La. Admin. Code tit. 46 § XLV-311

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section XLV-311 - Qualifications for License

A. To be eligible for a license, an applicant shall:

1. be at least 21 years of age;

2. be of good moral character as defined by §303 A;

3. be a citizen of the United States or possess valid and current legal authority to reside and work in the United States duly issued by the commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the United States under and pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act (66 Stat. 163) and the commissioner's regulations thereunder (8 CFR);

4. possess:

a. a doctor of medicine or equivalent degree duly issued and conferred by a medical school or college approved by the board; or

b. a doctor of osteopathic medicine or doctor of osteopathy degree issued and conferred on or after June 1, 1971, by a school or college of osteopathic medicine approved by the board;

5. have within the prior 10 years, in conformity with the restrictions and limitations prescribed by §387 of these rules, and subject to the exception provided for certain applicants for licensure by reciprocity provided by §353, taken and passed:

a. all three steps of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc. (FSMB); or

b. both components of the Federation Licensing Examination (FLEX) of the FSMB; or

c. all three parts of the examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME); or

d. Step 1 of the USMLE or Part I of the NBME, Step 2 of the USMLE or Part II of the NBME, and Step 3 of the USMLE or Part III of the NBME; or

e. Component 1 of the FLEX and Step 3 of the USMLE; or

f. Step 1 of the USMLE or Part I of the NBME and Step 2 of the USMLE or Part II of the NBME and Component 2 of the FLEX; or

g. Levels 1 and 2 of the COMLEX-USA examinations or its predecessor, the NBOME, or any combination thereof developed by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) and Step 3 of USMLE; or

h. all three levels of the COMLEX-USA examination, or its predecessor, the NBOME, or any combination thereof; and

6. have:

a. with respect to applications for licensure first received by the board before January 1, 2019, completed at least one year of postgraduate clinical training in a medical internship or equivalent program accredited by the American Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) of the American Medical Association, or by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (RCPS) of Canada, and approved by the board. A combined postgraduate year one training program that is not accredited shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of this Section provided each program comprising the combined program is accredited by the ACGME or by the AOA or by the RCPS;

b. with respect to applications for licensure first received by the board on and after January 1, 2019, completed at least two years, or alternatively have completed one year and have a current commitment in a form and manner specified by the board for a second year, of postgraduate clinical training in the United States or in Canada in a medical residency or equivalent program accredited by the ACGME, AOA, or by the RCPS and approved by the board. For physicians pursing training in oral and maxillofacial surgery, one year of such training may be in a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of the American Dental Association. To be approved by the board such program must be: offered and taken in an institution offering not fewer than one residency or equivalent program accredited by the ACGME, AOA, or the RCPS; the program in which the applicant participates must evidence the applicant's progressive responsibility for patient care; the two years of such a program must be in the same specialty or alternatively, constitute the applicant, upon completion of the two years of such program, as eligible for specialty board certification or for postgraduate year three (PGY-3) training; and applicants are only permitted to engage in extracurricular medical practice outside of the program with the written permission and assurance of the program director that the applicant is in good standing, has good credentials, and is recommend for such extracurricular practice engagement.

7. have been primarily engaged in the practice of medicine, medical education, or postgraduate medical education or training, or any combination of the foregoing, for the four years immediately preceding the date of the submission of an application. An applicant who does not satisfy this requirement, shall demonstrate his or her clinical competency by the successful passage of an assessment examination or such other competency testing or evaluation, monitoring or supervision as may be designated by the board.

B. Pursuant to Paragraph A.5 of this Section applicants are required to have successfully completed all steps, components, parts, or levels of an approved examination within the prior 10 years and within a span of not more than 10 years. An applicant who is otherwise fully qualified for licensure, but whose successful completion of all steps, components, parts, or levels of an approved examination spanned a period of more than 10 years, shall nonetheless be eligible for licensing provided that such applicant:

1. has within the past three years, completed a medical residency training program accredited by the ACGME, AOA, or RCPS; and

2. is continuing training in a postgraduate year four or fellowship program in the same specialty or subspecialty; or

3. has been practicing or is commencing practice in the same specialty or subspecialty in which the physician completed residency or fellowship training.

C. The burden of satisfying the board as to the qualifications and eligibility of the applicant for licensure shall be upon the applicant. An applicant shall not be deemed to possess such qualifications unless the applicant demonstrates and evidences such qualifications in the manner prescribed by, and to the satisfaction of, the board.

La. Admin. Code tit. 46, § XLV-311

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Board of Medical Examiners, LR 10:908 (November 1984), amended by the Department of Health and Hospitals, Board of Medical Examiners, LR 16:513 (June 1990), LR 27:836 (June 2001), LR 31:1583 (July 2005), LR 37:337 (January 2011), LR 38:3173 (December 2012), Amended by the Department of Health, Board of Medical Examiners, LR 44586 (3/1/2018).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:1270, 37:1271, 37:1272, 37:1274 and 37:1275.1.