Take your knowledge and skills to the next level with our industry-leading small animal medicine veterinary CPD program.
Designed to elevate your expertise in diagnosing and managing internal medicine cases, our online program has empowered thousands of veterinary professionals worldwide to provide the best care to their patients.
Our comprehensive veterinary medicine program covers key topics such as clinical pathology, diagnostic imaging, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology, emergency medicine, and more. Expanding your expertise in these areas will enhance your knowledge base and foster a clear, logical approach to addressing clinical problems.
Our Small Animal Medicine program will help you to build expertise in diagnosing and managing internal medicine cases, strengthen your problem-solving skills, and improve your efficiency through accurate and timely diagnoses. You’ll also boost your confidence in handling small animal medical cases, refine your interpretation skills, and enhance the overall value of your services, leading to better outcomes for your patients and your clinic.
Our newly refreshed program enhances your learning experience.
With upgraded videos, an AI guide for personal assistance, interactive and engaging module content, and a discussion forum with your peers and specialist tutor, this is the ultimate online learning experience.
Whether you’re looking to expand your knowledge, advance your career, or simply stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in veterinary medicine, we’re here to support you every step of the way.
This program is accredited with the International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISVPS) meaning you can work towards a globally-recognised qualification while you study.
General Practitioner Certificate (GPCert)
By attending the full online structured program and following successful completion of the ISVPS assessments, you will be awarded the General Practitioner Certificate (GPCert).
Please note that ISVPS registration and examination fees are not included in the course fees.
Once you are enrolled in your Improve Veterinary Education learning program, you will have the option to register with ISVPS for the GPCert. For all enquiries about ISVPS requirements, contact [email protected].
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Date: June 2025
Module Tutor:
Bruce Parry BVSc PhD Diplomate ACVP Fellow AVA
Module Developer:
Nick Bexfield BVetMed PhD DSAM DipECVIM-CA FSBoil MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: July 2025
Module Tutor:
Lydia Hambrook BVSc(Hons) FANZCVS Registered Specialist (Small Animal Medicine)
Module Developer:
Jame Swann MA VetMB MVetMed DipACVM DipECVIM MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: August 2025
Module Tutor:
Bruce Parry BVSc PhD Diplomate ACVP Fellow AVA
Module Developer:
Marta Costa DVM MSc FRCPath DipECVCP MRCVS EBVS® European Specialist in Veterinary Clinical Pathology
Key learning objectives:
Date: September 2025
Module Tutor:
Dr Randi Drees Dr.med.vet PhD DipACVR (Radiation, Radiology Oncology) DipECVDI add RadOncol PGCertAP MRCVS
Module developer:
Andrew Holdsworth BSc BVSc (Hons) DipECVDI, MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: October 2025
Module Tutor:
Mellora Sharman BVSc MVM PGradCert PhD FANZCVS DECVIM-CA MRCVS
European Specialist in Small Animal Medicine
Module Developer:
Scott Kilpatrick BSc (Hons) MSc BVM&S DipECVIM-CA MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: November 2025
Module Tutor:
Mellora Sharman BVSc MVM PGradCert PhD FANZCVS DECVIM-CA MRCVS
European Specialist in Small Animal Medicine
Module Developer:
Scott Kilpatrick BSc (Hons) MSc BVM&S DipECVIM-CA MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: February 2026
Module Tutor:
Philip Brain BVSc FACVSC (Small Animal Medicine) FAVA
Module developer:
Susana Silva CertSAM DipECVIM-CA MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: March 2026
Module Tutor:
Ann Thompson BVSc MANZCVS MSc GCHEd DACVIM
Module developer:
Nick Bexfield BVetMed PhD DSAM DipECVIM-CA FSBiol MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: April 2026
Module Tutor:
Ann Thompson BVSc MANZCVS MSc GCHEd DACVIM
Module developer:
Nick Bexfield BVetMed PhD DSAM DipECVIM-CA FSBiol MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: May 2026
Module Tutor:
Veronika Langova MVDR MACVSC (Medicine) FANZCVS (Oncology)
Module Developer:
Ana Lara DVVM MSc PhD PgCert MedEd FHEA DipACVIM ECVIM-CA (Oncology)
Key learning objectives:
Date: June 2026
Module Developer & Tutor:
Kieran Borgeat BSc BVSc MVetMed CertVC FHEA MRCVS DipACVIM DipECVIM-CA (Cardiology)
Key learning objectives:
Date: July 2026
Module Developer & Tutor:
