Introduction
The European College of Veterinary Neurology (ECVN) is the certifying
organisation for specialists in veterinary neurology regulated by the European
Board of Veterinary Specialisation (EBVS). ECVN is a non-profit organisation
which functions to advance veterinary neurology by authenticating veterinarians
as specialists in veterinary neurology and by advancing knowledge relating to
the pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy and the control of diseases affecting the
nervous system of animals.
History of the College
The European Society of Veterinary Neurology (ESVN)
Since the nineteen-eighties a growing interest in veterinary specialisation in
Europe existed which has fostered the creation of several specialty
organisations. In September 1985, a group of veterinarians, active in the field
of veterinary neurology, founded the European Society of Veterinary Neurology
(ESVN) in Paris, France. The ESVN has served since then interlinked with the
ECVN as a forum for veterinarians interested in all aspects of the nervous
system of animals. ESVN further has promoted research and scientific progress in
the field of veterinary and comparative neurology to improve diagnosis,
treatment and prevention of neurological disorders. An important objective is
also training and continuing education in veterinary neurology. The adaptation
of a European transnational specialisation system by the Advisory Committee for
Veterinary Training of the European Union in 1991 inspired the ESVN to develop
guidelines for the formal recognition of veterinary neurology as a specialty. It
was recognised that from the view of the profession as well as the animal owner
there is a need for special expertise in diagnosis and treatment of neurological
diseases in animals and that such expertise should be subject to stringent
quality control by defining precise requirements for training, knowledge and
experience. The ESVN executive decided to initiate the process of formal
specialisation in veterinary neurology.
The European College of Veterinary Neurology (ECVN)
During 1992 a set of criteria for de
facto membership of the proposed College was established, and a call for
applications for de facto specialist status in veterinary neurology was
published in several European veterinary journals. An ad hoc credentials
committee was appointed consisting of two past presidents of the ESVN (Prof. J.
Mayhew, UK, and Prof. M. Vandevelde, Switzerland) and one Diplomate of the
neurology chapter of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine: Prof
J. Oliver (USA). This ad hoc committee was commissioned to screen the applicants
seeking de facto membership. Prof. J. Griffiths (UK) was appointed as
adjudicator to supervise the process independently from the ad hoc committee.
The ESVN executive stressed that the process of selecting and appointing de
facto Diplomates was a one time event which was not to be repeated in the
future.
The selection of the candidates took place during the first half of 1993
and was based on a set of criteria related to training and experience in
veterinary neurology amongst which academic teaching experience, research, and
publications in the field of veterinary neurology were heavily weighted. The
following de facto members were selected and proposed to the ESVN Executive
Committee in June 1993: Bichsel P. (Switzerland), Hopkins A. (UK), Jaggy A.
(Switzerland), Mascort J. (Spain), Moreau P. (France), Parker A. (USA), Le
Couteur R. (USA), Poncelet L. (Belgium), Schwarz-Porsche D. (Germany), Skerritt
G. (UK), Steinberg S. (USA), Tipold A. (Austria), Van Ham L. (Belgium), Wheeler
S. (UK). The three American members were all Diplomates of the American College
and were invited to join the European College to help establish a close liaison
between European and American veterinary neurologists.
The candidates for de facto membership proposed by the ad hoc credentials committee were confirmed by
the ESVN members at the occasion of the annual ESVN meeting in Newmarket (UK)
September 1993. The members of the ad hoc committee were also elected as de
facto members.
The de facto members founded the provisional college of
veterinary neurology on the 29th September, 1993 in Newmarket. The Education
(credentials) committee and the Examination committee were founded and composed
of de facto members. It was decided to administer the ECVN and the ESVN by the
same executive structure; the members of the Executive Committee must be
Diplomates of the College, with the exception of one member at large who must be
a member of the ESVN. The EBVS queried this and the member at large’s role is
now the one of an observer at the Executive Committee meetings.
