§ 5-37-2. License to practice — Qualifications of applicants — Fee — Reexamination.
(a)(1) Authority to practice allopathic or osteopathic medicine under this chapter shall
be by a license issued by the director of the department of health to any reputable
physician who intends to practice allopathic or osteopathic medicine in this state,
and who meets the requirements for licensure established in this chapter and regulations
established by the board or by the director. Applicants for licensure shall present
satisfactory evidence of graduation from a medical school or school of osteopathic
medicine approved by the board and in good standing; shall meet postgraduate training
requirements and any other requirements that the board or director establishes by
regulation; and shall pass in a satisfactory manner any examination that the board
may require. Any physician applying for licensure shall pay a nonrefundable application
fee and when applicable a reexamination fee for each reexamination, in a total amount
as set forth in §â€‚23-1-54.
(2) A license to practice allopathic medicine shall be issued to persons who have graduated
from a school of medicine, possess a degree of doctor of medicine (or meet the requirements
of subsection (b) of this section), and meet the requirements for licensure.
(3) A license to practice osteopathic medicine shall be issued to persons who have graduated
from a school of osteopathic medicine and possess a degree of doctor of osteopathy
and otherwise meet the requirements for licensure. A license to practice osteopathic
medicine shall confer upon the holder the right to practice osteopathic medicine in
all its branches as taught and practiced in accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine.
The holder of that license shall be subject to the same duties and liabilities and
entitled to the same rights and privileges that may be imposed by law or governmental
regulation upon physicians of any school of medicine.
(b)(1) Qualification of Certain Other Applicants for License. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, an individual, who at the time
of his or her enrollment in a medical school outside the United States is a citizen
of the United States, shall be eligible to apply for a certificate pursuant to this
section if he or she has satisfied the following requirements:
(i) Has studied medicine in a medical school located outside the United States, which
is recognized by the World Health Organization;
(ii) Has completed all of the formal requirements of the foreign medical school except
internship and/or social service;
(iii) Has attained a score satisfactory to a medical school approved by the Liaison Committee
on Medical Education on a qualifying examination acceptable to the state board for
medicine, and has satisfactorily completed one academic year of supervised clinical
training under the direction of any United States medical school;
(iv) Has completed the postgraduate hospital training required by the board of applicants
for licensure; and
(v) Has passed the examination required by the board of all applicants for licensure.
(2) Satisfaction of the requirements of subsection (b)(1) is in lieu of the completion
of any foreign internship and/or social-service requirements, and no such requirements
are a condition of licensure as a physician in this state.
(3) Satisfaction of the requirements of subsection (b)(1) is in lieu of certification
by the Educational Council for Foreign Medical Graduates, and this certification is
not a condition of licensure as a physician in this state.
(4) No hospital licensed by this state, or operated by the state or a political subdivision
of the state, or that receives state financial assistance, directly or indirectly,
shall require an individual, who at the time of his or her enrollment in a medical
school outside the United States is a citizen of the United States, to satisfy any
requirements other than those contained in subsections (b)(1)(i), (b)(1)(ii), and
(b)(1)(iii) prior to commencing an internship or residency.
(5) A document granted by a medical school located outside the United States that is recognized
by the World Health Organization issued after the completion of all the formal requirements
of that foreign medical school except internship and/or social service, upon certification
by the medical school in which this training was received of satisfactory completion
by the person to whom this document was issued of the requirements in subsection (b)(1)(iii),
shall be deemed the equivalent of a degree of doctor of medicine for purposes of licensure
and practice as a physician in this state.
(6) No funds appropriated by the general assembly to any school or college of medicine
shall be disbursed until the director of the department of health has certified that
this school or college has established, and will maintain until December 31, 1989,
a clinical training program as contemplated by subsection (b)(1)(iii), to accommodate
residents of this state deemed qualified by that school or college of medicine consistent
with that school's or college's educational resources.