Training / The term
What a veterinary specialist is.
A specialist is a Diplomate of a recognised specialty college: a veterinarian who has completed a supervised residency in one discipline and passed the college’s examination. The word refers to that training and that examination, not to interest, experience or the cases a clinician happens to see.
A precise meaning
Why the word matters
In North America and Europe the title is governed by umbrella boards that accredit the specialty colleges and set the standards their residencies must meet. A clinician may call themselves a specialist only after a college has examined them. The public, and other veterinarians, can rely on what the word means.
In India the term is not protected. It is commonly used to describe an interest, a short course, or years spent in practice. None of those is the same thing, and the difference matters most to the animal on the table and the owner who was told a specialist was treating it.
ISVS uses the word in its examined sense throughout, and exists in part so that the people training in India can see what the title involves and aim for it.
The training
What a residency involves
Three or more years, in one discipline, under Diplomates, against a published standard.
01
A supervised caseload
A defined number and range of cases, managed by the resident and reviewed by a Diplomate, recorded in a logbook the college can inspect.
02
Rotations and rounds
Time in the related services, daily rounds, journal club and teaching of students and interns, so that knowledge is tested by explaining it.
03
Research and publication
Most colleges require original work accepted for publication before a candidate may sit, so that specialists can read, weigh and add to the evidence.
04
Examination
Written and practical examination set by the college. Passing confers the title of Diplomate, which the resident may then use.
What it is not
The title is not conferred by
A short course or certificate in a subject
Years in practice, however many
A postgraduate degree on its own
A declared interest in a discipline
A hospital’s job title
What it produces
What a specialist can be relied upon to do
Take referral of the cases a primary clinician cannot resolve
Lead a hospital service and set its standard of care
Teach and supervise interns and residents
Read, weigh and contribute to the published evidence
Examine, and so maintain the meaning of the title for those who follow
The colleges
Who examines, by discipline
The colleges represented among the ISVS faculty. Each publishes its own residency standard and examination.
Anaesthesia and analgesia
ACVAA · ECVAA
Cardiology
ACVIM · ECVIM-CA
Internal medicine
ACVIM · ECVIM-CA
Neurology
ACVIM · ECVN
Surgery
ACVS · ECVS
Diagnostic imaging
ACVR · ECVDI
Emergency and critical care
ACVECC · ECVECC
Specialist nursing
VTS academies
In India
This training is now being built in India
Hospital-based, supervised by board-certified specialists, with boards being established so that specialists can qualify here. Places are offered through partner institutions.