The Auditor
State of Hawai‘i

A Comparative Study of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Professional and Vocational Licenses

Report No. 05-14
December 2005

 

Foreword

Introduction

License Summaries

Accountant, Certified Public

Acupuncture

Chiropractor

Contractor

Electrician, Journeyman

Electrician, Supervising

Optometrist

Osteopathic Physician

Pharmacist

Pharmacy

Physician

Physician Assistant

Plumber, Journeyman

Plumber, Master

Podiatrist

Veterinarian

 

VETERINARIAN
Summary Overall Rank Continuing Education License Fees Table

Summary

Hawai‘i ranks in the second quintile in requirements to obtain and retain a veterinarian license. High fees and the addition of a Hawai‘i state examination were offset by endorsement of out of state licenses and average experience and continuing education requirements. All states require graduation from a veterinary school and passing a national examination. Two-thirds of the states do not recognize licenses issued by other states.

Requirement

Hawaii

Category Rank

National Median

OVERALL RANK (quintile)

2

 

 
Education Graduation from veterinary school

Not ranked

Graduation from veterinary school
Examination NAVLE plus state examination

1

All states require passing the NAVLE. 18 states require an additional state examination.
Experience No specific clinical experience required

3

No specific clinical experience required. 4 states specifically require clinical experience or internship ranging from 2 months to 1 year.
Fees $535

1

$345
Continuing Education 15 hours per year

3

15 hours per year
Reciprocity or Endorsement Yes

5

32 states have not instituted some form of reciprocity or endorsement.

Note on Veterinarian ranking:

1 = most difficult, most requirements, highest fees.
5 = least difficult, fewest requirements, lowest fees.

Education: As all states require graduation from veterinary school, no rank was assigned for this category.

Examination: All states require passing the NAVLE examination, but 18 states also require passing a state examination. The states requiring a state examination were assigned a rank of 1, and all other states were assigned a rank of 3.

Experience: Four states requiring clinical experience or internship were assigned a rank of 1, while other states were assigned a rank of 3.

Fees: Rank is based on the cost of an initial license and an annualized renewal fee. This reflects the cost of obtaining and renewing a license.

Continuing education: Most states require hours of continuing education over a license period. As states have different license periods, the hours reported are annualized. Five states do not require continuing education.

Reciprocity: Thirty-six states that have some form of reciprocity or endorsement were assigned a rank of 5. All other states were assigned a 1.