It’s a big moment for veterinary pharmacy, and a proud one for the team at Instinct Science: The Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) has officially recognized Veterinary Pharmacy as its 17th specialty certification program.
Details about the first examination are still to come, but the recognition opens a path toward board certification for pharmacists with advanced veterinary expertise. And getting here took years of work, advocacy, research, and collaboration across the veterinary and pharmacy professions.
One of our own veterinary pharmacists helped make that recognition happen and we’re so proud of the role she played in showing why this expertise deserves its own specialty.
Why Veterinary Patients Need Veterinary Pharmacy Expertise
Medication decisions don’t translate neatly from human medicine to animal patients, or even from one animal species to another. A medication that’s routine in one species may be ineffective or dangerous in another, and dosing can change with species, breed, life stage, body composition, organ function, or formulation.
Veterinary teams also manage compounded preparations, extra-label drug use, limited species-specific evidence, food-animal withdrawal requirements, and medications that were never designed with animal patients in mind.
Veterinary pharmacists bring expertise to those decisions, from comparative pharmacology and toxicology to drug selection, formulation, interactions, compounding, and regulatory requirements. Their work may include interpreting veterinary drug information, checking whether a medication’s inactive ingredients are safe for a particular species, reviewing a compounded preparation, supporting antimicrobial stewardship, or helping build safeguards that reduce medication errors.
Veterinary prescribing asks teams to keep track of a lot at once. Read Why Prescribing Feels Harder Than It Should (& What Actually Helps).
They also work far beyond the walls of a traditional pharmacy. Veterinary pharmacists can be found in veterinary teaching hospitals, general and specialty practices, research institutions, zoos, wildlife programs, agriculture, industry, public health, and government.
To make the case for recognition, veterinary pharmacy leaders submitted a detailed petition to BPS outlining the field’s distinct knowledge, responsibilities, training, and impact. It documented veterinary pharmacists’ roles in direct patient care, clinical decision support, stewardship, research, and regulatory compliance. It also showed how veterinary pharmacy connects animal, human, and environmental health.
Veterinary Pharmacy Expertise at Instinct
Erica Wassack, PharmD, DICVP, FACVP, Associate Pharmacy Officer at Instinct, served on the task group that developed the petition for formal recognition. Alongside leaders from practice, academia, industry, and other animal-health settings, she helped document the need for the specialty and the knowledge it requires.
For Erica, the recognition marks a turning point for the field:
“The recognition of veterinary pharmacy by BPS is nothing short of historic. This credential acknowledges the expertise of veterinary pharmacists and validates the vital role we play in animal health. It’s not a one-time certification. Veterinary pharmacists will need to demonstrate continued competency through recertification every five years. This recognition will strengthen the trust veterinary professionals place in pharmacists and improve the safety, quality, and consistency of care for our patients.”
Erica is one of three veterinary pharmacists on the Instinct team, alongside Jim Budde, PharmD, RPh, DICVP, FACVP, Chief Pharmacy Officer, and Chloe Ciarrocchi, PharmD, DICVP, Associate Pharmacy Officer. They work alongside a network of independent veterinary pharmacists who help update and peer review the drug monographs in Plumb’s.
Together, these specialists shape the medication guidance across Plumb’s, Standards of Care (formerly Plumb’s Pro), ScribbleVet, Clinician’s Brief, and Instinct EMR, turning complex pharmacology, new evidence, regulatory changes, and species-specific considerations into practical guidance for veterinary professionals.
Want to see the kinds of drug and therapeutic updates our team tracks? Download our free 2026 Veterinary Drugs & Therapeutics Guide.
Where Veterinary Pharmacy Goes From Here
BPS will now begin developing the certification program, including eligibility requirements and examination content. It’s also recruiting pharmacists for the inaugural Veterinary Pharmacy Specialty Council and the first group of pharmacists who will write questions for the examination.
Over time, this recognition can lead to clearer training paths, support more residency programs, and help veterinary employers and teams identify pharmacists with advanced veterinary expertise. For veterinary teams, that means stronger prescribing and medication support at every step, from selection and preparation to monitoring and safe use.
We’re grateful to everyone who built the petition and worked toward this recognition. We’re especially proud of Erica, Jim, and Chloe, and the expertise they bring to Instinct every day.
