The knowledge and experience that a veterinarian possesses has a direct correlative effect on her/his quality of service. As such it becomes important that a veterinarian keep said knowledge up to date. This is done through the mandatory Continuing Education (CE) system. Every veterinarian in practice holding a valid license must renew their license periodically by attending and successfully completing the designated hours (aggregate) of course work in a CE program, in most cases this is 36 hours. A veterinarian is required to submit to a CE program and total up the required hours during a period starting two years before the date of expiry of license and ending on the day of expiry. All CE program requirements are monitored by the regulatory authority, The VMB (Veterinary Medical Board) of the respective states.

Following are the requirements in most states for successful completion of the CE Program and a renewed license:

1. All veterinarians in active practice must submit to completing the designated hours in a CE program during a period of two years prior to date of expiry of their license. If the veterinarian finds she/he is unable to meet the mandatory hours before expiry of license they may choose to either renew their license as inactive or hold a “delinquent” license until their hours are completed. It is to be noted that by statutory law, it is illegal to practice veterinary in the U.S with an inactive license. It may be worthy of note that a veterinarian can gain up to 6 hours of CE credit hours through self study. Self study refers to study by the veterinarian by listening to videotapes, journals etc. You will be asked to submit a full report of all methods of study employed by you.

2. Most CE programs designate 36 hours of study in order to be considered as eligible for renewal of license. This is done through simply signing the attendance sheet at the start of every course day. In most cases a 50-minute class is counted as an hour. After the first 50-minute session, following sessions can be counted at one half-hour i.e. 30 minute sessions, if the veterinarian is otherwise predisposed.

3. There are online options for completion of the course hours as well, where in one enrolls in a CE program online and works through their hours. Please note that only those courses that are approved by the (AAVSB) American Association of Veterinary State Boards are considered as eligible. Online courses are more a matter of convenience to the professional and differ in no other way to the traditional classroom based CE programs. At the end of the program, one must ensure to secure all documentary proof of completion and hold these documents for future review.

4. In some special cases, such as a CE audit the veterinarian maybe required to complete their CE hours during a period not relating to their license expiry date. This is of course due to the spontaneous nature of the audit and all other procedures remain the same.

It is conducted to keep vets up to date and is an ongoing mandatory requirement. It requires in most cases 36 hours completed at designated CE institutions either classroom based or online by completing designated CE courses. Not completing the required CE hour’s results in having to renew the license as inactive or delinquent. In most cases, the CE hours are counted during a period beginning two years prior to the date of expiry of license.