Perspective of Spanish medical students regarding undergraduate education in infectious diseases, bacterial resistance and antibiotic use.

INTRODUCTION: One of the main tools to optimize antibiotics use is education of prescribers. The aim of this article is to study undergraduate education in the field of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic stewardship from the perspective of Spanish medical students.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: An anonymous online questionnaire was distributed among sixth grade students using different channels in Europe, within the ESGAP Student-Prepare survey. The questionnaire included 45 questions about knowledge, attitudes and perceptions about diagnosis, bacterial resistance, use of antibiotics and undergraduate training in infectious diseases. We present here the Spanish results.

RESULTS: A total of 441 surveys were received from 21 medical schools. A total of 374 responses (84.8%) were obtained from the 8 most represented faculties, with a response rate of 28.9%. Most students felt adequately prepared to identify clinical signs of infection (418; 94.8%) and to accurately interpret laboratory tests (382; 86.6%). A total of 178 (40.4%) acknowledged being able to choose an antibiotic with confidence without consulting books or guidelines. Only 107 (24.3%) students considered that they had received sufficient training in judicious use of antibiotics. Regarding learning methods, the discussion of clinical cases, infectious diseases units rotatories and small group workshops were considered the most useful, being evaluated favorably in 76.9%, 76% and 68.8% of the cases.

CONCLUSION: Medical students feel more confident in the diagnosis of infectious diseases than in antibiotic treatment. They also feel the need to receive more training in antibiotics and judicious antibiotic use.