What is a Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon?
The term "ACVS Diplomate" refers to a veterinarian who has been board certified in veterinary surgery. Only veterinarians who have successfully completed the certification requirements of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons are Diplomates of the ACVS and have earned the right to be called specialists in veterinary surgery.
Veterinarians wishing to become board certified must complete a three-year residency program, meet specific training and caseload requirements, perform research and have their research published. This process is supervised bycurrentACVS Diplomates, ensuring consistency in training and adherence to high standards. Once the 
residency has been completed, the resident must sit for and pass a rigorous examination. Onlythen does the veterinarian earn the title of ACVS Diplomate.
More information is available to you about the American College of Veterinary Surgeons at their web site: www.acvs.org
Please identify yourself as an “Animal Owner” and you will have a vast amount of information available about the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and its members. There also is information about many of the surgical problems affecting small animal pets.
VSSON's Board Certified Veterinary Surgeon
David F. Merkley DVM, MS, DACVS
Dr. David Merkley was born in Minnesota and grew up in South Dakota in a family of large animal veterinarians. He attended the University of South Dakota (USD) and earned a BA degree in mathematics. He attended Iowa State University (ISU) for his degree in veterinary medicine (DVM). His surgical training was obtained at Michigan State University (MSU) where he completed an MS degree in veterinary surgery and his residency in small animal veterinary surgery (orthopedic and soft tissue surgery). He obtained certification by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) in 1977 by examination. He has spent over 35 years in veterinary surgical education (teaching, surgical research and clinical surgery). During this time he provided surgical services to the clients of the referral teaching hospitals at both MSU and ISU. In 2004 he began surgical consulting with private practice veterinary colleagues in eastern Nebraska, southeastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota and west-central Iowa. In 2006, Dr. Merkley established Veterinary Surgical Specialists of Nebraska PC (VSSON) to formalize the business relationships he had established with his veterinary colleagues. He provides small animal surgical services in both orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. He brings a very high level of clinical surgical expertise developed in his many years of university teaching, research and surgery.