The department of veterinary pharmacy was established in 2012 and running undergraduate program. It is a four-year program with a minimum of eleven months of instruction each year. Since 2016, seven batches of Veterinary pharmacists have been graduated and placed in various private and other government animal healthcare systems.
Traditionally, the roles of the veterinarian and pharmacist have been mutually supportive. The veterinarian’s charge was to diagnose and prescribe therapy’ whereas the pharmacist’s was to compound and dispense medications for animals. The practice of veterinary pharmacy is an emerging field in the western world and this program is peculiar for University of Gondar (UoG), which means this department is given only in University of Gondar. Different studies have revealed that a need for increased pharmaceutical services in agriculture, and proposed that certain veterinary medications should be closely monitored and dispensed as prescriptions’ To do so professionals should develop an in depth knowledge of veterinary products in general, and then should dispense veterinary medicines with the same diligence and attention to detail accorded to human drugs. Furthermore the veterinary pharmacist’s role could also include clinical services such as pain management and pharmacokinetic consults’ medication selection and inventory and formulary control” Contemporary practicing veterinary pharmacists are presumed to be well versed with an in-depth knowledge of pharmacokinetics of the drugs in various species. Furthermore, veterinary pharmacist will have a capacity to conduct basic researches to investigate novel structures and natural products of possible medicinal value, the development of dosage forms, rigorous safety testing of the products, production, quality control, stocking, compounding and dispensing of pharmaceuticals to animal patients through clinics and veterinary pharmacies and advice on their use. The comprehensive drug knowledge and unique perspectives of pharmacists trained in veterinary therapeutics can be a valuable resource to veterinary medicine to the ultimate benefit of animal patients.