Doctors are on the frontlines of the AMR challenge—facing the limitations of shrinking antibiotic options, navigating complex prescribing decisions, and all too often, bearing the brunt of treatment limitations. Clinicians play a key role in AMR development; decisions in diagnosis, infection management, and antibiotic prescribing directly influence how quickly resistance develops and spreads. In India, the pressure to prescribe antibiotics, even when unnecessary, is amplified by factors like patient demand, diagnostic limitations, and the need for quick treatment in resource-constrained settings. This results in the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, accelerating AMR and leading to a growing number of infections that are harder, if not impossible, to treat.

Given this context, medical students represent an essential audience for AMR education. These students will soon be at the forefront of patient care, where their knowledge and practices will impact the future trajectory of AMR. However, the reality is that many medical students enter practice without a strong grounding in AMR management. While AMR may be touched upon in lectures, the complex issues surrounding antibiotic use and resistance control are often overlooked or treated superficially. Many students graduate without a complete understanding of how to detect, prevent, and manage AMR in real-world settings. As future doctors, these students will be on the frontlines of treatment and prevention, making decisions that impact infection control, antibiotic stewardship, and patient outcomes. This knowledge gap puts patients at risk and hampers efforts to curb AMR at the clinical level.

To address this gap, Superheroes Against Superbugs launched the AMR Frontline Workshops. These workshops aim to build an AMR-conscious healthcare workforce by providing medical students with the skills and insights needed to manage AMR effectively. Our partnership with the Alliance for Pathogen Surveillance Innovation-India (APSI) has been instrumental in shaping this program.

Supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, APSI is enhancing India’s pathogen surveillance, particularly by monitoring environmental sources like wastewater for AMR patterns. Their work integrates surveillance into public health frameworks for data-driven policy on infectious diseases and AMR. Since June 2023, SaS and APSI have been working together with the mission to empower medical students to understand AMR and use that knowledge to effectively fight the threat of AMR.

A Look Inside the AMR Frontline Workshops

These workshops are designed for medical students in the early years of their education. By embedding AMR knowledge early, SaS aims to build a healthcare workforce that can recognize AMR threats and take preventive action from day one. By introducing AMR in a way that connects to students’ future roles as medical professionals, SaS workshops provide an early foundation in AMR awareness and action. These sessions are designed to fit into students’ academic curricula, enhancing their learning with real-world examples and opportunities to apply knowledge in simulated clinical settings.

The AMR Frontline Workshops go beyond traditional lectures, blending interactive sessions, games, and hands-on activities to actively engage students and foster critical thinking. Through case-based learning, these workshops help students develop a deeper understanding of AMR, preparing them for real-world challenges in clinical practice. By contextualizing AMR within their future roles, students gain an appreciation of its far-reaching effects on public health.

The workshops cover AMR from multiple perspectives, including its causes and consequences, the One Health approach, the challenges it presents in healthcare systems, and solutions such as clinical microbiology, infection prevention, antibiotic stewardship, and pathogen surveillance. Held in collaboration with local APSI partners in cities that are part of APSI consortia – Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, and Bengaluru, these workshops also introduce medical students to cutting-edge surveillance tools and research from APSI scientists.

Structured presentations and practical exercises help students grasp complex aspects of AMR management in an approachable way. Each workshop connects 30 to 175 students with top researchers, local healthcare providers, clinical microbiologists, policy makers and public health experts. Through case studies, role-plays, and discussions, students explore how they, too, can be champions in the fight against AMR.

Activities like AMR-themed Jeopardy, case-based problem-solving, and Infection Prevention Control (IPC) mapping exercises allow students to apply theory in practice, making AMR concepts more relatable and memorable. Feedback from the nine workshops conducted so far has been overwhelmingly positive, with many students saying they feel better prepared to handle AMR-related challenges in their future clinical practice.

Reflections on Our Journey

So far, SaS has engaged over 1,000 students and healthcare professionals through the workshops. The feedback has highlighted several key insights, including the following:

1. Connecting Information to Real Life
Students engage most with AMR when they understand how it applies to their future roles as healthcare providers. The workshops emphasize not only theory but also practical solutions that students will need in their day-to-day practices as doctors.
2. More Than Just Awareness
These workshops serve as a starting point, inspiring students to explore AMR throughout their careers. The aim is to help them see infection control, AMR stewardship, and collaboration as integral to their professional roles.
3. The Value of Hands-On Learning
Lab tours and hands-on demonstrations have resonated with participants, showing how much medical students value practical experience.
4. Collaboration with Researchers
By showcasing APSI’s work, the workshops emphasize the importance of bridging the gap between clinicians and researchers. They illustrate how medical professionals can contribute to AMR research, enabling students to recognize their role in addressing the issue beyond clinical practice and providing them with a broader perspective on the challenge.
5. Time for Change in the Curriculum
The feedback from our workshops highlights medical students’ strong aptitude and eagerness to learn more about AMR. It demonstrates how understanding AMR can significantly impact their clinical practice and makes a strong case for its integration into the medical curriculum.

Moving Forward: Extending Our Reach

The success of the AMR Frontline Workshops has opened up new possibilities for SaS and APSI. Recently, the  Department of Medical Education, Government of Karnataka partnered with us to bring these workshops to final-year students in government medical colleges across the state.

Through this collaboration, SaS remains committed to creating a vibrant, AMR-informed community among the youth, future doctors, and scientists of India. The AMR Frontline Workshops are just the beginning, and by addressing a critical gap in the medical curriculum, we hope to leave a lasting impact—empowering students to become champions against AMR in their communities and workplaces.

For a closer look, read our full report on the AMR Frontline Workshops , which includes detailed insights, impact metrics, and our approach to training medical students in AMR.