ACVS Diplomate Maintenance of Certification Approved Activities List
Diplomates must achieve a total of 100 activity points.
- A minimum of 70 activity points must be within the Diplomate’s respective specialty of certification of small animal surgery or large animal surgery.
- Activities completed in other species or non-patient care topics will count towards the 100 activity points needed but will not count towards the 70 points required within your surgical specialty.
| Attendance/completion of an AAVSB RACE-approved continuing education activity (e.g., conference, meeting, laboratory, course, webinar, etc.).
Upload a copy of CE certificate showing AAVSB RACE-approved CE hours completed. |
Maximum points allowed 1 per AAVSB RACE approved CE hour |
| Attendance/completion of a non-AAVSB RACE-approved continuing education activity. Activity must meet the requirements shown Appendix A in for acceptance.
Upload copy of program description or document showing learning objectives for the activity. Upload copy of schedule/agenda indicating hours of education included. Upload published list of expert speakers/instructors with credentials. Upload a copy of completion certificate. |
Maximum points allowed 1 per continuing education hour completed |
| View appendix B for requirements for original material. | |
| Presentation of original material at national or international meeting.
Upload copy of abstract or proceeding. Minimum of 30-minute presentation. No partial credit given. |
Maximum points allowed 5 per ½ hour, 10 per hour |
| Presentation of original material in brief abstract form at national or international meeting.
Upload copy of abstract or proceeding. |
Maximum points allowed |
| Presentation of original material as a scientific poster at national or international meeting.
Upload copy of poster abstract or proceeding. |
Maximum points allowed 5 points per presentation |
| Participation as a panelist at a national or international meeting.
Upload copy of proceedings page. |
Maximum points allowed 2 points per panel activity |
| Continuing education lecture and/or laboratory instruction (non-original material) at national or international meeting.
Upload copy of abstract or proceeding. |
Maximum points allowed 5 per presentation or laboratory max. 50 per cycle |
| Continuing education webinar presentation
Upload copy of abstract or proceeding. |
Maximum points allowed 2 per presentation |
| Presentation to local/state/regional veterinary group
Upload copy of abstract or proceeding. |
Maximum points allowed 2 per presentation max. 30 per cycle |
| Resident advisor or primary advisor for a presentation by a student/intern/resident lecturing at a national or international scientific meeting.
Upload copy of abstract or proceeding or other proof of formal mentoring relationship with the presenter. |
Maximum points allowed 1 per lecture max. 25 per cycle |
| Publication of original work in peer-reviewed journal as first author.
Upload reference or journal acceptance letter for each publication. |
Maximum points allowed 20 per publication |
| Publication of original work in peer-reviewed journal as primary advisor behind an ACVS resident as first author. Only the primary advisor of an ACVS resident-authored paper can claim 10 points. Other contributing authors should claim 5 points as non-first author (see next option).
Upload reference or journal acceptance letter for each publication. |
Maximum points allowed 10 per publication |
| Publication of original work in peer-reviewed journal as non-first author
Upload reference or journal acceptance letter that includes the Diplomate name as an author for each publication. If the journal acceptance letter does not list all authors, an accompanying assertion of authorship by the journal editor or senior author is required to validate points awarded in this category. |
Maximum points allowed 5 per publication |
| Publication of review articles as first author.
Upload reference for each publication. |
Maximum points allowed 10 per publication |
| Publication of case reports, etc., as first author.
Upload reference for each publication. |
Maximum points allowed 5 per publication |
| Publication of textbook chapters as sole author or as co-author.
Upload reference for each chapter. |
Maximum points allowed 10 per chapter (sole author) 5 per chapter (co-authors) |
| Author of ACVS “Animal Health Topic” articles and “Surgery STAT” articles accepted by the Public Outreach Committee.
Upload notification of acceptance from the Communication Committee. |
Maximum points allowed 2 per article |
| These activities must be completed after initial certification is achieved and prior to current certificate expiration (i.e., within the Diplomate’s maintenance period). | |
| Take and pass the ACVS Phase II Examination in species of certification (small or large animal). | Maximum points allowed 100 |
| Completion of an ACVS Fellowship and approval as an ACVS Fellow.
