Mapping the Evolution of Competency-Based Veterinary Education: A Decadal Bibliometric Review

Competency-Based Veterinary Education (CBVE) has emerged as a dominant framework for aligning veterinary training with professional practice demands.However, a systematic understanding of both the evolution of CBVE research and its alignment with diverse global veterinary systems remains limited.This study provides a bibliometric and visual analysis of CBVE literature indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection from 2016 to 2025.Using VOS viewer, we analyzed publication trends, citation patterns, co-authorship networks, co-citation structures, and keyword co-occurrence.A total of 729 publications were identified, demonstrating a marked increase in research output and citation impact over time.Results reveal a strong concentration of CBVE scholarship within a small number of core journals and high-income countries, particularly the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.Such structural concentration may create topic and feasibility biases (e.g., privileging resource-intensive assessment architectures), which can threaten external validity for resource-constrained training systems.Thematic evolution indicates an expansion from early emphases on skills assessment and simulation toward broader programmatic integration (e.g., Entrustable Professional Activities and longitudinal feedback systems) and system-facing priorities (e.g., One Health and learner/professional well-being).Synthesizing these patterns, we propose a three-stage developmental model (measurement → programmatic integration → social accountability/competence-in-context) to organize how CBVE scholarship is responding to workforce and public health demands.The most formidable barrier to aligning CBVE with diverse contexts appears to be a self-reinforcing publication/indexing ecosystem coupled with resource gradients, which amplifies "core" frameworks while underrepresenting locally adapted innovations.Aligning CBVE frameworks with diverse veterinary service contexts is essential for strengthening animal health systems and One Health capacity worldwide.