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Excerpt from the American College of Poultry Veterinarian Procedural Manual

1.0            AMERICAN COLLEGE OF POULTRY VETERINARIANS POLICY ON CREDENTIALING

1.1        Introduction

Applicants are referred to the requirements for credentialing which are incorporated in Article IV, Section 4-03(a) of by-laws of the College. This interpretation is intended to guide applicants and reflects the policy of the Credentials Review Committee, approved by the Board of the College. The policy is based on experience relating the qualifications and experience of applicants to their subsequent performance on the Certification Examination. A handbook for potential candidates is available for download and use to document the experiences of the applicant and relationships of the sponsor letter writers.

1.1.1       Applicant Credentials

An applicant’s credentials are evaluated in five areas: professional training, experience, licensing,

publications, and sponsorship.

  1. Professional Training
    1. Veterinary Degree
      1. Academic Training and Professional Training in Addition to a Veterinary Degree

In addition to having earned the DVM degree or equivalent, the applicant must have additional training through one of the following routes:

i)          Graduated from an ACPV approved training program.

ii)         Earned a postgraduate degree.

iii)        Gained a prescribed amount and kind of professional experience.

  1. Experience
  2. License
  3. Publications
  4. ACPV Diplomate Sponsorship

1.1.2       Document Language Requirements

All documents must be submitted in English. If other than English, these documents must be accompanied by a certified English translation. Suggested companies are listed in the Certifying Exam Handbook.

1.2        Professional Training

1.2.1        Veterinary Degree

Applicants must have earned a DVM or VMD or an equivalent veterinary qualification which would enable the applicant to practice veterinary medicine in the USA or another country.

All applicants must submit a diploma.

a) The applicant who holds a veterinary degree from an AVMA accredited College or School of Veterinary Medicine must request an official veterinary diploma be sent directly to the ACPV office by their granting institution.

b) The applicant who has graduated from a non-AVMA accredited College or School must have their diploma verified through a credential certification company with the verification sent directly from the company to the ACPV office. Suggested companies are listed in the Certifying Exam Handbook.

1.2.2        Training Program Route

Applicants applying for credentialing under the provisions of the ACPV approved training program route must provide one (1) of the following documents at the time examination fees are due:

a) An official copy of a certificate of completion, or

b) Final transcripts of ACPV approved training program or

c) A letter of anticipated completion from the program coordinator.

If a training route applicant finds that his or her program will not be completed by the time the examination fee is due, he or she must notify the ACPV Executive Vice President and the application will be withdrawn.

1.2.3        Postgraduate Degree Route

Applicants applying for credentialing under the provisions of the postgraduate degree program route must have earned the M.S. degree or an equivalent or higher postgraduate degree with major emphasis in poultry veterinary medicine before or after obtaining the DVM or equivalent degree. Applicants must submit a diploma and transcripts from such a program to allow determination of a sufficient degree of poultry emphasis. Additional documentation must be submitted to ensure adequate field or production experiences.

1.2.4        Professional Experience Route

Applicants applying for credentialing under the provisions of the professional experience route must have at least five (5) years professional experience after receiving the veterinary degree relevant to poultry veterinary medicine in one or more activities including, but not limited to, teaching, research, service or diagnostics with increasing responsibilities over this period of time.

1.3        Experience

1.3.1        Experience Requirement

The Committee will review the experience of all applicants based on documented exposure to multiple segments of the poultry industry including breeding, commercial egg, broiler, turkey, quail, duck, or broiler production. Each applicant’s knowledge of poultry veterinary medicine including, but not limited to: anatomy and physiology, biosecurity, diagnosis, production, food safety, professional skills including oral, written and interpersonal communications, U.S. regulations regarding poultry, and research skills will be evaluated (see Certifying Exam Handbook for documentation). The committee recognizes that broad exposure to a number of sub-disciplines within poultry veterinary medicine as enumerated above is essential for success in the certification examination. Applicants who have or will have successfully completed an approved ACPV residency program will be deemed to have acquired sufficient experience for credentialing. Credentialing will be denied an applicant if, in the opinion of the committee, experience is limited to research laboratory studies,  a single commercial species, or one or two narrow aspects of veterinary medicine that would be more appropriate to diplomate status in other specialty colleges; for example in microbiology or pathology.

1.3.2        Documentation Requirement

It is incumbent on applicants to provide detailed descriptions of past experience. Evaluation will be facilitated by the applicant providing a schedule tabulating date and place of employment, job title and a brief description of responsibilities, related to poultry veterinary medicine. Applicants applying under the provisions of the professional experience route must provide sufficient information to assure the committee that the applicant has attained the necessary field experience and exposure to poultry veterinary medicine consistent with the alternative route to credentialing, as defined in the Policies and Procedures Manual of the American Board of Veterinary Specialists.

1.4        License

Applicants must supply a copy of their veterinary license. Applicants who graduate from a veterinary college in a country where a diploma, rather than a formal license, qualifies one to practice veterinary medicine must submit a verification of this practice through a document certification company. (See the Certifying Exam Handbook for suggested companies.)

1.5        Publications

Applicants must submit a total of three publications as part of their application. The intention of the publications requirement is to confirm that the candidate has made a contribution to knowledge in the field of poultry veterinary medicine and is capable of communicating to peers, in writing, observations relating to field cases or basic and applied research. Manuscripts dealing with nutrition must demonstrate benefits to poultry health versus strictly feed conversion improvements. Thesis or dissertation chapters are not accepted unless they are already published articles.

