(a) A person may not practice medicine in this State unless the person:
(1) Has a certificate to practice medicine issued by the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline;
(2) Registers the certificate to practice medicine and renews it biennially; and
(3) If required, has an occupational license pursuant to Part III of Title 30.
(b) To receive a certificate to practice medicine in this State, an applicant for a certificate must:
(1) Have a working ability to read, write, speak, understand, and be understood in the English language;
(2) Possess the following educational credentials:
a. A degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy, or an equivalent degree, from a legally incorporated medical college or school located in the United States or Canada, which medical college or school has been approved by the appropriate accrediting body of the American Medical Association or the American Osteopathic Association; or
b. A degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy, or an equivalent degree, from a legally incorporated medical college or school located in a country other than the United States or Canada, medical college or school which is listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED), along with documentary proof that the applicant successfully passed the examination administered by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and the Federation of State Medical Boards; or
c. A degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy, or an equivalent degree, from a legally incorporated medical college or school located in a country other than the United States or Canada, which medical college or school is not listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED), but the applicant has completed 3 years of postgraduate training in a residency program which has been approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and has successfully passed the examination administered by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and the Federation of State Medical Boards;
d. Documentary proof that all clinical rotations served by the applicant in the United States or Canada as part of training received in a medical college or school were conducted in institutions that are formal parts, such as a primary hospital, of a medical college or school or that have formal affiliation with a medical college or school approved by the appropriate accrediting body of the American Medical Association or the American Osteopathic Association, or that the clinical rotations were served in hospitals which had, at the time the rotations were served, a residency training program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in the subject matter of the clinical rotation;
(3) Have satisfactorily completed an internship or equivalent training in an institution, which internship or equivalent training and institution are approved by the Board;
(4) Submit to the Board a sworn or affirmed statement that the applicant:
a. Has not been convicted of or has not admitted under oath to having committed a crime substantially related to the practice of medicine, provided however, that a waiver may be available pursuant to subsection (e) of this section;
b. Has not been professionally penalized for or convicted of drug addiction;
c. Has not had the applicant’s license or certificate or other authorizing document to practice allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine in any other state, territory, or foreign nation revoked, suspended, restricted, limited, or subjected to disciplinary or other action by the certifying or licensing authority thereof, or an application to practice denied;
d. Has not been removed, suspended, expelled, or disciplined by any professional medical association or society when the removal, suspension, expulsion, or discipline was based upon what the association or society found to be unprofessional conduct, professional incompetence, or professional malpractice;
e. Has not been disciplined by a licensed hospital or by the medical staff of the hospital, including the removal, suspension, or limitation of hospital privileges, the nonrenewal of privileges for cause, the resignation of privileges under pressure of investigation or other disciplinary action, if the discipline was based upon what the hospital or medical staff found to be unprofessional conduct, professional incompetence, or professional malpractice;
f. Has not engaged in the practice of medicine without a certificate or license or other authorization to practice medicine;
g. Has not unlawfully prescribed narcotic drugs;
h. Has not wilfully violated the confidence of a patient, except under legal requirement;
i. Has not been professionally penalized or convicted of fraud;
j. Has reviewed and acknowledges the applicant’s own duties to report unprofessional conduct under the Medical Practice Act and to report child abuse or neglect under § 903 of Title 16, or any successors thereto.
(5) Submit to the Board a sworn or affirmed statement that the applicant is, at the time of application, physically and mentally capable of engaging in the practice of medicine according to generally accepted standards, and submit to such examination as the Board may deem necessary to determine the applicant’s capability;
(6) Submit, at the applicant’s expense, fingerprints and other necessary information in order to obtain the following:
a. A report of the applicant’s entire criminal history record from the State Bureau of Identification or a statement from the State Bureau of Identification that the State Central Repository contains no such information relating to that person.
b. A report of the applicant’s entire federal criminal history record pursuant to the Federal Bureau of Investigation appropriation of Title II of Public Law 92-544 (28 U.S.C. § 534). The State Bureau of Identification shall be the intermediary for purposes of this section and the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline shall be the screening point for the receipt of said federal criminal history records.
c. An applicant may not be certified to practice medicine until the applicant’s criminal history reports have been produced. An applicant whose record shows a prior criminal conviction for an offense that is substantially related to the practice of medicine, may not be certified by the Board unless a waiver is granted pursuant to subsection (e) of this section. The State Bureau of Identification may release any subsequent criminal history to the Board.
(7) Pass the professional examination pursuant to § 1721 of this title, unless excepted under § 1722 of this title or waived as provided in subsection (e) of this section.
(8) [Repealed.]
(c) An applicant for a certificate to practice medicine in this State must submit to the Board an application in writing in such form as the Board requires.
(d) An applicant for a certificate to practice medicine in this State must fulfill the requirements of subsection (b) of this section in accord with the form and manner required by the Board in its rules and regulations. The applicant must also pay the application fee set by the Division, and, unless an exception in § 1722 of this title applies, the applicant must pass a professional examination pursuant to § 1721 of this title.
(e) The Board, by the affirmative vote of 9 of its members, may waive any of the requirements of this section if it finds all of the following by clear and convincing evidence:
(1) The applicant’s education, training, qualifications, and conduct have been sufficient to overcome the deficiency or deficiencies in meeting the requirements of this section;
(2) The applicant is capable of practicing medicine in a competent and professional manner;
(3) The granting of the waiver will not endanger the public health, safety, or welfare; and
(4) For waiver of a criminal conviction other than a conviction of a felony sexual offense, the Board shall grant a waiver if it determines, after consideration of the factors set forth in § 8735(x)(3) of Title 29, that granting a waiver would not create an unreasonable risk to public safety. A waiver may not be granted to any person who is convicted of a felony sexual offense. The time limitation set forth in § 8735(x)(4) of Title 29 does not apply to a felony sexual offense.
(5) [Repealed.]
(f) In determining if an applicant qualifies for certification to practice medicine, the Board may rely upon relevant decisions made by the appropriate authority in other states and may not permit a collateral attack upon those decisions.
(g) Notwithstanding any language to the contrary, the Board shall not issue a license to an applicant until first verifying that an applicant is not listed on either the Adult Abuse Registry or the Child Protection Registry as being substantiated for abuse or neglect.
(h) An applicant for initial or renewal certification to practice medicine in this State must disclose whether the applicant has ever been the subject of an investigation by any licensing authority, medical association, hospital or other healthcare institution. The Board may require an applicant to provide sufficient documentation to enable the Board to determine whether investigation or a diagnostic mental or physical examination is necessary to determine the applicant’s qualifications for certification to practice medicine in this State. Any such investigation or diagnostic mental or physical examination shall be conducted pursuant to § 1732 of this title.
(i) All individuals licensed to practice under this chapter shall be required to be fingerprinted by the State Bureau of Identification, at the licensee’s expense, for the purposes of performing subsequent criminal background checks. Licensees who received their initial license to practice on or before July 1, 2007, shall submit by January 1, 2012, at the applicant’s expense, fingerprints and other necessary information in order to obtain a criminal background check.
(j) The Board may issue an administrative medicine license to a physician who meets all qualifications for licensure, including payment of a fee set by the Division of Professional Regulation, except that an applicant for an administrative medicine license shall not be required to show that the applicant has been engaged in the active practice of medicine, as defined in the Board’s regulations. Administrative medicine licensees may not provide medical or clinical services to or for patients and shall attest to understanding this on the application.