animal health consulting

About Dr King

Christine King  BVSc, MANZCVS (equine), MVetClinStud

Hi! I'm Dr Chris King. I graduated from vet school at the University of Queensland in 1985. I worked in mixed and equine practice in Queensland and Victoria for several years before succumbing to the pull of further education.

From 1991 to 1993 I did a residency in equine medicine and surgery at the University of Sydney, along with a Master's degree in equine exercise physiology. I then moved to the US to do a residency in large animal internal medicine at North Carolina State University (NCSU) with the aim of sitting the internal medicine board exams and returning home as a specialist.

But life had other plans and I ended up staying in the US for 25 years. For the first 10 years after leaving NCSU I worked as a medical writer and editor, as I was not licensed to practice as a vet in the US at the time. By the end of that period I was itching to get my hands on animals again, so in 2004 I completed the odious AVMA foreign graduate accreditation program and returned to practice, this time with a holistic focus.

Below is a summary of my veterinary credentials and postgraduate training. Click on the links at the bottom of the page to see a list of my publications in veterinary medicine, animal health, and human medicine.

I moved back to Australia in late 2018. Currently, I'm focused on writing books about animal health and the human-animal connection.

Credentials & training

Here is a summary of my veterinary credentials and postgraduate training:

BVSc — University of Queensland, 1985. This degree, Bachelor of Veterinary Science, is the qualification awarded on completion of veterinary school. It allows graduates to practice as veterinarians, following registration with the state veterinary surgeons board. It is equivalent to DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine) and VMD (Veterinary Medical Doctor) in the US.

MANZCVS (Medicine of Horses)Member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists, Equine Chapter, inducted in 1991 (when it was called the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists, and the qualification was MACVSc). At that time, Membership was based on written and oral examinations once the applicant had at least 5 years of clinical experience in her chosen field, in my case equine medicine. Now, eligibility requires only 3 1/2 years of clinical experience. This degree is similar to DipABVP (Diplomate of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners) in the US.

Residency, Equine Medicine & Surgery — University of Sydney, 1991–1993. A residency is an intensive program of advanced training and study in a particular field or discipline. The emphasis of this clinical residency was equine internal medicine and equine sports medicine.

MVetClinStud — University of Sydney, 1993. This degree, Master of Veterinary Clinical Studies, is equivalent to MS (Master of Science) in the US. My Master's degree was conferred for original research in equine exercise physiology and publication of the thesis, Clinical Exercise Testing of Racehorses (CM King, University of Sydney, 1993).

Residency, Large Animal Internal Medicine — North Carolina State University (NCSU) College of Veterinary Medicine (Raleigh, NC, USA), 1993–1994. The emphasis of this clinical residency was equine colic, other medical emergencies, lameness, and neonatal (foal) medicine. I also completed modules in farm animal medicine and production.

AVMA Education Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) Accreditation Program, 2003–2004. This 4-step program by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) validated my Australian credentials and clinical experience in veterinary medicine, a necessary requirement for veterinary licensure in the US for veterinarians who graduated from vet schools outside of North America. During that program, I completed clinical modules in small animal medicine and surgery, anaesthesiology, radiology, gross pathology, clinical pathology, and an elective in canine physical rehabilitation at NCSU.

Registration & memberships

I am currently registered with Vetboard Victoria (Veterinary Practitioners Registration Board of Victoria).

Depending on where I was working at the time, I have also been registered/licensed to practice in Queensland, New South Wales, and in the US states of North Carolina, Washington, and Oregon.

I am a member of the following professional groups:

Equine Chapter of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS)

Equine Clinicians Network (ECN), an online discussion group of equine veterinarians from all over the world

Complementary and Alternative Veterinary Medicine (CAVM), an online discussion group of holistic veterinarians in the US and various other countries. I am the current CAVM list manager and moderator.

Publications

Click on the following links to see lists of my publications in these fields:

veterinary medicine

animal health (general audience)

human medicine