ACVS staff will record fellowship activities after credential has been awarded by ACVS. |
Maximum points allowed 100 |
| Pursuit of certification in another ABVS-recognized veterinary specialty. Upload letter each year from advisor stating candidate is in good standing. See Appendix C if program was started prior to 2023. |
Maximum points allowed 20 points per year |
| Pursuit of a postgraduate academic degree (i.e., master’s or doctorate). Upload letter each year from advisor stating candidate is in good standing. See Appendix C if program was started prior to 2023. |
Maximum points allowed 20 points per year |
| Examination Committee |
Maximum points allowed |
| Research Committee |
Maximum points allowed |
| Resident Credentialing Committee |
Maximum points allowed |
| Reviewer of “Animal Health Topics” or “Surgery STAT” articles for the Communication Committee. |
Maximum points allowed |
| Reviewer of ACVS Surgery Summit scientific abstracts. |
Maximum points allowed |
| Editor/reviewer on review board or ad hoc for journal or textbook Upload confirmation or email from Editor. |
Maximum points allowed |
| Program must have a valid registration with ACVS during the effective dates of supervision in order to receive points. If a program’s registration is suspended, the period of time between the suspension and reinstatement of registration cannot be counted toward maintenance of certification. | |
| Name of resident(s) and effective dates of supervision. |
Maximum points allowed |
| Creation of an original online training/assessment module that receives approval by the MCC for use by ACVS Diplomates for maintenance of certification. See Appendix D for requirements to submit for approval. |
Maximum points allowed |
| All such requests may be submitted to the MCC any time prior to the activity or not later than 90 days after the activity concludes. Requests submitted more than 90 days after the activity will not be considered for individual activity points. |
|
| A Diplomate may submit a request to the MCC for a specific activity to be approved for maintenance of certification points. The request is submitted online in the CERT system. An activity is approved for the requesting Diplomate-only. Examples include surgery-related case reports with an attached literature review, surgery case logs detailing cutting-edge case care, etc. |
Maximum points allowed |
Appendices
Appendix A: Requirements for acceptance of non-AAVSB RACE-approved continuing education activities:
To be accepted for ACVS maintenance of certification, a non-AAVSB RACE-approved continuing education activity must be education-focused, have clear learning objectives, have specialist or expert speakers, and provide a completion certificate to the Diplomate. To record activity points from a non-AAVSB RACE-approved continuing education activity, Diplomates must be able to provide supporting documentation showing these requirements are met:
- program description or other published document describing the learning objectives of the activity;
- program schedule or agenda documenting the hours of education provided by the activity;
- published list of the presenting speakers/instructors with their credentials or other indication that the speaker/presenter is a recognized specialist/leader/expert in the subject matter (e.g., advanced degree); and
- a completion certificate for the activity issued by the providing organization.
Supporting documentation must be provided in English or with an English translation that clearly states all of the required information.
Appendix B: Requirements for Original Material
- Presentations are considered original if they originate from work done by the presenter as primary investigator or as immediate supervisor/Resident Advisor for the project.
- Manuscripts considered as original work must adhere to the following guidelines and must follow a scientific approach, containing:
-
- an introductory statement which summarizes the reason for the study,
- a clearly stated hypothesis or objective,
- an appropriate description of techniques used to satisfy the hypothesis or objective,
- a report of the results appropriate to the study,
- a discussion which interprets the results and relation to the original hypothesis or objective, and
- a conclusion which summarizes the importance of the study.
Appendix C: Pursuit of a certification in another ABVS-recognized veterinary specialty or postgraduate academic degree (e.g., master’s or doctorate ) prior to 2023
The MCC acknowledges pursuing an additional graduate degree or another ABVS-recognized veterinary specialty will expand the Diplomate’s knowledge base and have the potential to impact the future of veterinary surgery and/or their patient care.
A Diplomate pursuing additional ABVS-recognized veterinary specialty certification, who started their training program prior to March 2023, may choose to submit under the previous activity points structure in which Diplomates receive up to 100 points after passing the credentialing examination. Alternatively, the Diplomate may choose to pursue the new activity points structure if they started their program prior March 2023. If so, the Diplomate must submit letters of good standing for each year that they have completed prior to the approval of the new activity points structure. Consequently, the Diplomate would not be eligible for receiving 100 activity points after passing the credentialing examination.
Postgraduate degrees (e.g., master’s or doctorate) no longer require the submission of an additional activity request. The Diplomate can record activity points for each year of postgraduate training after achieving ACVS certification. Previously approved additional activity requests continue to be honored.
Appendix D: Creation of an Original Online Training/Assessment Modules for Activity Points
The Diplomate must include a detailed description of the training module they have created, expected learning outcomes for users, and expected Diplomate time and effort expended. The MCC will evaluate the applicability and depth of the content for relevance to Diplomate continuous professional development. The determination of the points to be awarded to a Diplomate for creation of an original online training/assessment module may take longer than three weeks depending on the complexity of the proposal submitted.
