Veterinary pharmacy: coverage in the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum and perspectives of practising pharmacists.

O'Driscoll, Noëlle H.; Juwah, Charles; Labovitiadi, Olga; Lamb, Andrew J.

Abstract

The scope of tuition delivered in a School of Pharmacy in the UK on the topic of veterinary pharmacy appears to be centred on legislation and medicine supply under the veterinary cascade. This study sought the opinions of pharmacy undergraduate students, practising community and hospital pharmacists on veterinary pharmacy in the current undergraduate curriculum and their views on increasing coverage of this topic. Data were collected through use of survey questionnaires, focus groups and direct face-to-face structured interviews with 115 pharmacy students, 40 community pharmacists and 20 hospital pharmacists. Findings from this study confirmed that veterinary pharmacy coverage is minimal in the current undergraduate pharmacy curriculum. About 70% of student respondents confirmed that greater inclusion of veterinary pharmacy in the curriculum is perceived to be beneficial for future employment. Community pharmacists revealed that their lack of knowledge of veterinary medicines affected their participation in veterinary pharmacy. Though hospital pharmacists were not exposed to, and rarely had any participation in veterinary pharmacy, they were largely of the opinion that all pharmacists should possess knowledge of veterinary medicines. The main conclusion is that the current level of tuition on veterinary pharmacy is insufficient and this identified deficiency needs to be addressed.

Citation

O'DRISCOLL, N.H., JUWAH, C., LABOVITIADI, O. and LAMB, A.J. 2014. Veterinary pharmacy: coverage in the undergraduate pharmacy curriculum and perspectives of practising pharmacists. Pharmacy education [online], 14, pages 86-92. Available from: https://pharmacyeducation.fip.org/pharmacyeducation/article/view/196

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 1, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jul 1, 2014
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2014
• Deposit Date: Sep 5, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 17, 2024
• Journal: Pharmacy education
• Print ISSN: 1560-2214
• Electronic ISSN: 1477-2701
• Publisher: FIP International Pharmaceutical Federation
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Pages: 86-92
• Keywords: Veterinary pharmacy; Pharmacy education; Pharmacy students; Pharmacists
• Publisher URL: https://pharmacyeducation.fip.org/pharmacyeducation/article/view/196