OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates the self-confidence of final year pharmacy undergraduate students to complete antimicrobial stewardship tasks.

METHODS: This was a cross sectional study conducted among final year pharmacy undergraduate students of some public universities in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pakistan. The hyperlink for the validated survey was sent to all final year pharmacy undergraduate students through the study representative in each school. The duration of the survey was 6 weeks. Students were reminded at week 2, 4 and 6. A 5-point semantic differential scale was used to evaluate self-confidence among students. The responses were transformed into scores with “extreme confidence” and “no confidence at all” having 5 and 1 point respectively.

RESULTS: A total of 211 students completed the survey with a female (82%) preponderance. Only 23.2% had a formal training pertaining to antimicrobial stewardship. Ninety percent indicated the need for more training on antimicrobial stewardship. The students exhibited higher self-confidence in the following areas; finding reliable sources of information, understanding the mechanism of antimicrobial resistance, monitoring the efficacy and safety of antibiotics, interpreting the result of therapeutic drug monitoring, and choosing between intravenous and oral administration. Low confidence scores were observed for ability to streamline/deescalate antibiotic therapy, followed by choosing antibiotic combination where appropriate, and choosing correct dose. The students who indicate interest to pursue a career as an Infectious Disease Pharmacist had higher confidence score.

CONCLUSIONS: Final year pharmacy undergraduate students have low self-confidence in antimicrobial stewardship. This study highlights areas where more training is required.