Why a PhD Epidemiologist Still Needed ACVPM Board Certification

A veterinarian with a PhD, a master's degree, and years inside two Canadian government ministries says board certification through the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM) closed a knowledge gap that his doctorate left open. Fortune Sithole, BVSc, MSc, PhD, DACVPM, associate dean for academic affairs and professor at Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine at Orange Park, passed his boards in 2010 and described the change on the podcast Vet Watch with host Christopher Lee, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DACVM (Parasitology).

What did the certification actually change?

The answer begins with a two-month protocol. While working for the Ministry of Agriculture in Edmonton, Canada, Sithole was asked to formulate a policy on how to collect samples when anthrax is suspected. Writing that single sampling protocol consumed two months of work.

"It's one thing to learn about the concepts, and another to actually develop practical ways of doing things," Sithole said. "That's the kind of knowledge the specialty has given me: the actual practice of preventive medicine. And I really felt that even after my PhD, there was a gap in my knowledge."

The distinction he draws is sharp. His doctorate delivered lectures in epidemiology and surveillance, plus a research thesis — the academic side. His later work at the Ministry of Health in British Columbia, where he developed food safety policy, demanded something different: working knowledge of the laws, the concepts of food safety, and the applied side of epidemiology.

"What a PhD gave me was lectures in epidemiology and surveillance. I learned the concepts. And also, my research thesis. So, it was more the academic and research aspects, which are different from the practice aspect," he said.

How does the credential open doors?

Sithole described the certification as a professional hinge. He named two effects: credibility and access.

"There are so many people who work in our area who do not have boards, and it doesn't mean that they're not effective at what they do. But for me, I felt empowered, not only in terms of the knowledge that I felt I had after the grueling exams, but also just the credibility," he said.

He also pointed to a hiring trend inside academia. Some universities now require board certification in preventive medicine for faculty who teach public health and epidemiology, which makes the credential a practical prerequisite rather than a distinction. For clinicians weighing whether the examination process is worth the effort, that demand signals where academic employment in the discipline is heading.

The personal dimension mattered too. Sithole said finishing the boards carried a sense of accomplishment that persisted even after earning a PhD — a function of perception, he conceded, but a real one.

Where does the specialty's breadth come from?

Lee pressed on a natural question: how does a certification add value on top of a doctorate widely regarded as one of the hardest credentials in science? Sithole answered with the scope of the ACVPM examination domains.

"Because you're looking at concepts in epidemiology, but also food safety legislation, occupational health. So, it does give you a broad base, but it also gives you the legislation that underpins all these things," he said.

"Legislation is how we act on the concepts that we get. So, the PhD gave me concepts in epidemiology and food safety. But the knowledge of the application, as well as the concepts, came from being board certified."

Why it matters at the exam table and beyond

Preventive medicine operates across companion-animal practice, food-animal production, and public health — the specialty that, as the conversation framed it, works quietly in the background to keep animals and people safe. For practitioners in regulatory roles, food safety, or teaching, Sithole's account makes the case that applied preparation for the ACVPM examination supplements rather than duplicates research training.

The certification also reshaped his teaching. The knowledge gained through board preparation, he said, has helped him become a more effective teacher of epidemiology and public health to veterinary students at Lincoln Memorial University.

The full conversation between Lee and Sithole is available in the complete Vet Watch episode.