created nursing resources to help address some of the knowledge gaps that currently exist.

Dr. Susan Poutanen, MD, MPH, FRCPC
Microbiologist and Infectious Disease Consultant
Sinai Health/University Health Network
Associate Professor, Departments of Laboratory Medicine
and Pathobiology and Medicine, University of Toronto
susan.poutanen@sinaihealth.ca
T: 416-586-4800 x 3139
Dr. Poutanen received her Medical Degree from the University of Toronto in 1996 and completed Internal Medicine and Medical Microbiology Residencies at the University of Toronto and an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at Stanford University, California. She received her Masters of Public Health with a focus on Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2002.
Dr. Poutanen is a Medical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Physician at Sinai Health and University Health Network in Toronto, Canada and an associate professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her broad research interests include the epidemiology and detection of antimicrobial resistance, the use of fecal microbiota transplantation in patients with gastrointestinal dysbiosis, and the optimization of microbiology laboratory practices using rapid diagnostics, automation, and artificial intelligence.