Antimicrobial Stewardship & Common Infections in Community Pharmacy
A practical, guideline-aligned course on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) for community pharmacy teams. Covers the UK AMR threat, NICE principles for RTI management, FeverPAIN scoring, the TARGET RTI leaflet, PQS 2025/26 sore throat audit standards, and how to embed AMS behaviours across the whole pharmacy team.
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health. In the UK, community pharmacy is on the front line — dispensing antibiotics, fielding requests from patients who expect them for viral illnesses, and having daily opportunities to either reinforce or undermine the culture of appropriate antibiotic use. Every unnecessary antibiotic that is supplied, or every self-limiting infection where a patient is not given confident, informed self-care advice, is a small contribution to a very large problem.
This course equips community pharmacy teams with the knowledge, communication skills and practical tools to be genuine contributors to antimicrobial stewardship — reducing unnecessary antibiotic requests, delivering evidence-based self-care advice for common respiratory tract infections, and meeting the requirements of the NHS England PQS 2025/26 antimicrobial stewardship clinical audit for sore throat.
What you'll learn
- ✓The UK AMR threat and the community pharmacy role in antimicrobial stewardship
- ✓NICE principles for antibiotic prescribing for acute cough, sore throat and sinusitis
- ✓FeverPAIN scoring — what each score means and what action it should trigger
- ✓How to use the TARGET "Treating Your Infection – RTI" leaflet in every relevant consultation
- ✓All 5 PQS 2025/26 AMS sore throat audit standards and how to meet them
- ✓Communication strategies that reduce antibiotic expectations without damaging patient trust
- ✓AMS competencies for the whole team — pharmacists, technicians, MCAs and dispensers
- ✓How to run an AMS audit and turn findings into training and SOP improvements
"Do not routinely offer an antibiotic for acute cough in adults and young people who are not systemically very unwell. Antibiotics make little difference to how long symptoms last and have possible adverse effects." — NICE NG120, Cough (acute): antimicrobial prescribing
Aligned with current standards
The course integrates NICE antimicrobial prescribing guidelines (including NG120 for acute cough and NG84 for sore throat), the UKHSA/NICE antimicrobial prescribing guidance summary tables, the TARGET RTI leaflet (NICE-endorsed resource), the UK Antimicrobial Prescribing and Stewardship Competency Framework, and the NHS England PQS 2025/26 AMS sore throat audit requirements.
👤 Who this is for
Community pharmacists, independent prescribers, pharmacy technicians, dispensing assistants and medicine counter assistants in Great Britain — particularly in England where Pharmacy First and PQS antimicrobial work are active. Suitable for whole-team AMS training and for individuals completing the PQS 2025/26 sore throat clinical audit.
⚠️ Clinical content evolves. Do not use for prescribing decisions. NICE antimicrobial guidelines, UKHSA summary tables, PQS standards and Pharmacy First specifications are updated regularly. Always check the latest NICE, UKHSA, NHS England and CPE guidance before making clinical decisions. This course does not provide prescribing advice — for specific antibiotic choices and regimens refer to official guidelines and your local formulary.
This course includes
Course Curriculum
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This course includes
- 📚 5 modules · 11 lessons
- ⏱ 2h 30m self-paced learning
- 📥 3 downloadable templates & checklists
- 📝 Knowledge assessment quiz
- 🔁 Unlimited quiz re-attempts
- 🏆 Verified certificate on completion
- ♾️ Lifetime access to content
Downloadable templates
- RTI Consultation Checklist (AMS-aligned)
- AMS Local Audit Template
- Team AMS Training & Competency Plan Template
Templates unlock after enrolment
Standards & currency
Written by UK pharmacy experts. Always verify against current official guidance before clinical use.
Certificate of Achievement
Complete this course and earn a personalised, printable certificate — with your name, course title and a unique certificate number. Suitable as CPD evidence for GPhC revalidation and GPhC inspection records.