What is a recognised Veterinary Specialist?
The European Diploma in Surgery and Anesthesia is internationally recognized as the highest level of surgical and anesthesia qualification available within the veterinary profession. It indicates that the holder has received several years of extensive training under the direct supervision of other recognized specialists in the corresponding field. To ensure the highest standards, to be eligible to take the European Diploma exam, candidates must meet strict criteria in terms of numbers of cases and types of cases of surgery and anesthesia during the period of their specialized training. There are also additional requirements, including publication of surgical research papers and attendance at specialist meetings in Europe and the USA. USA The exam, also called the "Board Exam", is extremely demanding and takes 3 days. Recognized specialists must keep up with scientific advances by attending specific specialized surgery conferences around the world. Otherwise, the surgeon will be stripped of his specialist status.
www.ebvs.org This website links to all European specialist colleges and also lists all specialists in all disciplines across Europe. You can click on the links to the specialized universities and get more information on the training that the European specialists must do to obtain their diploma.
www.ecvs.org This link takes you to the European College of Veterinary Surgeons. This provides information on how to determine if the veterinarian you are seeing is a specialist or is in-residence trained (i.e. is eligible to become a specialist)
www.ecvaa.org This link takes you to the European College of Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia. This gives you information on how to determine if the veterinarian you are seeing is a Specialist or is trained in your residence (i.e. is eligible to become a Specialist)