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VeterinaryFood animal clinical procedures
On a mature lactating dairy cow you do the 3 udder and restraint skills of Part A in order, then 5 procedures drawn on index cards for Part B, explaining each one to the examiner, all within 45 minutes. It is station 3 (FAP03) of the Food Animal Practice section of the ECFVG Clinical Proficiency Examination.
Free to startScenarios
- Part A, in this order: California Mastitis Test of the 4 quarters, a milk sample for bacterial culture with its plan, and haltering for work on the head and neck.
- Part B, 5 cards: 1 from skills 1 and 2 (oral cavity, stomach tube), 1 from skills 3 and 4 (coccygeal blood, urine) and 3 from skills 5 to 13.
The steps
- Explain to the examiner what you are doing as you perform each skill.
- Part A: take a milk sample from each quarter, do a California Mastitis Test (CMT) and interpret it.
- Part A: prepare the udder and take a milk sample for bacterial culture; interpret the culture results you are given and tell the dairyman the treatment and management plan.
- Part A: halter the cow and restrain her so procedures on the head and neck can be done safely.
- Part B, skill 1: place a mouth gag and examine the oral cavity, describing any lesions.
- Part B, skill 2: pass a stomach tube, confirm it is in place by one accepted method, remove it and discuss the rumen fluid collected.
- Part B, skill 3: choose the right vacutainer for the test asked and take a blood sample by coccygeal venipuncture.
- Part B, skill 4: collect urine manually, describe it, do a dipstick test, interpret it and discuss the limits of the dipstick.
- Part B, skill 5: percuss and auscultate the cow for a left displaced abomasum, a rumen gas cap, pneumoperitoneum, pneumocolon and a right displaced abomasum, and explain how to tell them apart.
- Part B, skill 6: choose a catheter for long-term use in the jugular vein and describe how to place, secure and maintain it.
- Part B, skill 7: describe a caudal epidural for analgesia during obstetric work: materials, the amount of local anesthetic drawn up, landmarks, site preparation and needle position.
- Part B, skill 8: describe how to restrain and examine a hind foot for suspected foot lameness.
- Part B, skill 9: do a speculum exam of the cervix and describe the findings.
- Part B, skill 10: describe in detail how and where to inject 30 ml of an antibiotic solution SC and IM.
- Part B, skill 11: describe a cornual nerve block: materials, the amount of local anesthetic drawn up, landmarks, site preparation and needle position.
- Part B, skill 12: describe how to anesthetize the flank for abdominal surgery with paravertebral anesthesia: materials, the amount of local anesthetic, landmarks, site preparation and needle position.
- Part B, skill 13: give the cow an oral medication.
- Finish Part A and Part B within the 45 minutes.
Safety rules that stop the station
- 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 sheet scores 100 points: Part A 35 and Part B 65 (5 skills done correctly and efficiently).
- If the right technique gives no urine, no points come off and the examiner supplies a sample.
- The station is 20% of the Food Animal Practice section, which needs 60 weighted points to pass.
Official source
AVMA · ECFVG CPE
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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