Subject Matter Experts Needed

The Veterinary Medical Board is currently recruiting California licensed veterinarians to serve as Experts for the Board’s enforcement program. Experts play a very important role in consumer protection and provide consultation to staff, review case materials, prepare written opinions, all from the comfort of their own home (with very few exceptions). Experts can be called upon to testify to their opinions at administrative hearings; however, these are exceedingly rare and are done with the guidance of the Attorney General’s Office. Experts are not involved in the process to determine appropriate discipline and only opine on departures from the standard of care.

A subject matter expert is a licensee possessing appropriate technical or professional knowledge gained through advanced education and/or extensive work experience that enables the individual to form a definite opinion in the area of the standard of care for the profession. In order to serve as a subject matter expert, you must:

• Possess a current, active, and unrestricted Board–issued veterinarian license.
• Have clinical experience in five (5) of the seven (7) years immediately preceding the date of contracting to provide expert services for the Board in the practice type in which the SME is opining.
• Not have past or current enforcement or disciplinary actions taken against their California veterinarian license.

Subject matter experts are reimbursed for their services at the rate of $75.00 per hour for record review, report preparation, conferring with the Attorney General’s office, and testimony (maximum $300 per day), plus mileage and parking.

In addition to general practitioners, the Board is particularly interested in recruiting subject matter expert veterinarians with the following board certifications/specializations:

• Avian Medicine
• Dentistry
• Dermatology
• Exotic Medicine
• Internal Medicine (Cardiology, Oncology)
• Neurology
• Ophthalmology
• Radiology
• Surgery
• Zoological Medicine

Licensees interested in serving the Board as a subject matter expert are encouraged to complete the Subject Matter Expert Application form which can be submitted to the Board via email at VMB@dca.ca.gov or mailed to the Veterinary Medical Board Subject Matter Expert Program at 1747 N. Market Blvd., Ste. 230, Sacramento, CA 95834.