These instructions will NOT apply to NEW applications.  They will remain available here during application review. New instructions for next year's application (2021 application/ 2022 exam) will be posted shortly - stay tuned!!

In addition to the Core Requirements, you must also complete the following for a Small Animal Internal Medicine credentialing. To view this list as a PDF, please click here. 

Approved Abbreviation List: This list contains accepted abbreviations that may be used without expansion. All other abbreviations must be expanded when first used in both your case logs and your case reports.

Step 7 Advanced Skills Requirements
  • Provide documentary evidence of advanced competence in small animal internal medicine through clinical experience, as demonstrated by mastery of at least 80% of the Advanced Veterinary Internal Medicine Technician skill form.  "Mastery" is defined as the ability to perform the skill with a high degree of success in different species and patients, with different disease conditions, and with minimal to no coaching or supervision.
  • You will also need to cross reference these skills on your case logs. You are not required to reference every skill on the list in your case logs, but you are encouraged to reference as many as possible. At a minimum, at least 50% of the Advanced Skills signed off as "Mastered" must be referenced.  
  • You do not need to reference an advanced skill every time it is used, but every time it is referenced, the corresponding skill number must be cited. Common advanced skills should be cited sufficiently to demonstrate proficiency (5-10 times) and distributed across the case log, so that the cited skill is referenced in as wide variety of patients and cases as possible.
  • There are two options for who may sign your skills list verifying mastery of the Advanced Skill:
  1. Option 1 – If you work 75% or more in SAIM, any DVM or a VTS member of AVTAA, AVTCP, or AVECCTN may sign off on the skills list.
  2. Option 2 – If you work 55-75% in SAIM,  only  a VTS or Diplomate in SAIM may sign off on the skills list.

Step 8 Advanced Knowledge Requirements
Step 9 Case Log Requirements
  • Case Logs can only include cases from October 1st of the preceding year through September 30th of the year of application. Cases should be entered sequentially into the log beginning with the earliest date and proceeding to the last date.
  • The AIMVT case log form format must be utilized.
  • A minimum of fifty cases must be recorded. Multiple visits by the same patient count as only 1 case unless presented for an entirely new problem. They can be utilized to demonstrate advanced nursing skills but they will not count towards your total case count after the initial entry.
  • Do not list skills by their number, please write out all skills, and reference the skill number in parentheses after listing the skill performed or assisted with. Basic skills can be listed but advanced skills must also be represented for a case to qualify. Repetitive listing of skills may lead to disqualification of the case from the log unless other skills are also represented.
  • Over-submission of cases is encouraged in case of disqualification, with a maximum number of cases set at 75.
  • Cases selected should reflect management of patients in the area of small animal internal medicine. Cases selected should demonstrate your mastery of advanced nursing skills. Every effort to document a wide variety of advanced nursing skills should be reflected in your case selection and must cross reference to your skills list. You are encouraged to select cases that demonstrate more than one advanced skill. Emphasis should be on quality rather than quantity, although a sufficient caseload must be available to provide experience with all common types of internal medicine cases. It is recognized that the veterinary technician has little control over the practice case load, yet the applicant is encouraged to demonstrate as much diversity as reasonably possible.
  • Drug names (generic), dosage (mg/kg), and amount administered (in mg, not ml) should be listed. For example, it is not acceptable to write “induced anesthesia”: the actual names, dosages, and amounts of pre-anesthetic and anesthetic drugs should be listed.
  • You may download examples of case logs HERE. 
  • Click here to download the fillable AIMVT Case Log Form. 

Step 10 Case Reports Requirements
  • Four in depth case reports selected from the case log demonstrating expertise in the nursing management of a variety of small animal internal medicine patients. All case reports are to be written in the style of the 3rd person and should follow the Case Report Outline.  Cases selected for case reports are not required to be rare or unusual.  Diseases commonly seen in practice are acceptable. Case selection should be based on the ability to demonstrate advanced skills and knowledge.
  • To demonstrate an understanding of the case include a detailed discussion of the disease process, diagnostics, treatments, goals of therapy, and your mastery of advanced nursing skills. This is critical.  Occasional citing of references is acceptable however, the body of the discussion is expected to be put into the candidates words. Spelling and grammar are to be flawless. AIMVT has provided an example of a previous case report, this example is not 100% perfect but represents superior work by previous applicants. Small Animal CASE REPORT EXAMPLE.
  • If you wish to include laboratory reports with your case report, please add them as appendices to your case report.  These lab reports will not count towards your total page or character count.  You may submit laboratory reports in whatever format you prefer; you may download our lab form here.
  • A weighted scale will be used to score your case report, for more information please follow this link.