ACVS Journals

Many journals contain articles pertaining to surgery (both human and veterinary) and should be perused for current literature. A partial list of veterinary journals includes:

Journals for Small Animal Surgery Candidates

  • American Journal of Veterinary Research, online 2000-
  • Compendium (including web-only publications) , * online at VetLearn.com, Vet Journal Stacks, 1979-2009 (print only)
  • Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, online 1998-
  • Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, online 1997-
  • Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association, online 2000-
  • Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, online 1997-
  • Veterinary Clinics of North America (Small Animal Practice), online 1979-
  • Veterinary Comparative Orthopedics and Traumatology, online 2003-
  • Veterinary Surgery, online 1997-

Journals for Large Animal Surgery Candidates

The majority of questions come from literature published in the last five years. For example, if you are taking the 2014 examination, questions will primarily come from literature published in the range of 01/01/09 – 12/31/13. Questions may also come from older articles considered significant and essential to the knowledge of the veterinary surgeon.

Free VLS e-Journals for Residents
*Residents can receive a complimentary digital subscription to VetLearn.com. The subscription provides access to the online monthly digital publication Compendium: Continuing Education for Veterinarians® and Compendium Equine® the recurring series within Compendium. Additionally, this subscription provides access to archived articles from past and current issues. Visit www.vetlearn.com and click on “Register” in the upper right corner to access the registration form.

This list is based on the 2014 reading list. This page was last updated May 2014.