Purdue Veterinary Teaching Hospital

625 Harrison St.

West Lafayette, IN 47907
Veterinary Pharmacy APPE Elective Rotation

Rotation This rotation prepares students to handle veterinary prescriptions in the

Description community setting by teaching the skills needed to properly assess veterinary
prescriptions, understand ramifications of substitution, compound
medications that are appropriate for veterinary patients and use a variety of
resources to answer drug information questions posed by veterinarians.

Objectives  Demonstrate the ability to confidently compound a variety of capsules,

suspensions and other formulations for veterinary patients
 Explain the rationale for choosing what is included in compounds from both
legal and therapeutic standpoints
 Select a relevant and timely article and prepare a journal club discussion for
pharmacy staff as well as other interested individuals
 Prepare a 30 minute presentation on a veterinary pharmacy topic of the
student’s choice and present to the pharmacy staff
 Apply knowledge of human medications to make generalizations about
veterinary-only medications
 Explain the federal laws affecting veterinary compounding and drug
selection
 Identify traits in dogs, cats, horses, cows, pocket pets and reptiles that
affect drug delivery, absorption, metabolism, and/or excretion
 Compare and contrast different types of research taking place in a
veterinary teaching hospital, and how the pharmacy is involved
 Use various veterinary drug information resources to answer questions
posed by pharmacy staff, faculty, residents, interns and students in the
teaching hospital

Preceptor Wilson Gwin, RPh, FSVHP

Phone: (765) 366-0154
Email: wegwin@purdue.edu

Resident Elizabeth Young, PharmD, FSVHP

Phone: (540) 239-6843
Email: young481@purdue.edu

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Resources * All are available online or in the pharmacy *
 Veterinary Drug Handbook, 8th ed.
DC Plumb
 Saunders Handbook of Veterinary Drugs, 4th ed.
MG Papich
 Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 7th ed. Volumes 1 and 2
SJ Ettinger, ED Feldman
 Drug Therapy for Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat
VJ Wiebe
 Small Animal Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2nd ed.
DM Boothe
 Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 9th ed.
JE Riviere and MG Papich
 Web of Science (veterinary library site)
 CAB Abstracts (veterinary library site)
 PubMed (veterinary library site)
 LexiComp (pharmacy library site)
 Facts and Comparisons (pharmacy library site)
 FDA Green Book

Rotation  Keep a rotation journal and submit to Elizabeth and Wil weekly – due by
Assignments 11:59pm on Fridays
 Review 4 modules and complete a quiz for each one weekly
 Review weekly articles on various veterinary pharmacy topics and prepare
for a topic discussion for each group of articles
 Select and present an article for journal club discussion – prepare a 1 page
(front-and-back) handout
 Select a topic of interest in veterinary pharmacy and prepare and deliver a
30 minute presentation on this topic
o Also prepare a 1 page (front-and-back) handout to supplement your
presentation
 Compound a variety of veterinary medications – keep track of what you
make and determine what it is used for
 Assist with preparation of prescriptions for in-house patients and for
patients being discharged
 Research and respond to drug information questions posed by students,
clinicians and pharmacy staff
 Support data collection/entry for research projects
 Review patient cases
 Shadow different departments within the hospital

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Site-Specific Policies
Information The student is expected to act as a professional. This includes keeping track
of their schedule. An initial calendar will be provided on the first day with
known activities included. However, this rotation can be unpredictable and
unanticipated learning experiences are likely to present themselves. The
student will be provided information on any unplanned opportunities and will
be responsible for making sure that they arrive on time and/or complete the
reading or assignment as instructed. Questions and clarification are always
encouraged, but the responsibility rests with the student.

This rotation will provide a large variety of learning opportunities. The

student is expected to be engaged and ask questions. This applies both in the
pharmacy and while visiting different services in the hospital.

Rotation days will vary, but they will often include hands on compounding,
spending time with various hospital services and working within the
pharmacy. When there is downtime the student is welcome to work on
assignments; however, it is expected that students will work at home, if
needed, to complete assignments on time.

Rotation Hours
 8am – 5pm with a 1 hour lunch
o Some days will require you to arrive before 8am so as to
attend 8am rounds
o Assignments may need to be completed on the student’s own
time
Lunch
 1 hour
 Take when it fits with your schedule
 There is a fridge where you may keep your lunch and a microwave
located in the pharmacy
 There is a Café upstairs with a microwave
 Students may leave to get lunch
 Places to eat: pharmacy break table, café, library, courtyard, etc.
Items to Bring
 Laptop – not required but may be helpful
 Notebook – one that fits in your white coat pocket is good
 Pen and/or pencil
Dress
 Business casual with your clean white coat
 Choose outfits appropriate for working with patients on the floor
 Decent blue jeans are acceptable for pre-arranged farm visits

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 Cell Phone Policy
 Permitted for reference use only
 Personal use should only occur during lunch and in the case of an
emergency

The preceptor reserves the right to change the rotation syllabus as needed throughout the
rotation, effective upon the student receiving notification.