Kieran Borgeat BSc BVSc MVetMed CertVC FHEA MRCVS DipACVIM DipECVIM-CA (Cardiology)
Key learning objectives:
Date: August 2026
Module Tutor:
Claire Sharp BSc BVMS MS DACVECC
Module Developer:
Simon Tappin MA VetMB GPCert (SAP) CertSAM DipECVIM-CA MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: September 2026
Module Tutor:
Dr Stacey Brady BVSc (Hons I) MSc (AABAW) DipECVN
Module Developer:
Raquel Trevail DVM DipECVM MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: October 2026
Module Tutor:
Mellora Sharman BVSc MVM PGradCert PhD FANZCVS DECVIM-CA FHEA MRCVS
Module Developer:
Simon Tappin MA VetMB GPCert(SAP) CertSAM DipECVIM-CA MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: November 2026
Module Tutor:
James Foster BSc BVMS PhD FANZCVS
Module Developer:
Kerry Simpson BVM&S PhD FACVSc DipECVIM-CA MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: February 2027
Module Tutor:
Thurid Johnstone DVM PhD DECVIM-CA
Module Developer:
James Swann MA VetMB MVetMed DipACVIM DipECVIM MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: March 2027
Module Tutor:
Thurid Johnstone DVM PhD DECVIM-CA
Module Developer:
Joana Agguiar MVM MVetMed DipECVIM-CA MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: April 2027
Module Tutor:
John Hutt BVSc (Hons) CertVD MANZCVS DACVD Specialist Dermatology
Module Developer
Rosario Cerundolo DVM CertVD DipECVD MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
Date: May 2027
Module Tutor:
Edith Hampson BVSc PhD FANZCVS
Module Developer:
Sally Turner VetMB DVOphthal MRCVS
Key learning objectives:
The course was everything I was hoping for and more. It was invaluable to be able to ask questions to specialists. Personally, my confidence increased by knowing that I am recommending gold standard treatments that are up to date. Better patient outcomes now make my shifts more enjoyable. This has benefited not only myself and my patients, but also our whole hospital.
“Thank you for putting together a comprehensive module that highlights and discusses important fundamental knowledge that is applied regularly in clinical practice. It helps to improve quality of patient assessment and understanding of how to approach novel cases with unusual presentation”
“I found this module to be one of my favourites yet! The course provided useful handouts and was really applicable to general practice. Kidney disease is so common and it was a great refresher on how to diagnose and manage kidney disease”
“I really appreciated the tutors thoughtful and comprehensive responses to all our questions. Clearly a lot of time was spent constructing replies and providing relevant references which really solidified my learning and understanding of immunology”
After graduating from Murdoch University in 1990, James worked in general practice followed by a residency in Feline medicine and a PhD investigating feline thyroid disease, both at the University of Edinburgh.Upon returning to Australia, James acquired his specialist credentials in Feline Medicine in 2000 through the ANZCVS.James' specialty by examination is in feline medicine, however he is formally trained in both canine and feline medicine.James has spent the majority of his career in private referral practice working with both species.James has a specific interest in endocrinology, respiratory disease, cardiology, liver disease, nutrition, feline pancreatic disease, managing co-morbidities in geriatric animals and peculiarity of feline behaviour and the species-specific conditions they acquire.
You must be a graduated Veterinary Surgeon with a minimum of 2 years clinical experience. You should be working with a small animal medicine caseload if you intend the sit the General Practitioner Certificate (GPCert) at the end of program completion. It is your responsibility to ensure you meet the eligibility criteria for the program.
As a private education provider, Improve Veterinary Education is not part of the national HECs scheme. Payment plans are done on a case-by-case basis and additional fees are incurred. A minimum of 50% deposit of the program fees are required, before gaining access to program materials. If there are any defaults on payments, program access is removed. Please refer to our full T&Cs here.
Yes – you can join the SAM program after the start date, so you don’t have to wait until the following year.
If you enter the program late, you can catchup on prior modules in the designated break months (December and January) each year. You will still gain the full two-year program content, with the full program experience, including content updates and the discussion boards. As the specialist answers questions during their module month, you will access to the completed discussion boards but not live specialist support for modules you are making up.
