Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.
allnurses

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.
Discussion

Antibiotic help, please!

I recently graduated from ACNP school. However, I feel like I still need additional education with antibiotic therapy. I am looking for any suggestions on readings or tutorials that any of you may have found helpful. Thanks!

  • Quote

    • Featured Replies

    sanfordguide.com

    You can download it to your smart phone. I love it. Much easier to use and almost idiot proof compared to the book

  • Quote
    • Guides

    the other resource I find useful is the Johns Hopkins ABX guide and it's available as an iPhone app.

    If you're going to work in an in-patient setting, your best bet is to be friends with the Clinical Pharmacist. Antibiotic prescribing is institution dependent. Antibiotic combos are developed based on information gathered in your community using susceptibility data. Regional susceptibility variations will occur and you'll see that this is reflected in your institution's preferred choices for empiric antibiotic coverage as well as treating speciated bugs while waiting for susceptibility. The other piece of information relevant to antibiotic prescribing is knowing what the patient's GFR is. Fortunately for me having only worked in academic institutions, we've always had dosing guidelines based on GFR ranges that are in a pocket card format. Also, I remember that when I started working in the ICU as an NP, I used to carry around a laminated card with a table of bugs grouped as gram + or -, bacilli vs cocci, anaerobic vs aerobic. It helped with making clinical decisions to empirically treat if all you have are gram stain results. I also found that going to Pharmacology CME's (which is required by ANCC anyway) are helpful in reviewing spectrum of activity for various antibiotic groupings.

  • Quote

    Yes, I feel like my ACNP program was very lacking in antibiotic education! That chart idea is very helpful and thanks for the app suggestions. I get so lost trying to figure out my sanford book.

  • Quote
    • Author

    Thank you both for your input! I have looked at the Sanford book and it was somewhat confusing. I will try the smartphone app and see how that goes.

    Jaun - Do you think the Hopkins ABX guide is worth the $$? I have come close to buying it several times but have never gone through. I guess I am afraid that I will be disappointed. Thanks for the information. I will make fast friends with the clinical pharmacists :)

  • Quote
    • Guides
    Jaun - Do you think the Hopkins ABX guide is worth the $$? I have come close to buying it several times but have never gone through. I guess I am afraid that I will be disappointed. Thanks for the information. I will make fast friends with the clinical pharmacists :)

    To be honest, I haven't used it in a while and back when I was a new NP, it was free and only available on the Palm OS PDA's (which only goes to show how many years back that was). I found that it was easier to use than Sanford Guide.

  • Quote

    Sanford guide for iPad

    I am in a free standing UC, 30,000 pt yr , often alone and have learned lots of resources, I think the Sanford guide for iPad is a lifesaver. almost worth the price of the iPad that carries it, lots of other apps of course.

    a

  • Quote
    • Experts

    I have the Hopkins Guide on my Skyscape platform for iPhone.

    I work in nephrology, hence amino glycosides are my friend - lol.

    My pts frequently have drug resistant bugs and I do use this as a guide. I have added another program "drugs in renal failure" too.

    Like Juan though I have a set few antibiotics that I order a lot so I know the doses of those. Then, if I have something else or a new dosing pattern comes along.

  • Quote

    At least in the past, the hopkins guide was free if you used it online. You just had to sign up for it. The PDA/smartphone version always cost money. I don't know if they started charging for the online version or not b/c it is obviously free on the Hopkins intranet.

    I think the hopkins guide is much easier to use and overall more robust than the sanford guide

  • Quote
    • Author

    The Hopkins guide is no longer available for free. The price is reasonable though and you get access to the information on your mobile and PC. Thank you all for your suggestions. I think I will purchase either the Sanford or Hopkins but I just need to figure out which one will be the most beneficial.

  • Quote

    • Join the conversation

    You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

    Guest
    Add a Comment
    Go to topic listing

    Currently Reading 0

    • No registered users viewing this page.

    Account

    Navigation

    Search

    Search

    Configure browser push notifications
    Chrome (Android)
    1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
    2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
    3. Adjust your preference.
    Chrome (Desktop)
    1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
    2. Select Site settings.
    3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.