VeterinaryFood animal: bovine theriogenology and food safety
Three parts in 45 minutes: a rectal pregnancy check on a mature cow and what prostaglandin F2α would do to her, a calving with a malpresented fetus in an obstetric box, and a written list of drugs banned for extralabel use in food animals. It is station 4 (FAP04 and FAP05) of the Food Animal Practice section of the ECFVG Clinical Proficiency Examination.
Free to startScenarios
- Part A: a sexually mature cow brought in for a check of her reproductive status.
- Part B: an obstetric box simulating a cow in labor for some hours, with the fetus in a malpresentation, malposition or malposture common in bovine dystocia.
- Part C: one written question for the country where you sit the exam (United States or Canada).
The steps
- Part A: do the rectal exam of the reproductive tract within 3 minutes.
- Part A: say whether the cow is pregnant.
- Part A: explain what you based that on.
- Part A: describe what a therapeutic dose of prostaglandin F2α would do to this cow's pregnancy and ovarian structures.
- Part A: finish everything within 10 minutes.
- Part B: ask the owner for the extra history and findings you need, such as straining.
- Part B: describe how to prepare the cow and yourself for an obstetric exam.
- Part B: name the malpresentation, malposition or malposture with standard terms.
- Part B: correct it on the fetus in the box so it can be delivered vaginally.
- Part B: place the chains or ropes; you are not asked to pull the calf.
- Part B: discuss how to tell whether vaginal delivery is possible and the alternatives to it.
- Part B: tell the owner the care the cow and the calf need after delivery, alive or dead.
- Part C: write 5 drugs prohibited by federal law for extralabel use in food animals in the country where you sit the exam.
- Finish Parts B and C within 35 minutes, in the order you choose.
Safety rules that stop the station
- For humane reasons the rectal exam lasts 3 minutes at most: the examiner stops it at 3 minutes and Part A at 10 minutes.
- Handle the cow humanely and safely: the examiner can take points off or end the station; a fatal flaw fails the whole Food Animal Practice section.
To pass
- The FAP04 sheet scores 100 points: Part A 40 and Part B 60; points come off if the rectal exam goes over 3 minutes or Part A over 10.
- The FAP05 sheet scores 100 points only if all 5 drugs listed are prohibited ones.
- FAP04 is 15% and FAP05 5% of the Food Animal Practice section, which needs 60 weighted points to pass.
Official source
Manual of Administration for the Clinical Proficiency Examination
The AVMA publishes the CPE Manual of Administration free: every station, its assessment sheet and the score needed to pass.
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