History, Mission, & Documents

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History & Mission

HISTORY

The American Board of Veterinary Ophthalmology® (ABVO®) was established in 2012 to oversee the training and certification of veterinary eye specialists in the United States. The ABVO was granted a Charter from the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists® (ACVO®) to independently coordinate all aspects of residency training program approval and supervision, candidate credential evaluation, the examination for certification, and the standards for maintenance of certification.

ACVO/ABVO Reorganization History (updated 01.02.2018)


MISSION

The mission of the ABVO® is to maintain and improve the quality of medical care provided by veterinary eye specialists by implementing objective standards of excellence and regulating these professional and educational standards for the certification of ABVO-trained veterinary eye specialists worldwide. The goal of both the certification and maintenance of certification programs is to assure the pet-owning public that professionals certified by the ABVO® have completed an approved training program and successfully passed a rigorous examination process designed to assess the medical knowledge and the diagnostic and surgical skills necessary to treat ophthalmic disorders of animals. Once certified, standards for maintenance of certification ensure that these standards of distinction are continued.

View Charter Document

“What is the ACVO?” (Video)


Relationship to the ACVO®

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RELATIONSHIP TO THE ACVO®

The ABVO® operates under a Charter that was approved by the membership of the ACVO®, functioning under the umbrella of the ACVO® and thus utilizes the same tax ID number and related associations as the ACVO®. Administrative services are managed by the same office staff. The ABVO® is charged with submitting a budget for approval annually to the ACVO®. It is autonomous in its decision making power, concerning certification of veterinary ophthalmologists.

BOARD MEMBERSHIP SELECTION

ABVO® board members are voted into office via electronic ballot provided to all boarded Diplomates of the College, assuming that the organization has correct contact information. It is the responsibility of the Diplomate to keep contact information up to date with the ABVO® to ensure such correspondence reaches each individual. Votes are held electronically between June and July annually. A call for nominations are issued each May. The call for nominations can be found annually on the announcements page.

TITLE USE

When a veterinarian becomes boarded by the ABVO®, he or she will earn the title "Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists®" or "DACVO®" and are allowed to use these trademarks. View more information on appropriate title use.

A boarded Diplomate of the ACVO® is not required to be a member of the ACVO®, although to be a member one must be a boarded Diplomate (this arrangement differs from most every other veterinary specialty in the country.) This web site provides a complete list of living Diplomates by name, the ACVO® web site will provide referral and contact information of Diplomate-Members, as this is one of many member benefits.

Visit ACVO.org for more information on the parent entity
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Organizational Documents
& Credentialing Reports

ABVO Documents

ABVO Charter

(Approved 11.2018)

ABVO Policies & Procedures

(Approved 03.27.2024)

 

ABVO Annual Credentialing Reports & Summaries

 

2023 Credentialing Report

(Posted 10.2023)

2022 Credentialing Report

(Posted 10.2022)

2021 Credentialing Report

(Posted 04.2022)

 

2020 Credentialing Report

(Posted 12.2020)

2019 Credentialing Report

(Posted 10.2019)

2018 Credentialing Report

(Posted 09.2018)

 

2017 Credentialing Report

(Posted 10.2017)

2016 Credentialing Report

(Posted 10.2016)

2015 Credentialing Report

(Posted 11.2015)

 

2014 Credentialing Report

(Posted 11.2014)

2013 Credentialing Report

(Posted 05.2014, Issued 12.2013)

Annual Board Summary 2013-2014

(Approved 05.2014)