What is a veterinary specialist?

 

A veterinary specialist is a veterinarian who has achieved board-certification in their respective field.  When one does this, they receive the title of ‘Diplomate’.  The process to become board-certified is rigorous.  After veterinary school, graduates have multiple options.  One is to go into general practice which is the most popular option.  If one chooses to specialize, they must apply and be accepted to an internship and residency program just like human doctors.  The internship and residency typically is a total of 4 more years of training after veterinary school. During the residency, candidates for board certification must complete a number of credentials including: a research project, teaching of veterinary students, seeing appointments and treating patients, publication of a scientific veterinary article in an approved journal, and passing 1-2 examinations near or at the completion of the residency.  Only when all these credentials have been successfully completed and approved by the governing veterinary specialty college or board can a person then receive the title of ‘Diplomate’ and be considered a specialist in their field.

 

There are veterinary specialists in a number of fields including:

 

Internal Medicine

Surgery

Dermatology

Ophthalmology

Neurology (subset of ACVIM)

Cardiology (subset of ACVIM)

Oncology (subset of ACVIM)

Radiology

Dentistry

Emergency and Critical Care

Pathology

Clinical Pathology

 

 

 

Please click on the links below for more information about the

American College

of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) and the

American College

of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS)