ACVS is actively advancing its strategic plan, making strides on the four strategic objectives. The College provides an update below on two key areas: training and certification and continuing education.
Strategic objective: Update Training and Certification
One priority of this objective is to provide robust support for residents on the path to becoming ACVS Diplomates.
To that end, ACVS’s information session for new residents returned for its second year in 2025. Anchoring the session were two recent Diplomates who shared valuable insights on maintaining resident logs in CERT, tips on studying and how to approach literature for the Phase I examination and understanding the financial aspects of residency. To ensure transparency, residency fees are readily available on the website.
ACVS continues to ramp up its informal communication to residents, ensuring they know ACVS is ready to support them. Looking ahead, the Board of Regents recently approved creation of a well-being resource web page specifically for residents. Led by the Resident Well-Being Working Group, this initiative will be developed in 2026.
Strategic objective: Focus on Excellence in Continuing Education
Through this strategic objective, the College is dedicated to pursuing additional continuing education (CE) opportunities that meet residents’ learning needs and increases Diplomates’ access to learning across the arc of their careers.
While Surgery Summit offers a concentrated and ever-expanding CE experience, the Continuing Education Committee and ACVS actively pursue CE opportunities for those unable to attend Summit.
Flash Focus webinars were launched this summer. This concentrated webinar series was built for the demanding schedule of veterinary professionals. Each under-an-hour quick webinar in the series breaks down detailed topics into digestible on-demand segments. This year, ACVS launched the new Educational Affiliate Program to build partnerships with external entities to provide highly desired CE opportunities that ACVS does not currently offer.
In addition, ACVS entered a collaboration to provide education on a topic requested by residents in the resident needs assessment. The course delivered valuable learning and fostered a sense of community, giving residents a unique environment to connect with other residents, College leadership, and ACVS staff.
ACVS will continue to update Diplomates and residents on future progress.
