NAVLE/PAVE Questions

I'm pretty sure they are 2 separate tests. A vet that went there took the PAVE towards the end of her 2nd year (i think), and then took NAVLE her 4th year.

PAVE is a test for people that don't graduate from AVMA accredited schools. http://www.aavsb.org/PAVE/PAVEHome.aspx The PAVE is relatively new and only accepted in some states. There is a link down at the bottom of the page that opens a pdf stating what states it is accepted in. The other alternative is is the ECVFG, which I believe is accepted in all states. http://www.avma.org/education/ecfvg/default.asp I believe it is more expensive and offered less frequently than the PAVE, but I'm not sure about this. I also heard that the PAVE has an agreement for them to come down and administer it at the veterinary schools in the Carribbean, whereas I believe you have to travel to the states to pass the ECVFG. After you pass one of these test you take the NAVLE (North American Veterinary Liscensing Exam), which is offered twice a year in online testing locations. I know US vet students take it during their fourth year, so presumably you'd take the PAVE before leaving the island and the NAVLE after you go to a US school for your rotations. The NAVLE is offered twice a year in Nov/Dec and April. Most people pass in Nov/Dec. After you have passed one of the equivalency exams and the NAVLE, you can happily practice in the US.

When they say the PAVE exam is offered 3 times per year, they mean once per semester. You take the PAVE qualifying exam in your 6th semester here, and if you don't pass you can re-take it in 7th (but there's an 85% first-time pass rate here, so that's comforting). When you pass the PAVE, you get a certificate and that certificate, along with having passed your clinical rotations, qualifies you to take the NAVLE during your senior year. There are 28 states that accept the PAVE (Maryland is not one of them, but I think that VA is), and other states are working on changing their legislature to accept it.

The other exam that they're referring to is the ECVFG, which is run by the AVMA, and therefore accepted by all 50 states. The ECVFG isn't taken until your senior year, and it's a 3-4 day exam, including hands-on clinical exams.

Whichever one of these exams that you take, you still have to take the NAVLE. Basically all these exams do is say that you're up to snuff with someone who went to a US (AVMA-accredited) school. The PAVE is nice because it's cheaper ($1000), and doesn't involve a grueling 3-day process, but it's not accepted everywhere. The ECVFG is accepted everywhere, but sounds like a pain in the butt to me, and costs $6500.

We just had a seminar about licensure last week, so I'm a font of knowledge.

What's the pass rate on the ECVFG?

That I don't know... guess I'm not such a font of knowledge.

I think they (Ross) don't have that statistic for two reasons: 1) most Ross students elect to take the PAVE, and 2) the PAVE is administered here and the ECFVG isn't, so I'd think it would be easier for them to figure out the pass rate for the PAVE. I'll see if I can find anything out about the ECFVG pass rate, and get back to you.