Alumna shares passion for vet pharmacy with students

In addition to gaining practical experience in veterinary pharmacy, UM students may now elect to take a course on the subject taught by Dinah G. Jordan.

any dog owners don't know that a common artificial sweetener used in chewing gum, toothpaste and medicines for humans causes hypoglycemia and liver failure if used in drugs given to their loving canine companions. They are also surprised to learn that therapeutic doses of thyroid medications are higher (not lower) for dogs than for people.

Likewise, many cat owners don't know that Tylenol will kill their cuddly, oft-purring feline friends.

"The physiology of dogs, cats and other veterinary species is different from humans, so [those species] absorb, distribute and metabolize medications differently," said Dinah G. Jordan (BSPh 72, PharmD 98), chief of pharmacy services and clinical professor of pharmacy at Mississippi State University's College of Veterinary Medicine.

A dog owner herself, Jordan has made it her mission to educate pharmacists and veterinarians about these and other unique aspects of veterinary pharmacy practice.

She has written an online veterinary pharmacy course for pharmacy students and an online continuing education program for practicing pharmacists and technicians. For pharmacists, she also has developed standards for a board-certification program in veterinary pharmacy. Those who become certified become "diplomates" of the International College of Veterinary Pharmacy.

"I believe pharmacy schools need to step up to the plate and train pharmacists in veterinary pharmacy practice," Jordan said. "That's because more pharmacists are being placed in vet practices, chain pharmacies are offering veterinary pharmacy products, and community pharmacists are filling vet prescriptions."

Until a few years ago, veterinarians dispensed most of their own medications, but vet practices have evolved, as has the veterinary drug market, she said. "The market can't keep up with all the specialties, and vets are relying on more human-approved drugs. Plus, the cost of stocking human drugs is very high."

Thanks to Jordan, the UM School of Pharmacy is offering a course on veterinary pharmacy this fall. Students taking the course, which meets Wednesday afternoons, will receive 2 hours of academic credit. "The school is indeed grateful to Dr. Jordan for offering this didactic elective to our professional students," said Marvin C. Wilson, the school's associate dean for academic and student affairs.

Sir Dulymus ("Duly") and General Lothario ("Lo")

Between the course and an advanced five-week (40 hours per week) practice experience, or rotation, that senior students may take at Jordan's MSU practice site, Wilson said that students interested in pursuing veterinary pharmacy practice after graduation may obtain 7 credit hours of exposure to this emerging area of specialty practice.

"We are so appreciative to Dr. Jordan for not only her extensive service contributions to the profession but even more so to her alma mater," Wilson said.

UM Chancellor Dan Jones put it a little differently.

"When it comes to accomplishing our institutions' missions – which include educating our state's young people, ensuring the health and well-being of its citizens, and advancing the knowledge needed to make our state competitive – those of us who work at Ole Miss and at State must often put aside our vibrant and healthy athletics rivalries," he said. "It is rewarding that staff at MSU's College of Veterinary Medicine and our School of Pharmacy are able to do that and work together for our state's greater good."

Although the course is being offered as an elective, Jordan believes it will probably become a required course in the not-too-distant future.

"There is some pressure to add questions about vet pharmacy on the NAPLEX (national licensure exam) to push schools to offer such training," she said.

An ICVP diplomate, Jordan has pursued her education and service mission through numerous avenues.

She is coauthor of the chapter on veterinary pharmacy in the 22nd edition of Remington: The Science and Practice of Pharmacy (to be published next month by Pharmaceutical Press) and is a contributor to the Veterinary Drug Handbook, a leading drug information resource for practicing veterinarians.

She presents continuing education programs at numerous state, regional, national and international professional pharmacy and veterinary meetings and has published several journal articles about veterinary pharmacy.

Dinah and John Jordan

Jordan also has served as president of the Society of Veterinary Hospital Pharmacists, as an adviser on the U.S. Pharmacopeia's Veterinary Information Expert Committee and a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Biologics and Therapeutic Agents' Subcommittee on Prescribing and Dispensing.

In her home state, she has served on the UM Alumni Association board, chaired the UM School of Pharmacy's alumni advisory board and served as president of the UM Pharmacy Alumni Chapter and the Mississippi Pharmacists Association.

Recognizing her outstanding service to veterinary pharmacy, the American College of Veterinary Pharmacy presented its inaugural Earl W. (Bill) Bradley Award to Jordan in 2007.

Jordan also is the recipient of the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine's 1996 Dean's Pegasus Award for excellence in clinical service, research and extension; the UM pharmacy school's 1997 Alumna of the Year award and 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award; and MPhA's 1991 Bowl of Hygeia award for community service.

She and her husband, John (BSPh 72), a community pharmacist, have a son, Jay (JD 1999), an attorney on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and two granddaughters, Lily and Anna Claire. Two "wonderful" (i.e., spoiled rotten) Maltese – Sir Dulymus ("Duly") and General Lothario ("Lo") – complete the Jordans' immediate family.

"The neat thing about Jay's graduation is that we were able to walk together in the spring commencement ceremony in the Grove," said his mother, who had finished work on her Pharm.D. in fall 1998. "It was a very special day for the Jordan family."

The Jordans have spent numerous other special days on the Oxford campus. This past summer, for example, Dinah attended the Ladies Football Forum, then accompanied her 5-year-old granddaughter, Lily, to cheerleader camp.

Despite working for UM's in-state rival for more than 25 years, "We absolutely love Ole Miss," she said.