CPE fee structure set for new category of applicants

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A fee structure is now in place that will allow graduates of AVMA Council on Education-accredited veterinary colleges to take the Clinical Proficiency Examination to fulfill a state or provincial regulatory board requirement.

The Executive Board approved the fee structure during its June 4-6 meeting.

The CPE is the fourth and final step of the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates certification program. Five existing sites in the United States offer the three-day, hands-on examination of clinical skills.

The fee structure is the same one used for graduates of non-AVMA-accredited colleges who are registered in the ECFVG program. The cost is $6,000 to take the full CPE, with $275 forwarded to the AVMA to defray administrative costs, $725 paid for the quality assurance program fee, and $5,000 forwarded to the site administering the examination. It will cost $1,250 per section, forwarded directly to the site administering the examination, to retake up to three failed sections, in accordance with ECFVG policy.

A recommendation from the commission to change the roles of two of its positions was also approved.

Specifically, the board approved replacing the at-large position on the commission with a public member position.

The at-large position was originally added June 2008, though no such representative has yet been appointed. According to the recommendation's background, the change would minimize potential for unintended conflicts of interest arising from the at-large position, and better meet standards of practice for certifying agencies.

The board also modified the description of and selection process for the nonvoting liaison representing CPE site coordinators on the commission, as recommended.

The ECFVG had recommended that it would be more appropriate for this particular representative to be involved only in commission discussions related to the CPE. In addition, the ECFVG determined, and the board agreed, that the selection process would be more transparent if the site coordinators at ECFVG-approved CPE sites were to appoint this representative.