The following steps should be taken into consideration when planning a coaching experience on AMR/AMS:

1. Needs Assessment and Goal Setting: Identify specific performance gaps, knowledge/skill deficits, or desired AMS practice improvements for the targeted individual(s) or team. Collaboratively set clear, achievable goals for the coaching period (Khumra et al., 2022; Caekebeke et al., 2021).
2. Coach-Coachee Pairing and Scheduling: Match a qualified coach (with AMS expertise and potentially coaching skills) with the coachee(s). Schedule regular, short (e.g., 15-30 min, though Khumra et al., 2022, noted 20 min sessions could be challenging to fit if too frequent) one-on-one sessions directly in the workplace (e.g., on the ward, on the farm) over a defined period (e.g., several weeks to months) (Khumra et al., 2022; Caekebeke et al., 2021).
3. Observation and Case-Based Discussion: Coach observes coachee’s routine work (e.g., medication review, prescribing decisions, farm management practices). Discussions are centered on real-time patient cases or farm situations, applying AMS principles (e.g., the ‘4 moments of antibiotic decision-making’ for pharmacists -Khumra et al., 2022-, interpreting diagnostic results, and identifying opportunities for stewardship interventions (Khumra et al., 2022; Caekebeke et al., 2021).
4. Guided Practice and Feedback: The coach provides immediate, constructive feedback, models best practices, asks reflective questions to stimulate critical thinking, and supports the coachee in formulating their own recommendations or solutions (Khumra et al., 2022).
5. Action Planning and Follow-up: Encourage coachees to develop and implement action plans based on discussions. Review progress, address challenges, and adjust coaching focus in subsequent sessions (Caekebeke et al., 2021).
6. Fostering Independence: Gradually transition from coach-led discussions to coachee-led problem-solving and decision-making (Khumra et al., 2022).

Facilitator’s role (Coach): Act as a guide and expert resource. Observe performance objectively, ask probing and non-directive questions, provide specific and constructive feedback, model exemplary AMS practices, facilitate problem-solving and goal achievement, identify and address knowledge/skill gaps, and create a supportive environment for learning and reflection. Requires strong AMS knowledge and good coaching/communication skills (Khumra et al., 2022; Caekebeke et al., 2021).

Coachee’s role: Be receptive to observation and feedback, actively participate in discussions about real cases/situations, apply learned AMS principles, take initiative in identifying areas for improvement, formulate and implement action plans or AMS recommendations, and reflect on their practice to enhance skills and confidence (Khumra et al., 2022; Caekebeke et al., 2021).

Methods

• Qualitative feedback from coachees via focus groups or interviews on perceived impact on AMS knowledge, skills, confidence, and practice (Khumra et al., 2022).
• Direct observation of changes in AMS-related behaviors and decision-making in the workplace.
• Documentation and analysis of AMS recommendations made by coachees and their acceptance rates by prescribers/teams (Khumra et al., 2022).
• Changes in quantitative metrics, such as AMU (e.g., Treatment Incidence in Caekebeke et al. (2021), biosecurity scores (Caekebeke et al., 2021), or adherence to specific AMS interventions (e.g., IV-to-oral switch).
• Assessment of attitude change using models like ADKAR® (Caekebeke et al., 2021).

Tools

Interview guides for focus groups, behavioral observation checklists, data collection forms for AMS recommendations/AMU, validated attitude scales (e.g., ADKAR® profile (Caekebeke et al., 2021), performance dashboards (if available).