1.5.1        Publication Criteria

The publications are judged on the following criteria:

  1. Applicant is first author
  2. Originality of the material
  3. Potential contribution to the profession and the industry
  4. Acceptable Publications

a) An evaluation of the journal or publication (if published). Peer-reviewed journals such as Avian Diseases, Avian Pathology, Poultry Science, Journal of Applied Poultry Research and equivalent publications will be considered as highly acceptable. Industry periodicals including the Watt, Elsevier, and similar publications which are widely read and maintain acceptable editorial standards will also be considered acceptable.

b) Company reports or studies with restricted circulation will also be acceptable, providing they indicate a structured approach to identifying and defining problems, applying scientific principles and incorporate acceptable organization and presentation. These “confidential” documents and reports will be reviewed only by the Committee and will be returned to the applicant.

c) General review articles may be acceptable if the author undertakes a structured and interpretive review of available literature with appropriate citations.

  1. To give the greatest chance for acceptable papers, the following elements should be included:

a) Abstract: Serves to contain a concise statement of introductory materials, a hypothesis if relevant, a few key points about the study design or methods, and a few key results.

b) Introduction: Serves as the basis for the study, case report or research trial, usually in the form of a concise review of the pertinent literature that surrounds questions to be explored.

c)  Materials and Methods: Serves as a clear description of the experimental design, if one is used. This section can also describe in sufficient detail how samples were collected and analyzed, necessary quality controls and statistical methods.

d) Results: Serves to present study results, including relevant data and supporting statistical analyses.

e) Discussion: Serves to relate the study to existing literature. The interpretation of the results should be clearly stated in light of the statistical significance and the impact on the poultry industry.

f) Summary: Serves to pull ideas of the paper together to draw any conclusions or Emphasize the importance or relevance of the work.

g) References: Serves to acknowledge the works found in other manuscripts that were utilized in reviewing the literature and producing results of the present study.

  1. All three publications submitted must be separate, stand-alone entities and not duplicated. Topics can be related, but the material within each report should be distinct.
  2. Unacceptable Materials: Reproduction of material available in published texts, procedures manuals and promotional material issued by breeders, pharmaceutical or biologics manufacturers will not satisfy the publications requirement. Abstracts of platform or poster presentations are not acceptable in terms of the publication requirement.

1.6        Application Part 1: Sponsorship by ACPV Diplomates

Three ACPV Diplomates in good standing must serve as sponsors to support the credentialing of the applicant. The Application Part 1 form is found on the Exam/Policy page of the ACPV website. By April 1, six months before the application deadline of October 1, applicants must submit the Part 1 application form to the ACPV office which includes:

  1. A listing of the names and emails of three ACPV Diplomates in good standing who intend to sponsor the applicant.
  2. An indication of the ACPV Diplomate who will serve as the applicant’s primary sponsor. Sponsors will receive the ACPV Sponsorship Form for the purpose of:
    1. Ensuring they are familiar with the criteria by which they will evaluate the applicant.
      1. Informing them that they are expected to provide information pertaining to the

applicant’s thorough preparation for the exam.

1.6.1        ACPV Sponsorship Form

Each sponsor must submit a sponsorship form confidentially to the ACPV for the application to be complete. It is expected that sponsors will provide a frank and factual appraisal of the applicant in relation to his or her suitability to practice poultry veterinary medicine. Sponsors should review the Certifying Exam Handbook for documenting experiences. The sponsor’s endorsement of an applicant certifies that said applicant has been provided the training experience, preparation time and access to training materials adequate to sit for and pass the exam. The Credentials Review Committee can ask for additional documentation or deny the application if there is a discrepancy between the information provided by the applicant and the appraisal by one or more sponsors.

1.7        Application Part 2 Deadline

All applicants are required to submit the completed application to the Executive Vice President by the application deadline of each year. This is an absolute final date and no extensions are granted. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Although the applicant has no direct control over the submission of the three letters of sponsorship, it is expected that appropriate contact between the applicant and sponsors will ensure receipt of the letters of sponsorship by the application deadline.

1.8        Review Procedure Process

The various stages in review and approval ensure that all applicants are considered on an equitable basis and that the best interests of the College, the profession and its constituencies are served.

1.8.1        Initial Review

The Executive Vice President reviews the applications to make sure:

a)  they are complete.

b)  proper documents are uploaded.

c)  documents are properly certified and if the original is in a language other than English, properly translated and certified.

d)   and current valid license or equivalent

If the application contains improper documents, the Executive Vice President can contact the applicant. The Executive Vice President can reject any application that does not meet the requirements.

1.8.2        In Depth Review

The Credentials Review Committee is responsible for the in-depth review of application. The committee:

a) reviews publications and evaluates the applicant in relation to experience, appraisal by sponsors, veterinary degree, formal training.

b) makes the decision regarding acceptability of an applicant to sit for the examination based on the value judgment of all the members of the Credentials Review Committee.

c) generates a list of approved and unapproved applicants and sends the list to the Executive Vice President.

1.8.3        Board of Governors Approval

The American College of Poultry Veterinarians Board of Governors ratifies the list of approved and unapproved applicants.

1.8.4        Notification of Applicants

The Executive Vice President sends letters to all applicants, approved or unapproved. Unsuccessful applicants have the right to appeal the adverse decision as outlined in the by-laws and ACPV Procedural Manual which conform to the requirements of the American Board of Veterinary Specialties.