For Jennifer Le, pursuing ABVP certification isn’t about narrowing her focus—it’s about expanding it. Driven by a commitment to continuous growth and a deep love for all aspects of veterinary medicine, she’s working to bring a higher level of expertise into everyday practice. Through rigorous preparation, ongoing education, and a vision for more accessible advanced care, Jennifer is redefining what’s possible in general practice—offering pet owners a more comprehensive, consistent, and elevated standard of care.
Jennifer, you’re currently working toward becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) in both Canine and Feline Practice. What inspired you to pursue this advanced certification at this stage of your veterinary career?
I’m always aspiring to become a better version of myself, whether personally or professionally. I love medicine in general, and actually thought about doing an internal medicine residency while I was in veterinary school, but I love all aspects of veterinary medicine, which also includes surgery and preventative care. I love building relationships with clients and their pets and couldn’t just box myself into one specialty, which is why I chose general practice, as I get to see a little bit of everything as well as see my clients and patients through their whole lives and not just one aspect of it. Obtaining the Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) in both Canine and Feline Practice Certification allows me to have the best of both worlds.
The ABVP certification process is known to be rigorous, requiring years of clinical experience, extensive continuing education, and a two‑day board exam. What does the preparation process look like for you as you work toward this goal?
In addition to studying for the board exam, we also have to submit a synopsis of our clinical practice experience by summarizing each practice we have worked at along with the size and scope of each practice, which includes the number of vets, list of species serviced, average # patients seen daily, classification of practice [general, referral, full-service, relief, spay/neuter, etc]), employment dates and average hours per week worked. We also have to describe our individual caseload and a percentage breakdown of how we spent our time (appointments, surgery, imaging, rehab, lab, emergency, etc).
We also have to submit either 10 case summaries (worth 10 points apiece), 2 case reports (worth 50 points apiece), or a combination thereof, to total 100 points. A case report focuses on in-depth, sometimes academic analysis of one scenario, while a case summary emphasizes demonstrating “diplomate level” care in daily practice.
Three evaluations are also required, with one reference being from a diplomate of any recognized veterinary specialty.
Achieving Diplomate status requires maintaining significantly more continuing education than the standard veterinary requirement. How does that ongoing commitment help you provide a higher level of care for dogs and cats in your practice?
The required amount of continuing education hours is 17 per year in Texas. Even though I don’t yet have Diplomate status, I have been maintaining significantly more continuing education hours per year than what is required as I love learning. Veterinary Medicine is ever-changing and the only way to keep up with new techniques and treatments available is to continue to learn, so I grab every opportunity I get to receive additional continuing education hours. This allows me to provide the most up-to-date information and, potentially, new treatment options available to care for the patients in my practice.
Many pet owners may not realize the difference between a general veterinarian and a veterinarian with board certification in a specific species. How does ABVP certification elevate the level of expertise available to patients?
As mentioned previously, a veterinarian with board certification not only requires more continuing education hours, but they are also required to pass a board exam that contains knowledge required of a veterinary internal medicine specialist, as when we do become board certified, this is essentially the level of specialist we would become.
As you work toward completing this milestone, what does earning Diplomate status mean for your long‑term goals and the kind of veterinary care you hope to provide in the future?
I love the idea of providing specialty veterinary care conveniently within a general private practice, which is why we already offer specialty services, such as abdominal ultrasounds and echocardiograms. I also eventually want to be able to provide advanced imaging, such as CT, as well as rehabilitation services, such as a water treadmill. By providing these specialty services, we are also able to provide further continuity of care. In addition, we would be able to provide more affordable specialized care since we are a general practice and not a specialty hospital.
