H-0255.1

HOUSE BILL 1129

ByRepresentatives Valdez, Stonier, Ortiz-Self, Goodman, Cody, Santos, and Macri

AN ACT Relating to the licensure of international medical graduates; and amending RCW 18.71.095.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 18.71.095 and 2020 c 325 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

The commission may, without examination, issue a limited license to persons who possess the qualifications set forth herein:

(1) The commission may, upon the written request of the secretary of the department of social and health services, the secretary of children, youth, and families, or the secretary of corrections, issue a limited license to practice medicine in this state to persons who have been accepted for employment by the department of social and health services, the department of children, youth, and families, or the department of corrections as physicians; who are licensed to practice medicine in another state of the United States or in the country of Canada or any province or territory thereof; and who meet all of the qualifications for licensure set forth in RCW 18.71.050.

Such license shall permit the holder thereof to practice medicine only in connection with patients, residents, or inmates of the state institutions under the control and supervision of the secretary of the department of social and health services, the department of children, youth, and families, or the department of corrections.

(2) The commission may issue a limited license to practice medicine in this state to persons who have been accepted for employment by a county or city health department as physicians; who are licensed to practice medicine in another state of the United States or in the country of Canada or any province or territory thereof; and who meet all of the qualifications for licensure set forth in RCW 18.71.050.

Such license shall permit the holder thereof to practice medicine only in connection with his or her duties in employment with the city or county health department.

(3) Upon receipt of a completed application showing that the applicant meets all of the requirements for licensure set forth in RCW 18.71.050 except for completion of two years of postgraduate medical training, and that the applicant has been appointed as a resident physician in a program of postgraduate clinical training in this state approved by the commission, the commission may issue a limited license to a resident physician. Such license shall permit the resident physician to practice medicine only in connection with his or her duties as a resident physician and shall not authorize the physician to engage in any other form of practice. Each resident physician shall practice medicine only under the supervision and control of a physician licensed in this state, but such supervision and control shall not be construed to necessarily require the personal presence of the supervising physician at the place where services are rendered.

(4)(a) Upon nomination by the dean of an accredited school of medicine in the state of Washington or the chief executive officer of a hospital or other appropriate health care facility licensed in the state of Washington, the commission may issue a limited license to a physician applicant invited to serve as a teaching-research member of the institution's instructional staff if the sponsoring institution and the applicant give evidence that he or she has graduated from a recognized medical school and has been licensed or otherwise privileged to practice medicine at his or her location of origin. Such license shall permit the recipient to practice medicine only within the confines of the instructional program specified in the application and shall terminate whenever the holder ceases to be involved in that program, or at the end of one year, whichever is earlier. Upon request of the applicant and the institutional authority, the license may be renewed. The holder of a teaching research license under this subsection (4)(a) is eligible for full licensure if the following conditions are met:

(i) If the applicant has not graduated from a school of medicine located in any state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Dominion of Canada, the applicant must satisfactorily pass the certification process by the educational commission for foreign medical graduates;

(ii) The applicant has successfully completed the exam requirements set forth by the commission by rule;

(iii) The applicant has the ability to read, write, speak, understand, and be understood in the English language at a level acceptable for performing competent medical care in all practice settings;

(iv) The applicant has continuously held a position of associate professor or higher at an accredited Washington state medical school for no less than three years; and

(v) The applicant has had no disciplinary action taken in the previous five years.

(b) Upon nomination by the dean of an accredited school of medicine in the state of Washington or the chief executive officer of any hospital or appropriate health care facility licensed in the state of Washington, the commission may issue a limited license to an applicant selected by the sponsoring institution to be enrolled in one of its designated departmental or divisional fellowship programs provided that the applicant shall have graduated from a recognized medical school and has been granted a license or other appropriate certificate to practice medicine in the location of the applicant's origin. Such license shall permit the holder only to practice medicine within the confines of the fellowship program to which he or she has been appointed and, upon the request of the applicant and the sponsoring institution, the license may be renewed by the commission.

All persons licensed under this section shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the commission to the same extent as other members of the medical profession, in accordance with this chapter and chapter 18.130 RCW.

Persons applying for licensure and renewing licenses pursuant to this section shall comply with administrative procedures, administrative requirements, and fees determined as provided in RCW 43.70.250 and 43.70.280. Any person who obtains a limited license pursuant to this section may apply for licensure under this chapter, but shall submit a new application form and comply with all other licensing requirements of this chapter.

(5) The commission may issue a time-limited clinical experience license to an applicant who does not qualify for licensure under RCW 18.71.050 or chapter 18.71B RCW and who meets the requirements established by the commission in rule for the purpose of gaining clinical experience at an approved facility or program.

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