In 1993, EBVS
was founded by five speciality groups: the European Society of Veterinary
Internal Medicine (ESVIM), the European College of Veterinary Surgeons (ECVS),
The European College of Veterinary Dermatology (ECVD), the European College of
Veterinary Ophthalmology (ECVO) and the European Association of Veterinary
Diagnostic Imaging (EAVDI). Therefore, it was also decided to apply for official
recognition of the specialty to EBVS. This application was filed by S. Wheeler
in March 1994. The ECVN was subsequently registered by the EBVS under
provisional recognition and authorised to proceed as planned.
The de facto
Diplomates were commissioned to create guidelines for specialist training as
well as to finalise the Constitution and Bylaws of the provisional College. A
provisional set of guidelines for certification in veterinary neurology was
published in the annual newsletter 1994. This newsletter also contained a call
for applications for the first examination of the ECVN. The deadline for sending
such an application to the Education committee was April 30, 1994. An extensive
set of guidelines, including a description of the scope and procedures of the
examination was available to the interested candidates in the spring of 1994.
The first examination took place at the annual ESVN meeting in Limoges (F) in
September 1994. The Examination committee was chaired by Dr. A. Jaggy. The
examination included a preliminary dissertation and a two day written, practical
and oral part. Prof. J. Oliver, observed the examination procedures and results
as observer/adviser of the American College. Six candidates passed the exam. In
the subsequent years further examinations took place generally on the occasion
of the annual ECVN/ESVN meeting. The examination format and the guidelines for
admission to the certification examination (credentials) of the ECVN were
adapted regularly to arrive at the present form. After 15 specialty examinations
83 veterinarians achieved successfully the ECVN Diplomate status. In addition,
since its existence the ECVN appointed 19 diplomates by de facto (including
founding diplomates and invited specialists) and 13 diplomates accepted due to
national standing and equivalent qualifications.
Full recognition of ECVN by EBVS was
achieved in 2002.
The re-accreditation system was introduced in 2002, but not
accepted by EBVS, because it was not based on a credit-point system. It was
adapted in 2003, this time with a credit point system. Provisional
recognition for the re-accreditation was obtained by EBVS in 2005.
Since 2001
the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine is the official journal of the ECVN.
Since 2002 the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine publishes the abstracts
of the ECVN annual meeting in ACVIM format. The steady growth, development and
international recognition of the ECVN continues and is partly reflected in the
increasing number of delegates who attend the annual joint meeting of ECVN and
ESVN each September. At the 2010 meeting around 250 delegates attended. An
increasing number of ACVIM (Neurology) Diplomate holders attend the annual
meetings.
In 2001, the “John Presthus Award” was introduced in memory of the
treasurer of the ECVN/ESVN John Presthus. This award is given to a young person
performing veterinary neurology training and presenting the best platform
presentation during the annual meeting. The “Bayer Award” was introduced in
2002. This award is given to a young person performing veterinary neurology
training and presenting the best poster presentation during the annual meeting.
In 2006, the ECVN listserver has joined the internet platform and discussion
forum of ACVIM (Neurology) on the Veterinary Information Network (VIN). This has
increased the knowledge transfer between both Neurology colleges and
strengthened the recognition of the ECVN.
In 2010, the first European Veterinary
Neuroscience & Advanced Clinical Neurology/Neurosurgery Course took place at the
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Bologna, Italy organised by
the former ECVN president Prof. Gualtiero Gandini. In addition to the two weeks
main course, the committee organised the “Veterinary diagnostic imaging advanced
course” to take place on the weekend before the neuroscience course and the
“Veterinary neuropathology advanced course” that took place over the weekend
after the main course. These biennial 2-week Advanced Neuroscience
courses used to be held in the United States under the umbrella of ACVIM
(Neurology). The target audience was residents (ECVN, ACVIM [Neurology]),
academic staff involved in veterinary neurology, veterinary surgeons with
specific interest in veterinary neurology. Based on the success of the first
course this course will be organised in future on a biennial basis either by
ECVN or ACVIM (Neurology).