The State of Nuclear Pharmacy Education in ACPE-Accredited Colleges of Pharmacy

Purpose: In addition to MRI and CT studies, approximately 17 million nuclear medicine procedures are performed annually in the US, each of which requires administration of a radiopharmaceutical. With the expansion of new schools of pharmacy, relative shortage of faculty, and economic constraints on established programs, some areas of specialty practice may be perceived as expendable, and de-emphasized or eliminated from the curriculum.  A previous survey conducted in 2001 indicated a sharp reduction in this content from 1981, with the majority of pharmacy programs offering no instruction in nuclear pharmacy. This study was undertaken to assess the status of instruction in nuclear pharmacy practice in schools of pharmacy.

Methods: An electronic survey was sent to the curricular chairs of 103 fully accredited ACPE schools in the U.S. and Canada. The survey consisted of 21 questions about the teaching of nuclear pharmacy practice. Schools were asked if instruction was offered, and where in the curriculum it was included.

Results: Thirty seven (35.9%) schools responded. Of these, 21 (56.8%) offer no instruction in nuclear pharmacy in any portion of the curriculum, with 10 programs indicating an intention to add this to the curriculum. Among the 16 (43%) offering instruction, the majority offer it as an elective course or as part of an elective course. Only 9 programs reported teaching nuclear pharmacy content as part of the core curriculum relevant to generalists (ie pharmacokinetic distribution or drug interactions). The current level of instruction appears to be consistent with a 2001 survey.

Conclusion: The majority of graduates from ACPE-accredited schools of pharmacy are not presented with any instruction related to this widely used class of pharmaceuticals, however this decline appears to have slowed. Lack of knowledge of these agents will continue to provide challenges to provision of comprehensive pharmaceutical care.