Veterinary technicians who wish to specialize in the area of internal medicine may apply for admission to the The Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians.

The academy was granted provisional recognition by NAVTA’s Committee on Veterinary Technician Specialties in March 2006. The academy’s mission is to promote and advance the skills of veterinary technicians within the discipline of internal medicine by providing quality opportunities for continuing education and by advocating for superior patient care, client education, and consumer protection. The academy also works to establish the standard prerequisite requirements for education and experience for official certification as a Veterinary Technician Specialist (Internal Medicine). Credentialing exams are administered by the AIMVT, and continued professional development is one of the obligations of all who choose to specialize in this field.

Application Requirements – VTS (Internal Medicine)

Candidates who wish to sit for the AIMVT certification exam must first submit an application and case log. The application requirements are as follows:

• Have a minimum of 3 years with 6,000 hours of experience as a licensed veterinary technician in the field of Internal Medicine. All experience must be completed within the five years prior to date of application submission. You must spend at least 75% of your time in the area of internal medicine.
• Have a minimum of 40 hours of continuing education. 70% of these CE credit hours must be within your sub-specialty. Up to 30% of the hours may be related to general internal medicine. The continuing education must be completed within the five years prior to application submission. Proof of CE attendance is required.
• Provide documented evidence of advanced competence in the selected area of specialization of internal medicine through clinical experience. This equates to completion of at least 80% of the Advanced Veterinary Internal Medicine Technician skill form. Case logs should cross-reference these at least 50% of these skills. You can find skill forms for your selected area of specialization (cardiology, oncology, large animal, small animal, or neurology) on the AIMVT web site.
• Provide evidence of advanced knowledge of disease states and processes by completing the Advanced Veterinary Internal Medicine Knowledge Form. You can find this document on the official AIMVT web site.
• 50 case logs formatted to AIMVT standards must be presented. Cases should reflect the management of patients in the area of your sub-specialization.  Case logs should document a wide variety of your advanced nursing skills should and must cross reference to your specialty skills list. Multiple visits by the same patient count as only 1 case unless presented for an entirely new problem.
• 4 detailed case reports formatted to AIMVT guidelines must be presented. Case reports are in-depth explorations of four of your case logs which demonstrate expertise in the nursing management of a variety of internal medicine veterinary patients. Case logs should demonstrate thorough understanding of the case as well as detailed analysis of the disease process, diagnostics, treatments, therapy, and the advanced nursing skills used for the case.
• Submit three potential exam questions related to your chosen sub-specialty. These examination questions should represent your advanced skills or knowledge.
• Two letters of recommendation from a VTS (Internal Medicine ) , or a Diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Once the application requirements have been met and approved, you can sit for the AIMVT credentialing examination. Candidates who successfully pass this examination have earned the designation of Veterinary Technician Speciality (Internal Medicine).