This course addresses societal aspects of antimicrobial resistance, including aspects of animal welfare, ethics, and law. Both national (UK) and international (e.g. WHO) examples of regulation and legislation will be considered to illustrate the wide range of attitudes and approaches to AMR globally.

Teaching will be taught in 2 week period in semester two.

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The summative assessment will consist of two written assignments

■ 80% of the grade will be based on one written assignment (1500 words)

■ 20% of the grade will be based on performance during a live debate

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

Reassessment will not be available for the live debate.

The overall aim of this course is to make students aware of societal aspects of AMR, and of the tensions that may exist between public and/or private good in the use of antimicrobials. Specifically, this course aims to:

■ Explore ethical aspects of antimicrobial use for clinical purposes in animals;

■ Familiarize students with regulation and legislation around antimicrobial use at national and international levels.

■ Introduce students to conflicting interests and demands in society that influence antimicrobial use and restrictions on antimicrobial use.

■ Enhance students' conceptual, analytical and intellectual skills.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

■ Critically evaluate and debate the scientific basis and global health contexts of a specific aspect of the epidemiology of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance, using information obtained from critical appraisal of scientific literature;

■ Critically evaluate and explain evidence and drivers underpinning policy documents, regulations and legislation regarding antimicrobial use at national or international level.

■ Identify and debate ethical, professional, and societal issues raised by a specific aspect of the epidemiology of infectious diseases, i.e. AMR

Skills and Other Attributes

(i)Intellectual skills

■ Critical appraisal of scientific data from the literature and integration of information from different sources

■ Ability to differentiate between evidenced based information, and policy or advocacy based information

(ii)Transferable/key skills

■ Critical analysis of evidence base underpinning policy or legislation

■ Oral communication of scientific evidence in the form of debate

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.