The Certificate of Small Animal Veterinary Practice / Internal Medicine is based on the well-known residential courses of the ESAVS in this discipline, examinations of these courses and keeping a case log which promotes application of newly learned methods and skills in daily practice at home and throughout the whole program.

The Internal Medicine Certificate program comprises three Modules:

Module 1: Courses

ESAVS offers three Internal Medicine programs which provide comprehensive coverage of the discipline, meeting all requirements of Certificate and Master degrees:

Internal Medicine 9-module-program in China: consists of 9 courses of 1-week duration each.
Internal Medicine 3-module-program in Europe: consists of 3 courses of 2 weeks duration each.
Internal Medicine 6-module-program in Europe: consists of 6 courses of 1-week duration each.

To obtain the Certificate of Small Animal Veterinary Practice / Internal Medicine, 25 ECTS credits need to be acquired, depending on which option you choose. 20 ECTS credits minimum have to be collected in the major subject: Internal Medicine

Option 1: A minimum of five 1-week Internal Medicine courses in China (4 ECTS per course)
Option 2: A minimum of two 2-week Internal Medicine courses (10 ECTS per course)
Option 3: A minimum of four 1-week Internal Medicine courses (5 ECTS per course)

The remaining 5 ECTS credits can either be obtained with other ESAVS Internal Medicine courses or in other disciplines (minor subjects). The following ESAVS courses may be validated as minor subjects (list subject to change):
• Emergency and Critical Care 1 & 2
• Cardiology I
• Cytology
• Dermatology 1
• Diagnostic Ultrasound 1
• Endoscopy – Natural Orifices
• Feline Internal Medicine 1 & 2
• Neurology 1
• Oncology 1
• Radiology 1
• Vet Lab in Practice
• Other coursework accumulated from instruction taken outside of ESAVS after approval by the Post Graduate Committee (maximum 5 ECTS credits).

To set up your course curriculum please refer to the individual courses for exact ECTS Credit distribution.

Module 2: Case Logs

During enrolment in the Certificate Program, candidates are expected to apply the new knowledge and skills acquired in the courses to the activity in daily practice. candidates are required to accumulate 100 well-documented cases in the form of a case log. The case log shall be compiled mostly in the second half of the program. Each case inserted in the case log must be supported by detailed documentation. The evaluator may randomly request the documentation for some cases which the candidate must then immediately deliver by email. Further instructions regarding the case spread are available on the ESAVS website (www.esavs.eu) and a template will be provided after enrolment. The case log is evaluated and graded by the examination board. A passing grade has to be obtained.

Module: Examination

An exam must be passed for each course. Examinations are conducted online at the end of each semester. Exams can be taken at any of the bi-annual examination sessions offered during enrolment in the program. They may be spread over several sessions or taken together in one single session. The exams consist of multiple choice questions and examination of appropriate clinical cases or pictures related to the subject(s) covered in that course. A passing grade of 50 % has to be obtained.

The minimum time requirement for the Certificate program is 2 years. Though a prolongation is possible under certain conditions, the maximum time should not exceed 4 years. An applicant can enter the program immediately after graduating from veterinary school but the Certificate can only be obtained when the applicant has been practicing small animal veterinary medicine for at least 3 years since obtaining her/his veterinary degree.

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