Vetsuisse Faculty

Continuing Education

Specialisation offers

The Vetsuisse Faculty at the University of Bern offers structured continuing education programmes. Open positions can be found on the job portal of the University of Bern (Working at the University of Bern).

Internships

An internship is a one-year, species-specific training programme offered in one of the three clinics of the Vetsuisse Faculty at the University of Bern. This provides an opportunity for veterinary graduates to gain practical experience after completing their veterinary degree. These programmes allow newly qualified veterinarians to further develop their clinical skills and medical knowledge in a supervised environment through guidance and mentoring.

A key foundation for further specialisation is a rotating general internship. During this programme, interns are introduced to all major areas of veterinary medicine through short rotations. For further enquiries, please contact the respective clinic management. Specialised internships (one year in a single area of veterinary medicine) are also offered. If you have any additional questions, please contact the head of the relevant unit directly.

Residency / Fachtierarzt

The Vetsuisse Faculty at the University of Bern offers structured continuing education programmes lasting from 2 to 5 years. In Bern, these programmes, called residencies, are carried out in 18 different specialist areas of clinical and paraclinical veterinary medicine.

These are official, nationally or internationally established specialisation programmes that aim to achieve the highest globally recognised professional qualification in veterinary medicine (European Qualification Framework Level 8). International programmes are certified by either the European Board for Veterinary Specialisation (EBVS) or the American Board of Veterinary Specialties (ABVS). In certain specialist areas, FVH (Fachtierarzt/-tierärztin) specialisation programmes are also carried out, which offer broad, in-depth further training focused on one animal group. The FVH title as a specialist is standardised throughout Switzerland and recognised in other countries.

These structured specialisation programmes are based on the guidelines of the relevant umbrella organisation (EBVS, ABVS or GST) and are completed with a selective examination. Various objectives must be demonstrated for admission to the examination, such as (para-)clinical experience (case collection) and the publication of one or more research projects.

Further information on the EBVS
Further information on the ABVS
Further information on the GST

Offered Specialisation Programmes

Overview of all recognised specialisation programmes of the European and American Colleges as well as the GTS specialist veterinary training courses offered at the Vetsuisse Faculty Bern:

European Colleges
Field of specialisation  College Abbreviation Programme information
Anesthesiology European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia ECVAA Anaesthesiology_2024
Bovine Health Management  European College of Bovine Health Management ECBHM Bovine herd medicine_2024
Dermatology European College of Veterinary Dermatology ECVD
Large animal surgery for horses European College of Veterinary Surgeons ECVS Equine Surgery_2024
Equine Internal Medicine European College of Internal Equine Medicine ECEIM Equine Internal Medicine_2024
Small Animal Internal Medicine European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine-Companion Animals ECVIM-CA Small Animal Internal Medicine_2024
Small animal surgery European College of Veterinary Surgery ECVS Small Animal Surgery_2024
Emergency and intensive care medicine
for small animals
European College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care ECVECC Emergency and intensice care medicine_2024
Parasitology European Veterinary Parasitology College EVPC Veterinary Parasitology_2024
Radiology European College of Veterinary Diagnostic Imaging ECVDI
Porcine Health Management  European College of Bovine Health Management ECPHM Porcine Health Management_2024
Veterinary Neurology European College of Veterinary Neurology  ECVN Veterinay Neurology_2024
Veterinary Pathology European College of Veterinary Pathologists ECVP Veterinary Pathologie_2024
Veterinary Public Health  European College of Veterinary Public Health (Population Medicine) ECVPH Veterinary Public Health_2024
Wildlife Population Health European College of Zoological Medicine ECZM Wildlife Population Health_2024
American Colleges
Field of specialisation  College Abbreviation Programme information
Small Animal Internal Medicine  American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine  ACVIM Small Animal Internal Medicine_2024
Veterinary Bacteriology American College of Veterinary Microbiologists ACVM Veterinary Microbiology_2024
Veterinary Pathologists American College of Veterinary Pathologists ACVP Veterinary Pathologie_2024
National Continuing Programmes (FVH)
Field of specialisation  College Abbreviation Programme information
Horse medicine Schweizerische Vereinigung für Pferdemedizin  SVPM Horse medicine_FVH_2024
Swine medicine Schweizer Vereinigung für Schweinemedizin SVSM Swine_FVH_2024
Ruminant medicine Schweizerische Vereinigung für Wiederkäuergesundheit SVW ASSR Ruminant Medicine_2024