Resistance! A natural phenomenon, but long since the discovery of Penicillin in 1928, we have misused the power of antibiotics. Through preventable and avoidable circumstances, microbial resistance spreads. I believe that every member of society has a role to play in combating the growth of superbugs, from as simple a thing as washing hands, to setting binary laws in place to see that antibiotics are used correctly and appropriately.

The #abcAMR conference is a student-led initiative that aims to bring student and young professionals from across the diverse spectrum of healthcare in the UK, to work together and promote a single cause. Antimicrobial resistance isn’t an issue that affects Doctors, Nurses or Pharmacists alone, because the use of antibiotics goes far beyond the remits of the ‘main’ patient-facing professions. Hence, Lara-Turiya Seitz, Aditya Aggarwal, Hannah Hafeizi and myself have been holistic in our efforts to build a team that is reflective of the “One Health” approach.

In 2016, in association with the Antibiotic Guardian campaign, we were able to reach out to 26 universities and 33 different health-student societies. The initiative had 100 nominated Antibiotic Guardian representatives from backgrounds distinctly ranging from Veterinary Medicine to Pharmacy. This year, we aim to build on that success. With the support of national organisations, such as the British Pharmaceutical Student Association (BPSA) and the BDSA (British Dental Student Association), we can raise greater awareness that the knowledge of antimicrobial resistance is useless without a desire to change behaviour in accordance with it. 

For more information about us, and to get involved with what we are doing, have a look at our website on www.abcamr.wordpress.com. Thanks for reading!

Osenadia Joseph-Ebare, 3rd Year Pharmacy Student, King’s College London. Conference lead for the 'Advocating a Behavioural Change: Antimicrobial Resistance'. #abcAMR