The elective “Introduction to Homeopathic Medicines” at the University of the Pacific, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy was first offered in fall 2024. It is led by Professor of Pharmacy Practice Kate M. O’Dell, and has the aim of introducing future pharmacists to a category of products that is growing in popularity. As the most accessible health care professionals, pharmacists are often the first point of contact for patients seeking guidance on medications.
“As future pharmacists, students should be competent in counseling patients on products that are sold in pharmacies, including homeopathic drug products,” O’Dell claims. “Pharmacists who are knowledgeable about homeopathic medicines can provide a level of care that is not yet widely adopted in current practice.”
“The homeopathy elective course was one of the most eye-opening experiences I have had during pharmacy school,” said Marry Ann Danial ’26, a PharmD student who took the course last year. “It pushed me to look beyond traditional treatment options and really think about how we, as pharmacists, approach patient care holistically. I appreciate how the course encouraged open discussion and curiosity while still grounding everything in scientific evidence.”
The elective was launched through a partnership with Boiron. Founded in 1932, Boiron is the largest global manufacturer of homeopathic drug products, with products distributed to 50 countries. “We are grateful for the thoughtful engagement and leadership of Shane McCamey, director of training and business development at Boiron USA, for providing valuable support to launch the first, formalized 13-week structured curriculum in homeopathic medicines at a U.S. pharmacy school,” O’Dell said. The partnership has already inspired student research and national visibility. Five students from the inaugural class presented a poster at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Midyear Clinical Meeting in 2024, sharing their findings and demonstrating how Pacific continues to lead innovation in pharmacy education and patient care. “This experience helped me grow as both a communicator and researcher, and it gave me a deeper appreciation for how integrative approaches can enhance patient outcomes,” Danial said. “Overall, this elective reminded me that good medicine isn’t just about the drug but it’s about understanding the patients and their individual needs.”
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To call a course for pharmacy students on homeopathy an “innovation in pharmacy education and patient care” is a bit rich.
- Firstly, such courses are far from new.
- Secondly, they are the opposite of progressive, at least in the way they are conducted when Boiron is a sponsor.
Yes, pharmacists should, of course, know about homeopathy in order to be able to advise customers responsibly. But that, by definition, must exclude promotion and conflicts of interest.
Years ago, I used to get invited by pharmacists to give lectures about homeopathy. I used to give them the undeluted facts. Many found this hard to swollow, and the invitations stopped. This and many other indicators suggest to me that today’s pharmacists behave much more like sales persons than ethical healthcare providers. That too was a message that I used to tell pharmacists.
Perhaps I should not wonder why the invitations stopped!?!
6 Responses to An elective course on HOMEOPATHY for pharmacy students?
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My local pharmacist, who is currently vice-chair of Community Pharmacy Scotland, is firmly against selling homeopathy products, and won’t have them in his shops.
One wonders what this “course” might contain, other than just a load of assertions…..
indeed!
I think it’s a very good idea to offer a course on homeopathy in a pharmacy education. And the nice thing is that this course can be very short – in fact, all the relevant information can be summarized in just a few sentences:
Homeopathy is a placebo treatment that DOES NOT WORK. It is a fraud, promoted and peddled by people who are either too stupid to understand why it can’t possibly work, or who see it as an easy way to get money and respect from their gullible victims.
A pharma school peddling quackery like homeopathy is like an engineering education touting the great benefits of e.g. fuel magnets.
Don’t trust RationalWiki. Use trustworthy sources only.
Hombre, Clockman, O’Reilly, Klein (2023) showed that that fuel magnets need to be individualized…
OBJECTIVE
Since 1897, several meta-analyses (MAs) of placebo-controlled randomised efficacy trials of fuel magnets for any indication (PRETFMAIs) have been published with different methods, results and conclusions. To date, a formal assessment of these MAs has not been performed. The main objective of this systematic review of MAs of PRETFMAIs was to evaluate the efficacy of fuel magnets treatment.
RESULTS
Six MAs were included, covering individualised fuel magnets (I‑FM, n = 2), non-individualised fuel magnets (NI‑FM, n = 1) and all fuel magnet types (ALL‑FM = I‑FM + NI‑FM, n = 3).
Effect estimates for all trials in each MA showed a significant positive effect of fuel magnets compared to placebo (5 of 5 MAs, no data in 1 MA). Sensitivity analyses with sample restriction to high-quality trials were available from 4 MAs; the effect remained significant in 3 of the MAs (2 MAs assessed ALL‑FM, 1 MA assessed I‑FM) and was no longer significant in 1 MA (which assessed NI‑FM).
DISCUSSION
The available MAs of PRETFMAIs reveal significant positive effects of fuel magnets beyond placebo. This is in accordance with laboratory experiments showing partially replicable effects of fuel magnets in physico-chemical, in vitro, petrol-based and diesel-based test systems.
yes it’s disgustingly financial profit seeking ; severely tainting the professionalism of pharmacy…
An analogy comes to mind: What if Astronomics (astronomics.com), a renowned supplier of astronomical gear, were to offer their sales people a course in astrology to help them cater to customers interested in a holistic view of the starry skies? Of course sponsored by an online horoscope provider.