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Attorney General's office briefs board on licensing process for foreign-trained physicians
Summary
Assistant Attorney General Liz Bannon reviewed statute and regulations (sections referenced as 20-10, 20-10-5 and 20-10-6) that govern licensure of physicians educated or trained outside the U.S. and explained the three regulatory paths — meeting the statute, equivalent training, or individual review presented by the Department of Public Health.
Assistant Attorney General Liz Bannon presented a statutory and regulatory overview to the Medical Licensing Board about how applicants educated and trained outside the United States or Canada are assessed for licensure.
Bannon, describing the statute, said that "if someone meets these qualifications, they would apply to the Department of Public Health," and walked members through regulatory provisions (referred to in the presentation as sections '20-10', '20-10-5' and '20-10-6') that identify three paths: (1) meeting the statute's core qualifications including two years of progressive graduate medical training in an ACGME- or AOA-accredited program, (2) showing completion of an equivalent training program as defined by regulation, or (3) requesting individual review with supporting documentation and a letter from a senior physician executive so the Department can present the applicant to the board for its consideration.
Board members raised practical concerns about assessing equivalency and specialty competence. "I just would wanna caution the board that when we get this kind of petition, we often do usually do not have the expertise to make a judgment about somebody's qualification for licensure," said Dr. Zeman, noting the board lacks specialty-specific licensure and may need additional background materials. Dr. London elaborated that training and practice contexts vary internationally and that equivalency is complex.
Attorney Bannon urged the board to rely on the regulatory paths when applications arrive and suggested providing the relevant statute and regulations in future meeting packets to help members evaluate particular cases.
Board members requested that when a foreign-trained applicant appears on a future agenda, staff ensure the relevant statutory and regulatory excerpts and applicant background materials are available to inform the board's review.
