The Academy of Physical Rehabilitation Veterinary Technicians (APRVT) appreciates your interest in becoming a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Physical Rehabilitation, VTS (Physical Rehabilitation). The APRVT’s goal is to assure the veterinary profession and the public that an APRVT certified technician possesses the knowledge, skills and experience needed to practice physical rehabilitation applications at an advanced level of competency. Although the academy requirements are rigorous, they are not designed to be obstacles to prevent candidates from becoming certified. The requirements of eligibility for application and examination are defined in the APRVT constitution and bylaws.
Applicants are held to the guidelines of the applied for Exam Cycle year. Please ensure you are using the correct version. Do not proceed with Phase II of the Application Packet if Phase I has not been approved one year prior to final application submission deadline. Note: Use the Word document to retrieve forms and signature pages. A completed application must be submitted as ONE .PDF file and four (4) Case Reports in .doc format through Drop Box
Summary of Veterinary Mentorship for VTS (Physical Rehabilitation) Candidates Each VTS candidate should be supervised when performing therapies and treatments by a veterinarian who is certified in veterinary physical rehabilitation for a minimum of three (3) years or is a Diplomate of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (DACVSMR). This “mentor” should be in the same locality as the candidate and should be able to communicate at a minimum by video conferencing if needed. Non-VTS CVT’s and Physical Therapists with rehabilitation credentialing will not be accepted for mentorship. This is not the same as mentorship for application style and formatting mentoring.
Applicants are to supply mentors with the packet for review of the skills list and types of cases the Academy considers for applicants to be considered an exceptional qualified expert.
NEW in 2024 APRVT Endorsed Mentorship for Phase II Application Processing The Academy recognizes an applicant may be highly experienced and be an excellent example of an exceptionally qualified expert but may require additional assistance completing the application process. Mentorship of an applicant by an Academy member does not guarantee acceptance of an application and the basis of mentorship is to guide the applicant in the right direction for final application acceptance.
Phase II application information may be resubmitted for a total of one application cycle year with updated activities supporting areas of deficiency and the AIN remains the same however, it is the responsibility of the applicant to inform the credentialing chair of future submission plans in the required notification timeline. Applicants shall reference the Bylaws Section Failure to meet certification eligibility for details when notifying the credentialing committee.If an application is rejected for a second time or more than one cycle passes, application materials must be resubmitted in full including any instructions provided to the applicant and a new AIN number will be assigned. Eligibility (all criteria must be met):
Applicants who have successfully completed a pre-application (Phase I)
Applicants with rejection of a full application and failure to meet criteria in either Phase I or II
VTS (Physical Rehabilitation) mentor must be conferred for a period of three (3) years and hold active membership eligibility
Four (4) detailed case reports are required. Case reports must demonstrate expertise and understanding of principles in the management of a variety of veterinary patients requiring veterinary physical rehabilitation. Case reports must be the original work of the applicant and strictly adhere to the case report submission and guidelines in the Application Packet. Case reports shall correlate with a case log. If the correlating case log is rejected, the report is automatically rejected. This is a professional report and is of the caliber for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. A case report example will be sent to candidates after acceptance of pre-application submission materials. All references shall be in Harvard Style formatting.
Candidates are encouraged to adhere to the reading list when preparing for the examination and when writing case reports, providing a minimum number of references for case reports and questions about the advanced skills list. Formatting guidelines for references may be submitted to the credentialing chair.
Lameness scoring: Millis DL. Levine D. Chapter 13: Assessing and Measuring Outcomes. Eds. Millis DL. Levine D., In Canine Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy, 2nd. Elsevier, Philadelphia, PA, 2014. p 221.