There are 20 learning modules delivered over 24 months (no new modules released December or January each year). All content is released at the start of each new module month. Delegates can work through this content at their own pace. The specialist tutor for each module is only available for support during their module month (so will not be available to answer questions if the module is finished).
• Interactive online lessons on a Learning Management Platform – tracking your progress and awarding badges on completion
• Boarded Specialist as a module tutor to answer your questions on the discussion board
• Comprehensive online notes to support each lesson
• Discussion board/forum to post questions, comments and engage with your colleagues in the program
• MyImprove Candidate area on the Learning Platform that is kept up to date on program requirements and resources and FAQs
• Reading list & a range of additional resources and reference material
• Dedicated Program Manager & Technical support
You will spend on average 3-5 hours per week on reading and working through the interactive materials on the platform. You may spend significantly more time if you are engaging with the specialist tutor and your colleagues on the discussion forum and posting and answering questions, reviewing all the resources and doing independent reading.
After the module month is over, you have ongoing access to all SAM Online Learning interactive materials. Your specialist tutor is only available for the module month they are involved in, so are not available for answering questions after their module has finished. You will have full access to the discussion forum and the ability to view archived questions/responses and can discuss module content/questions with other delegates.
It is advised to make use of the specialist tutors for each month’s module by asking questions on the discussion board for that month. If you have questions on a makeup module that is complete, the discussion board is also open to colleagues engaging and answering. The aim of the forum discussion boards is that colleagues in the program can help each other and add thoughts and ideas on makeup questions.
The Small Animal Medicine Program is delivered (with all online resources and elements) over 24-months. Once the full program has been delivered, you have an additional 12 months access to all program materials, for review, completion and revision. This means you have 36 months access to the online material, from time of program start.
There is an opportunity to resubscribe to program materials for an additional year (with applicable fees), extending access to a maximum of 4 years from initial program start date. There is no further extension beyond this time frame.
If you withdraw completely from the SAM Program the most up to date T&Cs will be applied. Refunds are not part of the standard agreement.
It is advisable you work through the demo module so you are aware of how the online learning experience suits you before committing to the Small Animal Medicine Program. Being comfortable working autonomously in the resource material and then engaging on the discussion boards is critical to this learning experience. Whilst there may be several live webinars over the course of the program, your engagement is predominantly through the forum interactions with your specialists and peers.
• The International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISVPS) have accredited the global Small Animal Medicine Program as appropriate training for the General Practitioner Certificate.
• Completion of the full Small Animal Medicine Program and additional assessments, including a final online examination are also requirements of the ISVPS GPCert.
• The most up-to-date information for the General Practitioner Certificates can be found on the ISVPS website
• Any further questions on the ISVPS certificate qualifications can be asked of the ISVPS Team at [email protected]
Registration for the General Practitioner Certificate is made directly with ISVPS, once you are underway in your Small Animal Medicine Program. Fees are payable at the time of registration and will be invoiced directly by ISVPS. Fees change each year.
The Small Animal Medicine Programs covers the learning objectives of the ISVPS Syllabus for the GPCertSAM. The SAM program does provide a structured study program and a solid clinical and practical knowledge of the subject area. While not intended to fully cover the ANZCVS Membership requirements, undertaking the course will benefit those studying towards Membership. A number of program participants have successfully used this program for their Membership preparation.
Yes. Location of study does not affect/change this global program. We can accept delegates across Australia, New Zealand & the Pacific region.
All content is pre-loaded online so can be viewed at any time of day (i.e. time zone differences will not impact your access to content). However, you may need to allow extra time for tutor responses (as tutors will be based in Australia).
If you intend to sit the GPCertSAM qualification through ISVPS, their requirements are based around online assessments. Please contact ISVPS directly with any questions or for further information ([email protected]).
The content for the Small Animal Medicine Program covers the global syllabus for the ISVPS GPCert in Small Animal Medicine. This means there is material in the program that may be referable to UK/Europe and other regions. The Australian Small Animal Program, while covering all the cover global content is majority tutored by Australian Specialists who are able to localise content and answer questions for our region.
No, you don’t need to be available at the time of the webinar. Any live content is recorded and can be watched at any time. This gives you the flexibility to study when and where you want, and to structure your learning around your busy work and life schedules.