A veterinary internship is a one-year education program that a doctor can choose to complete following graduation from veterinary school. These programs provide further experiential, clinical and didactic training prior to practicing medicine without close supervision.  During this year, the veterinary intern will rotate through different disciplines such as emergency medicine, surgery and radiology.  This internship year provides the doctor an avenue to become a resident and subsequently a veterinary specialist. 

A veterinary residency is typically a three-year program designed to provide intense training in a specific discipline to further the veterinarian’s knowledge and qualify them for board certification.  Most veterinary residents have already completed a yearlong general internship and sometimes even a second-year long specialty internship that focuses specifically on their area of interest.  Residencies have strict requirements regarding supervision, training and experience and are quite competitive to obtain a position.

There are many veterinary disciplines including:

• Anesthesia and Analgesia
• Avian and Exotics Medicine
• Cardiology
• Critical Care
• Dentistry and Oral Surgery
• Dermatology
• Emergency and Critical Care
• Internal Medicine
• Nephrology and Urology
• Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Medical Oncology
• Ophthalmology
• Radiation Oncology
• Radiology
• Surgery

Doctors who have completed a residency but have not completed all of the required steps to become board certified, are required to have; “practice limited to…” in their titles. You may see these doctors also referred to as ‘residency trained’ or ‘board eligible’.  Rest-assured that a residency trained veterinarian is very well qualified to treat your pet.

A veterinary specialist is someone who has completed veterinary school, an internship, and a residency in their specialized area of interest. All specialties require a written examination, and most require publications in peer reviewed medical journals. Being a resident is a very time consuming and difficult endeavor but once this process is complete, the veterinarian will become a Board-Certified specialist. 

Depending upon the veterinary school, a veterinarian’s degree may be denoted in different ways. So, what do the abbreviations after a doctor’s name mean?

• BVSc – Bachelor of Veterinary Science
• BVMS – Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery
• DVM – Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
• VMD – Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

The terms Board Certified, Specialist, Diplomate and their respected specialty names such as “Internist”, Criticalist”, “Neurologist”, Surgeon”, Cardiologist”, Ophthalmologist” and “Oncologist” all refer to a person who is a veterinary specialist. You may see Board Certified doctors having additional credentials specified in their title, such as:

• DACVECC – Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care
• DACVIM – Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
• DACVR – Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Radiology
• DACVO – Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists
• DACVS – Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Surgeons