"This guide will help you prepare for your ABVP Recognized Veterinary Specialty (RVS) examination this November. The 350 item Combined RVS Exam is given in two parts on the same day. The exams are mostly to exclusively multiple-choice type items. There is the possibility of fill in the blank, short answer, essay, or matching for some exam items.
The AVMA best practice is that the examination items align with a Job Task Analysis (JTA) of current RVS Diplomates. Shelter Medicine Practice utilized subject matter experts to develop the JTA. Additionally, it has been decided that some exam items can come from current journals and a small percentage can be at your Exam Committee’s discretion. Please note that items drawn from current journals (with a 5 year look back period) are 1) from a journal on the RVS Reading List, 2) the question is drawn from the abstract only, and 3) the journal abstract must be freely available. The exception to this is Veterinary Clinics of North America (if applicable), where the exam taker is responsible for the whole article."
Source: Shelter Medicine Practice RVS Exam Study Guide - 2024
Updated: 10/23/2024
"These references are foundational sources for SMP examination items and should be studied in their entirety. Items will be drawn from the most recent editions/versions."
BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Shelter Medicine by 
Veterinary Forensics: Animal Cruelty Investigations by 
Veterinary Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences by 
Veterinary Forensic Pathology, Volume 1 by 
Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff by 
Infectious Disease Management in Animal Shelters by 
Every Nose Counts: Using Metrics in Animal Shelters by 
Animal Behavior for Shelter Veterinarians and Staff by 
High-Quality, High-Volume Spay and Neuter and Other Shelter Surgeries by "These journals frequently contain content important to specialty level, evidence-based shelter medicine knowledge. Items will be drawn from article abstracts published within the 5 years prior to the exam and will reflect knowledge important to shelter medicine practice."
"These references provide in depth information to supplement the core materials listed above. Items drawn from these sources would reflect knowledge that is key to specialty level shelter medicine practice. Examinees are encouraged to review relevant information to enhance knowledge as needed.
Items are drawn from the most recent editions/versions unless otherwise noted."
August's Consultations in Feline Internal Medicine, Volume 7 by 
Current Veterinary Therapy by 
Small Animal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics by 
Clinical Veterinary Advisor: Dogs and Cats by 
Small Animal Surgery by 
Veterinary Anesthesia and Analgesia by 
Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology by 
The Cat: Clinical Medicine and Management by 
Handbook of Small Animal Practice by 
Handbook of Veterinary Anesthesia by 
Small Animal Internal Medicine by 
BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behavioural Medicine by 
Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat by 
Low Stress Handling, Restraint and Behavior Modification of Dogs and Cats by 
Greene's Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat by 
Georgis' Parasitology for Veterinarians by 
Veterinary Clinical Epidemiology by 
Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery by 
The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management by 
