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Register for the virtual Choosing Wisely to Improve Practice: Antibiotics Workshop workshop here: https://ucalgary-cme-pd.zoom.us/meeting/register/NBgXYq30SzSTKeKEyDeFwA
Moderators:
·      Dr. Katrina (Tina) Nicholson, PLP Medical Director
·      Dr. Lynora Saxinger, PLP Medical Director
·      Dr. Kelly Burak, Medical Lead CWAÂ
Participant Checklist
To ensure you are prepared to participate fully, please complete the following participant checklist before the workshop:Â
- Access your CPSA MD Snapshot Prescribing ReportÂ
- Confirm access to the MyPI tool– https://ecme.ucalgary.ca/my-pi/, use the code CWIPABX to redeem accessÂ
A template for this session is provided within the tool to get you started. If you have previously started a MyPI project and do not want to lose this progress, please contact ecme@ucalgary.ca and we will send you a PDF version of the MyPI tool to follow along.Â
- Complete/view the Optimizing Antibiotic Prescribing in Primary Care: Reducing Unnecessary Duration on ECMEÂ
Practice Gap
Antibiotics are frequently prescribed in primary care for durations longer than supported by current evidence and guideline recommendations. Despite growing data demonstrating that shorter courses are equally effective for many common outpatient infections, prolonged antibiotic use remains common, contributing to antimicrobial resistance, adverse drug events, and avoidable healthcare costs.Â
Educational Need
Several factors contribute to suboptimal antibiotic duration in primary care, including:Â
- Limited awareness of updated evidence and guideline recommendations supporting shorter treatment durationsÂ
- Difficulty applying population-level guidance to individual patients with comorbidities or persistent symptomsÂ
- Behavioral drivers such as fear of undertreatment or clinical failureÂ
- Patient expectations for antibiotics or longer courses of therapyÂ
- System-level barriers, including default prescribing durations and lack of structured reassessmentÂ
Target Audience
This activity is designed for primary care physicians and specialists, including family medicine and general internal medicine clinicians involved in outpatient antibiotic prescribing. Other healthcare professionals engaged in antimicrobial stewardship may also benefit.Â
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, learners will be able to:Â
- Apply principles of antibiotic stewardship to outpatient prescribing decisions and identify the physician’s role in reducing antimicrobial resistance.Â
- Interpret audit & feedback data and explain how feedback mechanisms can influence physician prescribing behavior, including antibiotic selection and duration.Â
- Implement evidence-based antibiotic prescribing strategies and use patient-centered communication techniques to support appropriate antibiotic use. Â
- Navigate your MD Snapshot Report and complete a PPIP cycle using your individual antibiotic prescribing data. Â
Educational Format and Design
This CME activity will use a multimodal educational design intended to support changes in clinician competence and performance:Â
- Vodcasts: Short, focused, evidence-based video modules addressing optimal antibiotic duration and stewardship principles in primary care.Â
- Interactive Quizzes:Â Embedded knowledge and application questions to reinforce learning and assess competence.Â
- Audit-and-Feedback Session: Review of individual or aggregate prescribing data, with guided reflection to identify opportunities for improvement and support sustained practice change.Â
This format is designed to move beyond knowledge acquisition toward measurable changes in prescribing behavior.Â
Accreditation
This one-credit-per-hour Self-Learning program meets the certification criteria of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and has been certified by the University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development for up to 1.5 Mainpro+ credits.
This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program (Section 3) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by University of Calgary Office of Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development. You may claim a maximum of 1.5 hours (credits are automatically calculated).
Planning Committee Disclosures
| Faculty | Credentials | Disclosure | Affiliations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly Burak | MD FRCPC MSc Epid | World Gastroenterology Organisation Educational grant, Choosing Wisely Alberta Medical Lead | Choosing Wisely Alberta, World Gastroenterology Organisation, American College Gastroenterology |
| Tina Nicholson | MD CCFP MB ChB FCFP | Faculty member CanREACH Alberta and REACH Institute New York; Board Member of CADDRA; Calgary Foothills PCN- Physician Champion for Child and Youth Collaboratives; Medical Director Physician Learning Program | Department of Family Medicine U of C and Medical Director Physician Learning Program, Calgary Foothills PCN, CanREACH Alberta and REACH Institute New York; CADDRA; Calgary Foothills PCN |
| Lori Humphrey Clements | BA | Nothing to disclose | Physician Learning Program |
| Kevin Schwartz | MD FRCPC | CIHR Operational Resesarch Grant | University of Toronto, St. Joseph Health Centre - Unity Health Toronto |
| Zoya Punjwani | MPH | Nothing to disclose | University of Calgary |
| Oliver David | MD MCFP | Medical Director, Physician Learning Program, University of Calgary; Physician Advisor, Health Quality Alberta | PLP, HQA, Mosaic PCN |
| Janet Reynolds | MD CCFP FCFP | Primary Care Co-Lead Choosing Wisely Canada | Calgary Foothills PCN, Crowfoot Village Family Practice, Choosing Wisely Canada |
| D'Arcy Duquette | Patient | Nothing to disclose | Patient Representative |
| Aaron Peterson | BSc | Nothing to disclose | Physician Learning Program |
| Erika Johnson | BA MSc | Nothing to disclose | Choosing Wisely |
| Sean de Varennes | MN, BScN, RN | Nothing to disclose | Office of CME&PD University of Calgary |
| Utkarsh Subnis | PhD | Nothing to disclose | Office of CME&PD University of Calgary |
| Lynora Saxinger | MD FRCPC | Co-Investigator no budgetary involvement (CIHR) | University of Alberta, CIHR |
| Monica Wickland-Weller | MD CCFP | Senior Medical Director at CPSA | CPSA |
| Charlie Kampman | BSc | Nothing to disclose | Office of CME&PD University of Calgary |
Copyright
Material presented are in compliance with the University of Calgary Copyright Policy, Acceptable Use of Material Protected by Copyright.
Course materials are for individual use only and not to be distributed.
Contact Information
For any tech issue you have in this module, please email the ECME support team at ecme@ucalgary.ca.