This examination is open to all veterinary surgeons holding a national veterinary qualification who have attended an approved course of the IAVH.

The examination is designed to test the candidate's grasp of:

• The basics of homoeopathic pharmacy.
• The philosophical differences between homoeopathy, isopathy, tautopathy, and allopathy. The law of similars. The interactions between the various systems.
• The homoeopathic concepts of health, disease, and cure.
• The idea of the vital force and the dynamic nature of disease.
• The homoeopathic understanding of acute and chronic disease.
• Hering's law and the direction of cure.
• Aetiology, obstacles to recovery and the incurable case.
• Suppression and palliation.
• The theory of miasms.
• Practical homoeopathic case taking in all types of cases.
• The hierarchy of symptoms; the totality of symptoms; modalities.
• The Materia Medicas and repertories; the sources of information on which they are based.
• Repertorisation.
• Prescribing strategies for both companion and farm animals.
• The first and subsequent prescriptions.
• Case management.
• The place of nosodes in homoeopathic prescribing
• Potency and dosage.
• An outline of the history of homoeopathy; the scientific basis for it.
• The Arndt-Schulz Law.
• Materia Medica. A complete list of the relevant remedies is available on this site.

The Examination

The candidate must present for the examination 10 case studies incorporating at least two species. At least two of the cases must have follow up of at least one year.
The presentation should include the results of the initial history taking and examination including the results of any diagnostic investigations. The method of remedy selection should be shown and discussed. Dosage should be indicated. The progress and prognosis of the case should be recorded, including the results of further examinations. The rationale of the prescribing strategy should be discussed. Details and discussion of any second or subsequent prescriptions should be included.

There are a further two parts to the examination.

There is a written section consisting of 50 multiple choice questions plus four questions requiring short essay answers. The essay questions will be concerned with philosophy and/or therapeutics only. Any aspect of homoeopathy that is included in the syllabus may be the subject of the multiple-choice questions.

Following the written section there will be an oral examination of one hour's duration. Prior to this candidates will be given two written case histories and are required to analyse and repertorise these. The oral part of the examination will be based around a discussion of these cases, but other matters may be introduced.

The use of computer repertories in the oral and practical section is permitted with prior approval of the examiners. No aids are allowed in the written section.

The pass mark for the multiple-choice section will be 75%. For the other three sections it will be 50%. Candidates must pass each section individually in order to be successful in the whole examination.

Candidates who fail any section will not be invited to proceed to the later sections.

Candidates who fail the examination will be permitted to use the same case studies at any re-sitting of the examination, provided that a pass was achieved in that first section.