The American Veterinary Medical Association's House of Delegates met on July 14-15 to vote on AVMA resolutions. One of the issues at hand was deciding whether to form a task force to investigate foreign veterinary school accreditation. In the end, delegates did resolve to form the task force, which will address increasing concern about a potential surge of international veterinarians entering the United States.
The task force will study the stability of the U.S. veterinary industry, the time and expense spent on foreign school accreditation, and the impact on veterinary standards if the usual certification tests are waived for foreign graduates.
As of 2011 the AVMA Council on Education has accredited 16 foreign schools, though 11 of those have been accredited since 1998. In 2011, two schools (in Mexico and the West Indies) received accreditation.
How would an average client even know if the vet they were taking their pet to was from an International Vet School?
A client would have to ask directly (or look for a diploma on the wall!). It might be a good question to ask when you are interviewing a new vet for your pet.
The fact that the degree was international shouldn’t necessarily cause you to walk away, however, as there are many excellent vets who pursued their degrees overseas.
What a well researched article with so many areas that feed off of it. It’s also very interesting!