The Environmental Health and Toxicology section includes nine subcategories:
An equal number of questions will be drawn from each subcategory in the multiple choice section of the exam.The Toxicology subcategory draws upon the principles of toxicology and toxic substances in general. Applied knowledge of toxicology is incorporated into many of the subcategories areas.
The Epidemiology and Biostatistics section of the multiple choice exam includes questions that are drawn from 13 subcategories (listed within the Model Curriculum):
Epidemiology is the basic science with tools to support decision making processes in veterinary public health and preventive medicine. It deals with the investigation of diseases, production losses, and health issues in animal and human populations. Essential activities within epidemiology encompass the broad areas of study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Biostatistical methods and techniques are relied upon to objectively determine which factors are associated with specific outcomes.
Preventive medicine professionals and other practitioners must be able to integrate and synthesize information obtained from epidemiological findings with their knowledge from other basic and clinical sciences to design effective disease control and health maintenance programs. This includes the ability to plan surveillance or research activities and to evaluate the results.
Additionally, the ACVPM Exam will require biostatistical knowledge that is essential for a diplomate to operate within the preventative veterinary medicine fields. Candidates will need to demonstrate the ability to use and interpret basic biostatistics used epidemiologic studies and investigations. More specific examples of hypothesis tests and statistical techniques are listed within the Model Curriculum. General biostatistics books will provide the underlying knowledge but may need to be supplemented with an analytic epidemiology text.
Food science in the ‘Farm to Fork” spectrum is essential for a diplomate to operate within the preventive veterinary medicine fields. The Food Safety section includes nine subcategories (listed within Model Curriculum):
US Department of Agriculture (USDA), including:
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) including:
Food Protection topics
Pasteurized Milk Ordinance
Food Code
Bad Bug Book
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) including:
Food protection topics
MMWR
PulseNet
FoodNet
American Veterinary Medical Association, concentrating on current topics and articles related to Food Protection
Review food science basics in a food science text and current focus areas and hot topics in journals such as the Journal of Food Protection and above cited references, No specific text is required.
Review basics on foodborne outbreak investigations and calculations in an appropriate food science or epidemiology textbook. No specific text required.
The Infectious Diseases section includes 12 subcategories:
The Public Health Administration and Education section includes nine subcategories:
This guide contains the list of books and journals recommended as study materials for the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM) examination.
Residents are responsible for ensuring they are using the correct edition of a book for their exam.
Please ask your librarian, mentor, or specialty board examination committee if questions arise.
"[This] list of study references is NOT a definitive, exhaustive list for preparing for the ACVPM examinations. A listed reference may be applicable to more than one category. Use this list as a guide, in as much as it represents a compromise between brevity and completeness. You are encouraged to read as much additional material as possible. Reading the current scientific and professional literature (e.g. JAVMA, MMWR, Lancet, NEJM, Science, Journal of Food Protection, etc.) is also necessary to properly prepare for the examinations."
Source: American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine Study References.
This resource updated: 6/01/2023
Source reading list updated by specialty board: January 2023