Pharmacist Advanced Training Microcredentials | Veterinary Medicine On-Demand 6 credit hours

This foundational course prepares pharmacists to confidently support veterinary patients through training in veterinary pharmacotherapy, medication safety, and species-specific considerations.

Designed as a microcredential program, this course awards a digital badge upon successful completion and provides practical guidance for pharmacists expanding their role in veterinary pharmacy services. 

The program introduces key concepts pharmacists need to navigate veterinary prescriptions, communicate effectively with pet owners and veterinary teams, and identify important differences between human and animal medication use. 

Topics covered include:

  • Fundamentals of veterinary pharmacy practice  
  • Common companion animal disease states and treatment considerations  
  • Species-specific differences in pharmacotherapy and medication safety  
  • Veterinary dosage forms, compounding considerations, and administration techniques  
  • Medications and ingredients that may be harmful or contraindicated in animals  
  • Prescription interpretation and communication with veterinary providers  
  • Counseling considerations for pet owners and caregivers  
  • Regulatory and workflow considerations related to veterinary prescriptions  

Pharmacists will also develop practical skills in evaluating veterinary prescriptions, identifying potential safety concerns, and supporting appropriate medication use across common veterinary patient populations. 

This introductory program is designed to build a strong foundation for pharmacists interested in veterinary pharmacy and serves as the recommended first step before progressing to CEimpact’s Veterinary Medicine: Advanced Specialized Training for Pharmacy Professionals course.   

Earn your microcredential and build foundational skills in veterinary pharmacy practice – enroll today.

Veterinary Pharmacy Foundations - Pharmacist

Claim Your Badge

You will receive an email from Credly (our credential partner), after you complete the course, inviting you to claim your digital badge for Veterinary Pharmacy Foundations - Pharmacist. This will allow you to easily share your achievement with colleagues, managers, and your professional network on LinkedIn and other platforms. When you receive the email, please click the button and create an account on Credly.com so that you can “accept” the badge.

Need help? Find a step-by-step tutorial video at this link.

Learning Objectives

Upon successful completion of this application-based CPE course, pharmacists should be able to:
1. Discuss the history of veterinary drug laws
2. Identify FDA approved veterinary medications
3. Describe the regulatory bodies of therapeutic products used in veterinary medicine
4. Review the types of veterinary products available and their labeling requirements
5. Describe important differences between veterinary and human pharmacy law
6. Review canine and feline anatomy
7. Identify differences in canine and feline sensory systems, anatomy, and physiology
8. Recognize anatomical structures that impact canine and feline medication administration
9. Describe the physiologic differences that affect absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of medications in canine and feline patients
10. Explain the pharmacy team’s role in dispensing medications to veterinary patients
11. Identify common medication classes used in veterinary medicine
12. Describe the uses, dosing, and side effects for common medications prescribed for canine and feline patients
13. Discuss counseling points for common medications prescribed for canine and feline patients
14. Identify the top 10 most common toxin categories in veterinary patients
15. Describe the toxic effects and mechanisms of action of common toxins in companion animals
16. Describe treatment options for common toxins in veterinary patients
17. Counsel owners on steps to take if an animal has been exposed to a toxin
18. Discuss common sources of prescription errors in human and veterinary medicine
19. Identify common errors that are unique to veterinary prescriptions
20. Describe strategies for avoiding prescription errors involving veterinary patients
21. Describe the pharmacy team’s responsibility in reporting adverse drug events (ADEs) in veterinary patients
22. Apply legal criteria to the dispensing of prescription and human over-the-counter (OTC) products to veterinary patients
23. Interpret directions on veterinary prescriptions for prescription labels
24. Evaluate prescription and OTC products to ensure safety and appropriateness in veterinary patients 

Modules

This course entails 6 separate modules:

  1. Legal Requirement for Prescribing & Dispensing Veterinary Medications
  2. Medication Safety: Learn Your Anatomical Way Around Small Animals
  3. Internal Medicine & Medication Management for Veterinary Patients
  4. Managing Veterinary Emergencies
  5. Mitigating Veterinary Prescription Errors
  6. Patient Cases

Ready for more?

Take your learning to a new level with our advanced veterinary medicine course! 

Faculty

Rikki Horne, PharmD, DICVP, FSVHP

Disclosures:

Rikki Horne has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

Course Details