H. B. 2550
(By Delegates Haskins (By Request) and Henderson)
[Introduced January 10, 1996; referred to the
Committee on Health and Human Resources then
the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section ten, article three, chapter
thirty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to licenses to
practice medicine and surgery or podiatry and for medical
licensure, permitting current certification by one of the
member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties
in lieu of two additional years of post graduate clinical
training for individuals who have received a doctor of
medicine degree from a school of medicine located outside
the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section ten, article three, chapter thirty of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. WEST VIRGINIA MEDICAL PRACTICE ACT.
§30-3-10. Licenses to practice medicine and surgery or podiatry.
(a) The board shall issue a license to practice medicine and
surgery or to practice podiatry to any individual who is
qualified to do so in accordance with the provisions of this
article.
(b) For an individual to be licensed to practice medicine
and surgery in this state, he or she must meet the following
requirements:
(1) He or she shall submit an application to the board on a
form provided by the board and remit to the board a reasonable
examination fee, the amount of such reasonable fee to be set by
the board. The application must, as a minimum, require a sworn
and notarized statement that the applicant is of good moral
character and that he or she is physically and mentally capable
of engaging in the practice of medicine and surgery;
(2) He or she must provide evidence of graduation and
receipt of the degree of doctor of medicine or its equivalent
from a school of medicine, which is approved by the liaison
committee on medical education or by the board;
(3) He or she must submit evidence to the board of having
successfully completed a minimum of one year of graduate clinical
training in a program approved by the accreditation council for
graduate medical education; and
(4) He or she must pass an examination approved by the board, which examination can be related to a national standard.
The examination shall be in the English language and be designed
to ascertain an applicant's fitness to practice medicine and
surgery. The board shall before the date of examination
determine what will constitute a passing score: Provided, That
the said board, or a majority of them, may accept in lieu of an
examination of applicants, the certificate of the national board
of medical examiners. If an applicant fails to pass the
examination on two occasions, he or she shall successfully
complete a course of study or training, as approved by the board,
designed to improve his or her ability to engage in the practice
of medicine and surgery, before being eligible for reexamination.
(c) In addition to the requirements of subsection (b)
hereof, any individual who has received the degree of doctor of
medicine or its equivalent from a school of medicine located
outside of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and
Canada, to be licensed to practice medicine in this state, must
also meet the following additional requirements and limitations:
(1) He or she must be able to demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the board his or her ability to communicate in
the English language;
(2) Before taking a licensure examination, he or she must
have fulfilled the requirements of the educational commission for
foreign medical graduates for certification so as to be currently certified, or he or she must provide evidence of receipt of a
passing score on the examination of the educational commission
for foreign medical graduates within the last ten years; and
(3) He or she must submit evidence to the board of having
successfully completed a minimum of two years of graduate
clinical training in a program approved by the accreditation
council for graduate medical education, or he or she must submit
evidence to the board of current certification by a member of the
American Board of Medical Specialties.
(d) For an individual to be licensed to practice podiatry in
this state, he or she must meet the following requirements:
(1) He or she shall submit an application to the board on a
form provided by the board and remit to the board a reasonable
examination fee, the amount of such reasonable fee to be set by
the board. The application must, as a minimum, require a sworn
and notarized statement that the applicant is of good moral
character and that he or she is physically and mentally capable
of engaging in the practice of podiatric medicine;
(2) He or she must provide evidence of graduation and
receipt of the degree of doctor of podiatric medicine and its
equivalent from a school of podiatric medicine which is approved
by the council of podiatry education or by the board;
(3) He or she must pass an examination approved by the
board, which examination can be related to a national standard. The examination shall be in the English language and be designed
to ascertain an applicant's fitness to practice podiatric
medicine. The board shall before the date of examination
determine what will constitute a passing score. If an applicant
fails to pass the examination on two occasions, he or she shall
successfully complete a course of study or training, as approved
by the board, designed to improve his or her ability to engage in
the practice of podiatric medicine, before being eligible for
reexamination; and
(4) He or she must submit evidence to the board of having
successfully completed a minimum of one year of graduate clinical
training in a program approved by the council on podiatric
medical education, or the colleges of podiatric medicine. The
board may consider a minimum of two years of graduate podiatric
clinical training in the U. S. armed forces or three years
private podiatric clinical experience in lieu of this
requirement.
(e) All licenses to practice medicine and surgery granted
prior to the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-one five, and valid on that date, shall continue in full
effect for such term and under such conditions as provided by law
at the time of the granting of the license: Provided, That the
provisions of subsection (d) of this section shall not apply to
any person legally entitled to practice chiropody or podiatry in this state prior to the eleventh day of June, one thousand nine
hundred sixty-five: Provided, however, That all persons licensed
to practice chiropody prior to the eleventh day of June, one
thousand nine hundred sixty-five, shall be permitted to use the
term "chiropody-podiatry" and shall have the rights, privileges
and responsibilities of a podiatrist set out in this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for an
alternate route for medical licensure for foreign medical
graduates who have at least one year of graduate clinical
training in a program approved by the accreditation council for
graduate medical education but less than three years. For such
graduates, the bill permits current certification by a member
board of the American Board of Medical Specialties as an
acceptable substitute for two additional years of graduate
clinical training.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.