Wisconsin legislators PAVE the way for foreign-trained veterinarians

Madison, Wis.

-- The Wisconsin State Assembly voted unanimously to send a new bill to the state Senate that would provide another pathway to licensure for veterinarians who study at foreign veterinary schools.

Reacting to a scarcity of veterinarians in the state, the Assembly voted to allow graduates of foreign veterinary schools to complete the American Association of Veterinary State Boards’ Program for Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE). A temporary license will then allow the graduates to practice under the supervision of a fully licensed veterinarian until later taking the examining board test.

Currently, graduates in Wisconsin of foreign schools must complete an equivalence program from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG).

The AVMA has questioned the validity of PAVE’s requirements in the past, worrying that they’re too easy and don’t prove a graduate is ready to practice. The Wisconsin VMA, however, supports the potential change, according to Executive Director Kim Brown Pokorny.

“The PAVE program achieves the objective of medical competency to acquire a veterinary license,” Pokorny says.