Clean Run - January 2018 - 25

from the other specialties considered
a part of the college of veterinary internal medicine, an internist may add
the letters SAIM (small animal internal medicine) or LAIM (large animal
internal medicine) after DACVIM. In
addition to internists, however, the
college of internal medicine encompasses a few other specialties, including cardiology, neurology, and oncology. These will typically be written as
seen below:
DACVIM (SAIM) - small animal
general internist
DACVIM (Cardiology)
DACVIM (Neurology)
DACVIM (Oncology)
* DACVN: Diplomate of the American
Veterinary Nutrition (Nutritionist)
* DACVR: Diplomate of the American
Veterinary Radiology (Radiologist)
* DABVP: Diplomate of the American
Board of Veterinary Practitioners
Think of this as a board specialty for
general practitioners, achievable by
demonstrating the skills and knowledge of a specialist without having
to complete a formal residency program. Within this specialty are eleven
recognized veterinary specialties, including a canine and feline practice
specialty, likely the most common
you and I encounter.
* DACVS - Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons
This specialty is for board certified
surgeons in the U.S. who have completed a residency program and ad-

ditional requirements asked of them
by the ACVS, the American College
of Veterinary Surgeons. Requirements include a two-part written
examination that occurs during their
second year of residency and after
their third. Recently, many ACVS
diplomates add SA (small animal) or
LA (large) animal after DACVS. You
may also notice, however, that your
surgeon has the letters DECVS after
his or her name. These letters reflect
candidate satisfaction of the European and/or United Kingdom surgery
program requirements, including the
required examination, and indicate
that they remain in good standing as
a surgeon outside the United States.
Similar designations exist for some
other AVMA recognized veterinary
specialties, though not all.
* DACVSMR: Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Sports
Medicine and Rehabilitation
The AVMA recommends that only those
individuals that have achieved Diplomate
status within a particular specialty be
called a "specialist." Furthermore, some
specialties have specific requirements of
what terminology can be used. For example, the ACVS recommends that only
individuals achieving Diplomate status
within the college be called a "surgeon."
You may note that some individuals
may use the distinction "practice limited
to..." These individuals have completed a
residency and have either not taken the
examination or have not passed the examination to become board certified.
In addition to achieving board certification, many veterinarians that complete a

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residency within an academic institution
will have graduate research degrees such
as a Masters of Science (MS) or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). The graduate
research degree is often completed during the residency training to emphasize
the additional knowledge in the area of
veterinary research.

The Icing on the Cake
Aside from the specialties listed above,
there are several additional important
veterinary certifications. These certifications generally require some level of
additional training, but do not require
residency training, and are not AVMArecognized specialties. Eligible individuals may or may not be veterinarians, depending on the certification. The requirements may be less standardized, and
there may be redundancy among certifications. Take canine rehabilitation and
sports medicine, for example, a post-injury and postoperative practice that continues to grow in popularity as recognition of its importance increases. You may
find practitioners in the form of a CCRT
or a CCRP, certified canine rehabilitation
therapists or certified canine rehabilitation practitioners, respectively. These
certificates are awarded to veterinarians
and physical therapists after completion
of one of the two rehabilitation certification programs in the U.S. Both programs preceded the board certification
in sports medicine and rehabilitation,
therefore, many DVMs practicing rehabilitation and sports medicine may be either a CCRT or a CCRP in addition to a
DACVSMR. Veterinary technicians may
become either a CCRP or a CCRA, a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Assistant.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - January 2018