Think Pharmacy Is Just for People? Think Again.

When Maddie Pislin first came to the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, she knew she wanted to be a pharmacist. She just didn’t know yet what that could look like.

Growing up in Hawaii surrounded by dogs, chickens, a turtle and other pets, Maddie had considered becoming a veterinarian. But veterinary pharmacy wasn’t on her radar — mostly because she didn’t know it existed.

Then, during her first year of pharmacy school, something caught her attention: a veterinary teaching hospital appeared on the list of PharmD experiential rotations. It was a lightbulb moment.

“It’s something that I’ve always really loved and had a connection to,” Maddie said. “I was super excited when I found out working with animals was something I could do professionally.”

That discovery sent Maddie down a path she never expected when she began pharmacy school — one that has taken her from the classroom to veterinary teaching hospitals, veterinary research and a national professional organization dedicated to veterinary pharmacy.

Now a third-year PharmD student, Maddie is helping explore what’s possible when a passion for pharmacy meets a passion for animal health.

A Pharmacy Specialty You May Not Know About

Veterinary pharmacy may not be the first career that comes to mind when you think about pharmacists. But animals need medications, too — and those medications can come with unique considerations.

Veterinarians prescribe medications for animals and pharmacists play an important role in how those medications are prepared, compounded, dispensed and used. Veterinary pharmacists can work in veterinary teaching hospitals, zoos, research settings and compounding pharmacies, among other environments. 

Pharmacists are the only profession that can legally dispense to both human and veterinary patients. Veterinary pharmacists have a unique blend of pharmacology and pharmacokinetics knowledge that, when partnered with veterinarians, can best help determine the safety and efficacy of novel compounded medications or therapies. 

And the field is gaining attention. In 2026, the Board of Pharmacy Specialties officially recognized veterinary pharmacy as a new specialty certification, giving pharmacists the opportunity to pursue board certification specifically in the field.

For Maddie, that recognition represents an important step for a specialty that has historically flown somewhat under the radar. “It’s a way to lend more credibility to the specialty,” she said.

The growing recognition of veterinary pharmacy also means more opportunities for students who may be interested in combining their passion for pharmacy with an interest in animal health. Maddie is hoping to help more students discover the specialty that she once didn’t know existed.

Finding Veterinary Pharmacy at Michigan

Maddie’s path into veterinary pharmacy began with people. Her Pharmacy Phamily advisor, Assistant Dean Sweet, helped connect her with pharmacists and veterinary professionals who could answer her questions about the field. 

She also connected with University of Michigan veterinary pharmacy educators who teach the Veterinary Pharmacotherapeutics elective course through the College of Pharmacy. That elective became another important piece of Maddie’s exploration.

“Most universities don’t offer a vet elective,” Maddie said. “It’s really exciting that we have the opportunity to explore the specialty.”

The course introduces students to veterinary pharmacy and professional organizations where they can continue learning and building connections. For Maddie, that led her to the American College of Veterinary Pharmacy (ACVP). Michigan does not currently have a student chapter of ACVP, but that didn’t stop Maddie from getting involved.

This summer, she joined the organization’s Student Engagement Committee, a group focused on creating opportunities for students to learn about veterinary pharmacy and connect with professionals and peers.

For Maddie, getting involved has been one more way to turn her interest into a potential career path. Now, she’s helping make sure more students know that path exists.

From the Classroom to the Lab

Maddie’s PharmD research project has taken her outside of the classroom and into veterinary medicine and research. Working with veterinary faculty and a senior resident, Maddie is contributing to veterinary anesthesia research examining comfort and recovery during medical procedures. Her work is part of an effort to better understand anesthesia in veterinary care.

This summer, Maddie also shadowed researchers at another University of Michigan lab focused on cardiovascular research and critical care. The experience gave Maddie insight into critical-care research and expanded her understanding of cardiovascular health

She wasn’t expecting to find herself immersed in critical care research when she started her PharmD journey. But that’s part of what has made veterinary pharmacy so exciting for her. Each experience has revealed another way a pharmacist can contribute to animal health, from the bench to the bedside. 

A Career Path That’s Anything but Ordinary

Veterinary pharmacy has opened the door to possibilities Maddie never imagined when she began pharmacy school.

“A lot of the people I’ve met in the college have been really key in helping me just get connected and learn more about veterinary pharmacy,” she said.

The College’s existing relationships with veterinary teaching hospitals also give students opportunities to pursue veterinary pharmacy through experiential education, providing another avenue to explore the specialty firsthand.

While Maddie isn’t entirely sure what her first job after graduation will look like, she already knows the kind of impact she hopes to make. She wants to build a career that allows her to have a direct impact on animal care, collaborate with healthcare professionals and help advance veterinary pharmacy as a profession. 

She is considering pursuing a veterinary pharmacy residency at a teaching hospital and could see her future taking her into a veterinary hospital or veterinary compounding. Wherever her future takes her, Maddie hopes to help veterinary pharmacy continue to grow and to make sure more students know it’s an option.

“I would just really like to see more interest and more people being excited about veterinary pharmacy,” she said. “And most importantly, realizing that it is an option for them.”

Maddie came to pharmacy school knowing she wanted to become a pharmacist. Along the way, she discovered that being a pharmacist didn’t mean giving up her lifelong love of animals. It meant finding a way to bring the two together. And sometimes, the most interesting career paths are the ones you didn’t know existed.