Practising veterinary pharmacy does not imply necessarily that the person concerned is a registered pharmacist.
A qualification for support staff working within the animal medicines industry was created by the UK Government in 2003, and holders were designated Suitably Qualified Persons (SQPs).
[12] In the United Kingdom, pharmacists registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council may dispense and prescribe certain veterinary medicinal products without further training but many pharmacists would struggle to provide a confident and informed service as the amount of veterinary pharmacy included in the undergraduate programme is limited.
In 1981, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) initiated a Diploma in Agricultural and Veterinary Pharmacy (DAgVetPharm) for its Members; this was mainly focused on arable crops and livestock.
Towards the end of the 2003 the agricultural element was dropped, the course was modularised with new sections added to cover emerging interest in public health and companion animal healthcare.
[11] While these positions are less commonly available, pharmacists can be beneficial resources in veterinary schools, due to their knowledge of pharmacology.
[11] In the United Kingdom opportunities exist for pharmacists and SQPs in clinical and non clinical environments: SQPs are being encouraged to act as signpost clients to pharmacists or other human health care providers if they detect public health issues particularly in response to zoonoses.
In the United States, the main challenge to pharmacists in pursuit of a career in veterinary pharmacy is the minimal availability of concrete education on pharmacology in relation to different animals.
[13] It is the responsibility of the veterinary pharmacist to take into account the physiology of the individual animal to safely compound a successful and effective medication.
[13] In the United Kingdom, pharmacists were involved in dispensing veterinary prescriptions, and even treating and euthanasing small animals up to the early 1950s, but this activity largely ceased with the escalating requirements of human health under the growing National Health Service and the passing of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.
In 1981, the RPSGB Diploma course in veterinary pharmacy was initiated by professionals such as Michael Jepson and Steven Kayne, the former of whom led what was to become an institution until he retired in 2004.