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With flu season approaching and suspected cases of swine flu springing up, 100 pharmacists will prepare to put themselves on the front lines of a possible pandemic during a workshop at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy next week.

The program, which will be held at the school's satellite campus at The Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, filled up within three days of opening and there is a wait list of approximately 200 people, said Dr. Lauren Angelo, clinical assistant professor at the School of Pharmacy.

Dr. Heather Congdon, assistant dean of the School of Pharmacy, said the event was originally planned for early last spring "before anyone had ever heard of swine flu," or H1N1, and postponed due to a shortage of funding, she said.

Now that swine flu is a "hot topic," she said, the school was able to obtain a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to move forward.

It is being co-sponsored by the county's Department of Health and Human Services, its Public Health Services division and its Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response program.

As the most accessible members of the health care team, pharmacists play an important role in responding to the swine flu pandemic, she said. From answering questions from anxious customers to being called on by the state to assist with mass vaccination efforts, pharmacists have to be prepared for everything, she added.

Angelo said pharmacists are already getting a variety of flu-related questions from a nervous public.

"Pharmacists are really on the front line for patients," Angelo said. "Right now, they're being inundated with questions about not only the seasonal flu, but swine flu and the new vaccine."

She said one of the biggest questions is whether a person can be vaccinated for the seasonal flu and swine flu at the same time, and the answer is yes as long as both vaccines are not administered nasally. If the patient prefers nasal spray for both, he or she would have to receive one vaccination first and wait a month to receive the other.

Congdon said the workshop will also urge pharmacists to have a contingency plan in place in case members of their staff get sick to ensure continuity of services.

Angelo said she thinks the event will help pharmacists.

"Given the expertise that will be in the room that day, I think it will make a tremendous impact and give them a better understanding so that they can help manage the current pandemic," she said.