Murdoch vs Adelaide (AVMA question)

[Shoober9000]

I know that as usual there isn't going to be a huge proportion of Australian members: but my main question for you guys is about AVMA Accreditation, and not about specific differences between these two schools.

Murdoch is Accredited by
- AVBC Australasian Veterinary Boards Council
- AVMA American Veterinary Medical Association’s College of Education
- RCVS Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

Adelaide is accredited by
- AVBC Australasian Veterinary Boards Council
- RCVS Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
- Veterinary Surgeons’ Board of Hong Kong
(They have been looking into the AVMA, but as far as I'm aware that hasn't happened yet)

What is the average time / $$$ investment to complete the registration process as a non-accredited vet after the fact?
e.g. to do all of the following to be able to practice in Canada?
The Basic and Clinical Sciences Examinations (BCSE); -> The North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE®); -> The Preliminary Surgical Assessment for the CPE (PSA) -> The Clinical Proficiency Examination (CPE).

Is there a max period of time after graduating an accredited school, where if you don't do the NAVLE soon enough, you then have to do more of this process anyway?


I have no specific ties or plans to go to Canada, but it is a place I always wanted to go. I just don't want this decision to come back and haunt me in the future

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[JaynaAli]

There are usually quite a few posts on the Vet forum (not pre-vet) about the ECFVG process from foreign trained veterinarians. Someone over there who doesn't venture to pre-vet may have a better answer to your question than many of us vets and vet students who hang here.

My understanding is that the ECFVG/BSCE, CPE, NAVLE process costs thousands of dollars. My residentmate was Brazilian and he said it would cost like $4,000 or more in test fees alone, not to mention prep courses and all that. I think the testing process can take a couple years since you have to pass each step before you can take the next one. And since NAVLE only gets offered in two periods a year you can be waiting even once you do pass the BSCE/CPE. So in my only semi-knowledgeable opinion, if there's a chance you might go to the US/Canada and all other things are relatively similar, I'd pick the one with more options/accreditations.

 

[ajs513]

I have a bit more background with this than most people so I can add a little more. Jayna pretty much covered all of it. I don’t know if any time limit in getting your degree and then taking the exams. I’ve known vets who came to America decades after getting their veterinary degrees and could take it just the same. However, the test is rigorous. It’s EXTREMELY difficult and many many people fail at least one part of it. If you fail one part of the practical portion of the ECFVG then you retake that part. If you fail it again then you retake the whole exam. Many vets in that position end up just moving home because they don’t have the money to stick around and wait while also earning no money.

A vet I worked for worked as a tech in Canada while studying (lots of Indian vets do that apparently while waiting to get licensed), then came to America and worked at a convenience store as a cashier. A friend of his failed the test twice and moved back to India. Another friend failed twice and stayed in Canada. It’s not an easy process and people mainly do it because they either really really want to or because they have to for a multitude of reasons. Of course how easy it is can depend on your education but the fact remains that it’s not an easy test. You’re being tested on things you will very well never do depending on your field, like correcting dystocia in a cow. It’s 7 practicals over like three days in a row. Extremely mentally and physically taxing.

Long story short, if you know you want to practice in the US and you have the option to go to an AVMA accredited school, do that. Absolutely do that. There’s no reason in my mind to put yourself through unnecessary stress when at the end of the day you’re ending up in the same place. Unless you fail the ECFVG twice. Then you’re potentially ending up not in the United States.