aquatic veterinary education & clinical competency/certification programs to Meet Producer & Regulatory Needs  

With the growth of aquaculture and the increasing impact of diseases there is a need to ensure an adequate aquatic veterinary workforce of well-trained individuals. A wide range of knowledge, skills and education/experience (KSAs) is required to provide a variety of veterinary or veterinary-related services. These include veterinarians needed in private practice, and those employed by governmental agencies, diagnostic laboratories and other aquatic animal health-related institutions and companies. Given the very diverse needs, roles, expertize and the responsibilities required of this workforce, a concerted and collaborative effort of academic institutions, government agencies, and veterinary and non-veterinary organizations is needed to ensure this workforce has the KSAs to provide these services. Fortunately, several programs are in place and are continually being refined to help ensure training and credentialing of sufficient numbers of experienced individuals, both at national and international levels.

Although the utilization of private aquatic veterinary practitioners by aquatic animal owners and industries over the last several decades has been slow (primarily because of reluctance of producers to utilize and pay for veterinary services), the availability of education, training and credentialing programs for aquatic veterinarians has increased. These include courses in both veterinary and non-veterinary degree-earning curricula, and extracurricular continuing education and professional development (CEPD) programs offered by academic institutions, and veterinary and non-veterinary organizations. While it is difficult to determine the number of para-veterinary professionals with experience in aquatic veterinary-related fields, the number of veterinarians registered in an online Directory of Aquatic Veterinarians (at www.AquaVetMed.info) as increased progressively since 2006 to more than 3,000. However, given that there are now at least 19 aquatic veterinary or para-veterinary organizations which cater to aquatic veterinary medicine, the number of veterinarians actually engaged in this discipline is probably closer to 10-15,000. Preliminary results of an ongoing survey of all 30 veterinary schools currently accredited by the AVMA Council on Education in N. America and elsewhere, and a 2014 survey of European veterinary schools by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, indicate a large number of required and elective courses covering a variety of core aquatic-oriented subjects are currently in veterinary school curricula. Some courses have been offered for more than 20 years. While most of these courses provide sufficient training necessary to practice aquatic veterinary medicine after graduation, no veterinary school currently adequately covers all nine of the subject matters areas considered essential for aquatic veterinary practice.

To address this, a new Certified Aquatic Veterinarian (CertAqV) Program has been initiated by the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association to recognize and credential KSAs acquired from a combination of academic, CEPD, or self-study sources at the level expected for a graduate of a University degree that allows a person to practice veterinary medicine (i.e. "Day-1" competency).  Importantly, the subject matter required to earn CertAqV recognition covers requirements that compliment and support several initiatives such as those in N. America, Europe, Australia/New Zealand and elsewhere to ensure veterinary education meets contemporary society needs. Furthermore the program offers a template of what might be covered in veterinary curricula and addresses the needs of standard setting bodies such as the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). In addition the program also compliments National Veterinary Accreditation programs designed to authorize and allow private practitioners to perform aquatic veterinary work on behalf of the government. At the same time it serves as an introduction for developing aquatic veterinary Board Certification programs that recognizes advance KSAs above those of the average practicing veterinarian.