![]() has been dismissed from a commission that oversees a troubled foreign graduate equivalency program governed by the American Veterinary Medical Association. * An advocate of foreign veterinarians seeking to practice in the U.S. More than 7,000 candidates have successfully completed the ECFVG program since its inception in 1973, the AVMA reports - an average of 140 per year. The AVMA says the issues stem from the pandemic shutdown, which required CPE sites to temporarily close and created a backlog that has been compounded by increased demand. At the same time, the program remains successful, the AVMA maintains, pointing out that 168 ECFVG certificates were awarded last year to graduates of more than 102 veterinary schools in 41 countries, approaching pre-pandemic numbers. Frustrations among applicants have grown so pervasive in recent years that complaints litter social media groups, and an online petition asks the AVMA to "stop discriminating against foreign veterinarians." The ECFVG program, which can cost a candidate upwards of $10,000 to complete, has a reputation for long waits, dense bureaucracy and lax communication. Most veterinarians with degrees from unaccredited schools - all from foreign countries - take the NAVLE after they complete at least three of the ECFVG's four steps: credential verification an English proficiency exam the Basic and Clinical Veterinary Sciences (BCVS) exam and the hands-on Clinical Proficiency Exam (CPE). Passing the NAVLE is required of all veterinarians who wish to practice in the United States or Canada. The ECFVG is a program of the AVMA that enables veterinarians who have graduated from schools not accredited by the AVMA to qualify to take the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination. "What happened to free speech? I thought this was America," Tarassov fumed after the vote, speaking by phone from his hotel. The reason: He had publicly criticized the ECFVG program and spoken to candidates about their experiences, many of them with stories of utter frustration. After hours of deliberation on March 27, they voted to remove Tarassov, a practice owner in Utah, from the meeting. Andrei Tarassov awaited his fate as an advocate for foreign veterinarians looking to practice in the United States.ĭown the hall from his seat at a lobby window, his colleagues on the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates joined AVMA attorney Isham Jones in a conference room. Gazing at the spring sky over the American Veterinary Medical Association headquarters in suburban Chicago, Dr. ![]() Books & VINcyclopedia of Diseases (Formerly Associate).VINcyclopedia of Diseases (Formerly Associate). ![]()
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