2001
MEMBERSHIP GUIDELINES
VETERINARY PHARMACOLOGY
ELIGIBILITY
The candidate is referred to “The Red Book” 2000 Edition for eligibility requirements for
sitting the Membership examination.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECT
Veterinary pharmacology encompasses seven modules:

Drug Disposition and Action deals with pharmacokinetics [absorption,
distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME)], pharmacodynamics, dose
response relationships, variability of response, routes of administration, mode
of action, drug interactions, pharmaceutic formulations and delivery systems.

Drug Development & Manufacture covers drug screening, dose rate selection,
routes of administration; formulation, stability and quality assurance/control of
veterinary drugs and vaccines; design, analysis, and interpretation of clinical
studies; safety, efficacy and residue study evaluations.

Systems Pharmacology deals with clinical pharmacology of autonomic drugs,
treatment of ophthalmic conditions, neuromuscular blocking agents, drugs
affecting the central nervous system, drugs affecting the gastrointestinal tract,
local anaesthetics, autacoids and drugs interacting with them, corticosteroids,
control of pain, cardiovascular drugs, treatment of congestive heart failure and
arrhythmias, agents affecting volume and composition of body fluids,
treatment of ascites, pulmonary oedema, and shock, and hormones and
antagonists.

Chemotherapeutics deals with modes of action, resistance phenomena and
prudent use of antibiotics, antifungal agents, antiviral agents, antiseptics and
disinfectants, anthelmintics, insecticides, acaricides and antineoplastic agents.

Immunology and Vaccines covers the principles of immunology, specific and
nonspecific immunotherapy, active and passive immunization, types of
vaccines, administration of vaccines, vaccine failures, adverse reactions to
vaccines, adjuvants, immunostimulants

Toxicology deals with the principles of toxic drug action, selective toxicity,
safety testing of drugs including husbandry and the use of experimental
animals, common plant poisons, organic poisons including therapeutic drugs,
inorganic compounds such as the metals, pesticides including rodenticides,
toxins of animal origin, investigation of suspected poisoning cases, use of
emetics and antidotes, and relevance of toxic and drug residues in carcasses
and the environment.
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
Legislation deals with the registration and
Regulatory Affairs and
legal use of veterinary products in Australia and New Zealand and the
regulatory environment in which product registration occurs; quality, efficacy,
target animal safety, public health, OH&S and trade issues evaluated by
regulatory agencies during product evaluation for registration; drugs and
poisons scheduling; adverse experience reporting programs; the use,
dispensing, labelling and storage of drug products and the legislative
constraints on veterinarians
LEARNING OUBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES
Candidates are expected to know the principles of Veterinary Pharmacology as listed in the
seven areas above.
Candidates are expected to be able to apply such principles to veterinary practice. In
particular, candidates should be able to discuss the use of drugs in the control,
prevention and treatment of common clinical conditions. Candidates should be able to
support their discussion with an understanding of how drugs affect the
pathophysiology of the disease or clinical sign. Candidates should have a working
knowledge of the major drugs used in all species, however, a more detailed
knowledge is only required for examples of major drugs in domestic species in which
you have an interest or experience. In addition, candidates should be able to discuss
the use of vaccines in the prevention of specific diseases.
Candidates are expected to be competent at interpreting Veterinary Pharmacology
literature including graphs and diagrams, and explaining rational drug use in
veterinary practice.
EXAMINATION
The candidate should refer to “The Red Book” for details. Briefly, the examinations
will comprise two written papers, each of 2 hours duration, and one oral examination
of approximately 1 hour duration. The first of the two written papers will focus on
basic concepts; the second paper will focus on practice and applications. All subject
matter described above is examinable.
RECOMMENDED READING LIST
Veterinary Pharmacology covers diverse subject areas. This list is provided for reference. It
is not expected that candidates read all references, but use the references to support existing
knowledge in specific areas.
Drug Disposition and Action
Principles of Drug Disposition in Domestic Animals. The Basis of Veterinary Clinical
Pharmacology. J.D. Baggot, W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 1977.
Drug Development & Manufacture
Development and Formulation of Veterinary Dosage Forms, 2nd ed., G.E. Hardee and J.D.
Baggot editors, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1998.
Systems Pharmacology and Chemotherapeutics
Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 7th ed., H.R. Adams editor, Iowa State
University Press, Ames, 1995.
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Goodman and Gilman’s The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, 9th ed., J.G. Hardman,
A.G. Gilman, and L.E. Limbird editors, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1996.
Antimicrobial Therapy in Veterinary Medicine, 3rd ed., J.F. Prescott and J.D. Baggot, Iowa
State University Press, Ames, 2000.
Kirk’s Current Veterinary Therapy XIII Small Animal Practice, R.W. Kirk & J.D. Bonagura
editors, W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 2000.
Current Veterinary Therapy 4 Food Animal Practice, J.L. Howard & R.A. Smith editors,
W.B.Saunders, Philadelphia, 1999.
Current Therapy in Equine Medicine 3, N.E. Robinson editor, W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia,
1992.
Veterinary Immunology and Vaccinology
Veterinary Immunology. An Introduction. I. Tizard, W.B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 1992.
Veterinary Vaccinology, P.-P. Pastoret, J. Blancou, P. Vannier, C. Verschueren, editors,
Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1997.
Toxicology
Casarett and Doull’s Toxicology. The Basic Science of Poisons, 5th ed., C.D. Klaassen
editor, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1996.
Regulatory Affairs and Registration
Web-based learning is recommended as follows:
The URL for the National Registration Authority for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals
is: http://www.affa.gov.au/nra/
The URL for New Zealand’s Agricultural Chemicals and Veterinary Medicines Group is :
http://www.maf.govt.nz/ACVM/
Relevant Veterinary Pharmacology articles from:
Australian Veterinary Journal
New Zealand Veterinary Journal
Veterinary Clinics of North America
Compendium of Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian
Veterinary Pharmacology Study Course
The Chapter of Veterinary Pharmacology offers the Veterinary Pharmacology Study Course
(VPSC) to candidates preparing for the Membership examination. The VPSC consists of
seven modules; learning material is distributed for each of the modules. A Pharmacology
Retreat is arranged, generally every second year, for candidates and members.
This guideline was revised in January 2001 and should be updated annually.