Comments sought on proposed specialty in equine diagnostic imaging

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The AVMA American Board of Veterinary Specialties has received a petition for recognition of equine diagnostic imaging as a new specialty within the American College of Veterinary Radiology. In compliance with ABVS procedures, the board is seeking comment from the public and the profession regarding the proposed specialty.

This is a still image from a video about the proposed specialty in equine diagnostic imaging within the American College of Veterinary Radiology. The video is available at jav.ma/equineimaging along with the petition for recognition of the specialty. (Video by Joe Vasos)
video still image

The organizing committee of the proposed specialty submitted a letter of intent to the ABVS in 2015 and a formal petition for recognition of the specialty to the ABVS Committee on the Development of New Specialties in November 2017.

According to a one-page description from the organizing committee: "Equine imaging continues to be a quickly expanding field. The current ACVR format is heavily weighted towards small animal imaging, which limits the time for training in equine diagnostic imaging and deters some talented veterinarians with a strong interest in equine imaging from entering the field. The goal of this proposal is to provide a specialty within ACVR with dedicated training for the equine radiologist to increase their service to equine general practitioners and specialists; to further raise the standard of care of equine imaging; and promote research, teaching and academic development in equine imaging, as well as clinical service."

The AVMA currently recognizes 22 specialty organizations and 32 specialties, with the ACVR currently certifying diplomates in radiology and radiation oncology. All AVMA-recognized specialty organizations and specialties comply with recognition guidelines outlined in the ABVS Policies and Procedures manual. Refer to those guidelines when developing comments regarding the proposed specialty of equine diagnostic imaging.

A link to the petition in PDF format as submitted to the ABVS can be found on the ACVR website at jav.ma/equineimaging. Comments must be signed and received no later than Sept. 17.

Send comments regarding consideration of recognition of equine diagnostic imaging as a veterinary specialty to ABVSatavma [dot] org (ABVS[at]avma[dot]org).