Physical Pharmacy

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 2008 by Birnie, Christine R

Attwood, David and Florence, Alexander T. Physical Pharmacy. London: Pharmaceutical Press; 2008. 182 pp; $29.95 (paperback). ISBN: 9780853697251.

This book is one in the series of FASTRACK books, published by the Pharmaceutical Press. The intent of this series is to provide pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists with a compilation of condensed guidebooks on various pharmacy topics. As stated in the book's introduction, the FASTRACK books are intended to be used as a supplement to the more thorough and detailed textbooks on the subject matter, as is the case with this one.

Written by Alexander Florence and David Attwood (also the authors of Physicochemical Principles of Pharmacy, 4th edition, published by the Pharmaceutical Press in 2006), this FASTRACK book is a concise overview of the key points from their larger text. The authors also state in their preface that this book is not intended to be a substitute but rather a supplement to be used with their original text.

Florence and Attwood, both faculty members in the United Kingdom, write this book stating that this is one tool that can be used to prepare for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain's registration examination, which would be a comparable examination to the NAPLEX in the United States. The layout of the book, complete with Key Point sections and ample diagrams make the book easy to read, and the multiple-choice questions at the end of each chapter provide a nice review and small practice examination for students.

At 182 pages and 10 broad subject chapters, this book is certainly a concise overview of physical pharmacy, but is appropriate. As a supplement book, it would be extremely useful to the pharmacy student who is trying to comprehend the concepts related to physical pharmacy, but the book is likely best used alongside Florence and Attwood's original text.

Since there are few books currently written on the topic of physical pharmacy, I would welcome another, especially one that would be a condensed version of the more complete textbooks. In a time when the academic focus in doctor of pharmacy programs has moved closer to clinical, a condensed, more applicable approach to physical pharmacy I believe would be welcomed by the pharmacy student.

At $29.95, I believe this supplement would be of value to the student or the professional who is already using Attwood and Florence's Physicochemical Principles of Pharmacy, 4th edition, but may not have the time or need to delve into the complete text the way he or she desires.

Reviewed By: Christine R. Birnie, PhD

Wegmans School of Pharmacy, St. John Fisher College

Corresponding Author: Christine R. Birnie, PhD, Wegmans School of Pharmacy, St. John Fisher College, 3690 East Ave, Rochester, NY, 14618-3597, Tel: 585-385-7202, Email: cbirnie@sjfc.edu