By: Julia Spade, DVM, cVMA, CHPV, CPEV; Medical Director, BluePearl Pet Hospice
Board certified veterinary specialists are veterinarians who have completed a certain number of additional hours of training within a certain discipline of veterinary medicine and passed a test along with requirements set by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). Currently, there are 22 recognized board-certified veterinary specialities. Specialists are meant to complement a pet’s general doctor when advanced testing and treatment is needed. Here is a list of the 22 recognized board certified specialities: analgesia and anesthesia, animal welfare, behavior, dentistry, dermatology, emergency and critical care, internal medicine (cardiology, internal medicine, oncology, neurology), laboratory animal medicine, microbiology, veterinary nutrition, ophthalmology, pathology, pharmacology, poultry, preventative medicine, radiology, sports medicine and rehabilitation, and surgery. Many of these specialists require a referral from your general practice doctor for a consultation.
The veterinary community utilizes these specialists within our government at a local and national level, veterinary teaching hospitals and within communities to help family-owned pets. Many specialists are also involved in research and development for the veterinary profession within companies and at universities. These specialists also speak at continuing education events for veterinarians throughout the year to keep general practitioners up to date on the latest research and development for their patients. You can find more information about what specialists are in your area by searching their specific college online i.e. The American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists. The word “college” does not mean a specific school, but instead refers to the body of practitioners in that particular field/board of directors. Specialists will have letters behind their name such as: ACVIM (American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine) or ACVS (American College of Veterinary Surgeons). If you feel your pet needs to be seen by a specialist, discuss this with your regular veterinarian so they can refer you to the appropriate doctor.
What does it mean for a veterinarian to be certified in something? Veterinarians can become certified in many different niches or specialty services of veterinary medicine. A small list of these include: chiropractic, acupuncture, herbal medicine, laser therapy, massage, fear free, hospice and palliative care, rehabilitation, and the list goes on and on. The difference between a certification program and a specialist is that specialists are focused on one aspect of medicine and to become board certified you have to be approved by the college of that specialty, versus any veterinarian who can complete a certification program to become more skilled and/or practice a certain skill to treat patients. Certification programs often require hours of additional training, tests and research papers, but are not governed by a “board”. You can often find veterinarians in our area who have completed certification programs by searching on the internet, i.e. “hospice and palliative care veterinarians in my area”. Veterinarians who have completed these programs will often have letters behind their name such as: cVMA (certified in veterinary medical acupuncture) or CHPV (certified hospice and palliative care veterinarian). If you wish to seek care from a veterinarian in a certain niche, always discuss with your primary doctor first.
