BILL REQ. #:  H-1068.1 

Read first time 01/26/11.   Referred to Committee on Health Care & Wellness.

     AN ACT Relating to graduates of foreign medical schools; and amending RCW 18.71.051.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 18.71.051 and 1994 sp.s. c 9 s 308 are each amended to read as follows:
     Applicants for licensure to practice medicine who have graduated from a school of medicine located outside of the states, territories, and possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Dominion of Canada, shall file an application for licensure with the commission on a form prepared by the secretary with the approval of the commission. Each applicant shall furnish proof satisfactory to the commission of the following:
     (1) That he or she has completed in a school of medicine a resident course of professional instruction equivalent to that required in this chapter for applicants generally;
     (2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, that he or she meets all the requirements which must be met by graduates of the United States and Canadian school of medicine except that he or she need not have graduated from a school of medicine approved by the commission;
     (b) An applicant for licensure under this section is not required to meet the requirements of RCW 18.71.050(1)(b) if he or she furnishes proof satisfactory to the commission that he or she has:
     (i) Been admitted as a permanent immigrant to the United States as a person of exceptional ability in sciences pursuant to the rules of the United States department of labor; or
     (ii) Been issued a permanent immigration visa and:
     (A) Received multiple sclerosis certified specialist status from the consortium of multiple sclerosis centers; and
     (B) Successfully completed at least twenty-four months of training in multiple sclerosis at an educational institution in the United States with an accredited residency program in neurology or rehabilitation;
     (3) That he or she has satisfactorily passed the examination given by the educational council for foreign medical graduates or has met the requirements in lieu thereof as set forth in rules adopted by the commission;
     (4) That he or she has the ability to read, write, speak, understand, and be understood in the English language.