ECFVG certification (Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates)

USA · American Veterinary Medical Association · licensing · secondary source

200practice questions written to this syllabus
9subjects

Format

Four steps: enrolment and proof of graduation; English proficiency; BCSE; Clinical Proficiency Examination (CPE), a 3-day, 7-section hands-on exam. Anaesthesia and Surgery are pass/fail; other sections need at least 60.

Sections

Over the years

The AVMA pages were behind a CAPTCHA, so the step details come from search snippets and the CVMA CPE page; treat them as partly unverified. Exact English cut-offs are unverified.

Official source: https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/accreditation-and-national-examining-board/national-examining-board/clinical-proficiency-examination-cpe/

Subjects this exam draws on

Special Pathology, Necropsy & Clinical Pathology6 questionsVeterinary Anaesthesiology & Analgesia16 questionsDiagnostic Imaging: Radiology and Ultrasonography5 questionsRegional Veterinary Surgery35 questionsPreventive Veterinary Medicine II: Viral and Parasitic Diseases1 questionsEquine Medicine, Surgery & Practice22 questionsEmergency & Critical Care, Fluid Therapy and Euthanasia34 questionsVeterinary Clinical Practice (Veterinary Clinical Complex)69 questionsVeterinary Pharmacy, Prescribing Law & Medicines Regulation12 questions

Five practice questions, worked

Original questions written to this exam's published syllabus and pattern. Not past papers.

1. At necropsy of a horse with colic, why should the position of the intestine be recorded before any organ is removed?

  1. Removal causes post-mortem rupture that mimics colic
  2. A displacement, volvulus or torsion cannot be confirmed once the bowel has been moved
  3. The bowel must be fixed in situ with formalin before histopathology samples can be taken
  4. Intestinal position shows the time since death
Answer and working

B. A displacement, volvulus or torsion cannot be confirmed once the bowel has been moved

Positional lesions exist only in situ; lifting the bowel undoes or creates twists. Post-mortem ruptures do occur, but they are recognised by clean edges without haemorrhage, not prevented by in-situ inspection.

Special Pathology, Necropsy & Clinical Pathology · Post-mortem technique

2. A dog with a bleeding splenic mass is hypovolaemic. Why should acepromazine be avoided in its premedication?

  1. It is a potent opioid that causes severe respiratory depression in shocked dogs
  2. It raises blood pressure sharply and so worsens bleeding from the splenic mass
  3. Its alpha-1 blockade causes vasodilation and hypotension that cannot be reversed
  4. It inhibits platelet COX-1 permanently and so prevents clot formation at surgery
Answer and working

C. Its alpha-1 blockade causes vasodilation and hypotension that cannot be reversed

Acepromazine blocks peripheral alpha-1 adrenoceptors, causing vasodilation; a hypovolaemic animal depends on vasoconstriction to hold its blood pressure, and there is no antagonist. It is a phenothiazine, not an opioid; it lowers rather than raises pressure; and irreversible COX-1 inhibition is the action of aspirin.

Veterinary Anaesthesiology & Analgesia · Pre-anaesthetic medication

3. A dog is placed on its back and the X-ray beam passes from its ventral to its dorsal surface. The projection is called:

  1. Right lateral
  2. Dorsoventral (DV)
  3. Craniocaudal
  4. Ventrodorsal (VD)
Answer and working

D. Ventrodorsal (VD)

Projections are named from where the beam enters to where it exits. Ventral entry and dorsal exit is ventrodorsal, with the animal in dorsal recumbency. DV has the animal on its sternum.

Diagnostic Imaging: Radiology and Ultrasonography · Radiographic positioning

4. A cornual block uses 8 mL of 2% lidocaine on each side of an adult cow. How many milligrams of lidocaine are given in total?

  1. 160 mg
  2. 3,200 mg
  3. 320 mg
  4. 32 mg
Answer and working

C. 320 mg

A 2% solution contains 2 g per 100 mL, which is 20 mg/mL. Each side: 8 mL x 20 mg/mL = 160 mg; two sides: 320 mg. 160 mg is only one side; 32 mg comes from reading 2% as 2 mg/mL; 3,200 mg comes from reading it as 200 mg/mL. Volumes and maximum doses must be confirmed against the product label and your national formulary.

Regional Veterinary Surgery · Dehorning

5. Which test is the traditional serological test for equine infectious anaemia required for horse movement in many countries?

  1. Rose Bengal plate test
  2. Agar gel immunodiffusion (Coggins) test
  3. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT)
  4. Mallein intradermal test
Answer and working

B. Agar gel immunodiffusion (Coggins) test

The Coggins test is an AGID test for antibody to EIA virus, with ELISA also used and positives confirmed. Rose Bengal is for brucellosis; mallein is for glanders; MAT is for leptospirosis.

Preventive Veterinary Medicine II: Viral and Parasitic Diseases · Viral diseases of horses

Practise it, and prove it

These notes are free to read here, with no account.

What the Laisha app adds:

Free for ten days, then a subscription. We would rather write that here than have you find it later.

Open Laisha →