ABSTRACT:In 1991, the Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) made a successful application for a seeding grant for a project entitled ‘An intensive course in applied pharmacology for nurses working in rural settings’. Funding was provided under the Rural Health Support, Education and Training (RHSET) program, and was used to conduct a pilot course in pharmacology and drug information for nurses at the North West Nurse Education Centre, Whyalla, South Australia, during August/September 1991. A total of 40 nurses attended the course and were provided with course materials which contained background information on the topics to be discussed during a two‐day seminar.In a subsequent mailing to 320 nurses currently practising in the rural south‐east region of South Australia, interest levels in a similar seminar proposed for Mount Gambier were canvassed. Keen interest was expressed by nurses working in a variety of country centres in the region, and a formal offer of complimentary use of teaching facilities in the Mount Gambier Hospital was received. A second course was conducted during July 1992, and attracted over 40 nurses from a variety of practice backgrounds. SHPA was able to conduct both courses using considerably less funding than allocated under the original budget of the RHSET grant for the initial project.A statistically significant improvement in participants' pharmacology and drug information knowledge was demonstrated using a multiple choice assessment prior to, and immediately after the