2005 California Business and Professions Code Sections 2080-2099 Article 4. Requirements for Licensure

2080.  (a) Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this
article applicable to applications generally shall apply to all
certificates issued.
   (b) Every applicant for a physician's and surgeon's certificate
shall comply with the requirements of this article unless other
specific requirements of this chapter are applicable to a particular
class of applicant.
2081.  Each application shall be made upon a form provided by the
Division of Licensing, and  each application form shall contain a
legal verification to be signed by the applicant verifying under
penalty of perjury that the information provided by the applicant is
true and correct and that any information in supporting documents
provided by the applicant is true and correct.
2082.  Each application shall include the following:
   (a) A diploma issued by an approved medical school.  The
requirements of the school shall have been at the time of granting
the diploma in no degree less than those required under this chapter
or by any preceding medical practice act at the time that the diploma
was granted.  In lieu of a diploma, the applicant may submit
evidence satisfactory to the Division of Licensing of having
possessed the same.
   (b) An official transcript or other official evidence satisfactory
to the division showing each approved medical school in which a
resident course of professional instruction was pursued covering the
minimum requirements for certification as a physician and surgeon,
and that a diploma and degree were granted by the school.
   (c) Such other information concerning the professional instruction
and preliminary education of the applicant as the division may
require.
   (d) An affidavit showing to the satisfaction of the division that
the applicant is the person named in each diploma and transcript that
he or she submits, that he or she is the lawful holder thereof, and
that the diploma or transcript was procured in the regular course of
professional instruction and examination without fraud or
misrepresentation.
   (e) Either fingerprint cards or a copy of a completed Livescan
form from the applicant in order to establish the identity of the
applicant and in order to determine whether the applicant has a
record of any criminal convictions in this state or in any other
jurisdiction, including foreign countries.  The information obtained
as a result of the fingerprinting of the applicant shall be used in
accordance with Section 11105 of the Penal Code, and to determine
whether the applicant is subject to denial of licensure under the
provisions of Division 1.5 (commencing with Section 475) and Section
2221.
2083.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), each application
for a certificate shall be accompanied by the fee required by this
chapter and shall be filed with the Division of Licensing.
   (b) The license fee shall be waived for a physician and surgeon
who certifies to the Medical Board of California that the issuance of
the license or the renewal of the license is for the sole purpose of
providing voluntary, unpaid service to a public agency,
not-for-profit agency, institution, or corporation that provides
medical services to indigent patients in medically underserved or
critical-need population areas of the state.
2084.  The Division of Licensing may approve every school which
substantially complies with the requirements of this chapter for
resident courses of professional instruction.  Graduates of medical
schools approved under this section shall be deemed to meet the
requirements of Section 2089.  Medical schools accredited by a
national accrediting agency approved by the division and recognized
by the United States Department of Education shall be deemed approved
by the division under this section.  Nothing in this chapter
prohibits the division from considering the quality of the resident
courses of professional instruction required for certification as a
physician and surgeon.
2085.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 2084, a graduate of an approved
medical school located in the United States or Canada who has
graduated from a special medical school program that does not
substantially meet the requirements of Section 2089 with respect to
any aspect of curriculum length or content may be approved by the
Division of Licensing if the division determines that the applicant
has otherwise received adequate instruction in the subjects listed in
subdivision (b) of Section 2089.
   "Adequate instruction" means the applicant has received
instruction adequate to prepare the applicant to engage in the
practice of medicine in the United States.  This definition applies
to the sufficiency of instruction of the following courses:
   (1) Anatomy, including gross anatomy, embryology, histology, and
neuroanatomy.
   (2) Bacteriology and immunology.
   (3) Biochemistry.
   (4) Pathology.
   (5) Pharmacology.
   (6) Physiology.
   The division may require an applicant under this section to
undertake additional education to bring up to standard, instruction
in the subjects listed in subdivision (b) of Section 2089 as a
condition of issuing a physician and surgeon's certificate.  In
approving an applicant under this section, the division may take into
account the applicant's total relevant academic experience,
including performance on standardized national examinations.
   (b) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a) or Sections 2084 and 2089,
an applicant who is a graduate of an approved medical school located
in the United States or Canada who has graduated from a special
medical school program that does not substantially meet the
requirements of Section 2089 with respect to any aspect of curriculum
length or content shall be presumed to meet the requirements of
Sections 2084 and 2089 if the special medical school program has been
reviewed and approved by a national accrediting agency approved by
the division and recognized by the United States Department of
Education.
   (2) This presumption may be overcome upon a finding by the
division that the medical education received by the applicant is not
the educational equivalent of the medical education received by
graduates of medical schools approved pursuant to subdivision (a) or
Section 2084.  In making its finding, the division shall consider, at
a minimum, the applicant's total academic and medical training
experience prior to, and following, as well as during, medical
school, the applicant's performance on standardized national
examinations, including the National Board Examinations, the
applicant's achievements as a house staff officer, and the number of
years of postgraduate medical training completed by the applicant.
   (3) An applicant under this subdivision who (A) has satisfactorily
completed at least two years of postgraduate clinical training
approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
or the Coordinating Council of Medical Education of the Canadian
Medical Association and whose postgraduate training has included at
least one year of clinical contact with patients and (B) has achieved
a passing score on the written examination required for licensure,
satisfies the requirements of Sections 2084 and 2089.  For purposes
of this subdivision, an applicant who has satisfactorily completed at
least two years of approved postgraduate clinical training on or
before July 1, 1987, shall not be required to have at least one year
of clinical contact with patients.
   (4) Applicants under this subdivision who apply after
satisfactorily completing one year of approved postgraduate training
shall have their applications reviewed by the division and shall be
informed by the division either that satisfactory completion of a
second year of approved postgraduate training will result in their
being deemed to meet the requirements of Sections 2084 and 2089, or
informed of any deficiencies in their qualifications or documentation
and the specific remediation, if any, required by the division to
meet the requirements of Sections 2084 and 2089.  Upon satisfactory
completion of the specified remediation, the division shall promptly
issue a license to the applicant.
2086.  The Division of Licensing may utilize medical consultants and
investigators employed by the board pursuant to Section 2020 to
evaluate the curricula of medical schools.  A medical consultant or
investigator shall meet such reasonable standards of experience and
education, to be determined by the division, as will enable him or
her to competently perform such duties of evaluation.
2087.  If any medical school is not approved by the Division of
Licensing or any applicant for licensure is rejected by it, then the
school or the applicant may commence an action in the superior court
as provided in Section 2019 against the division to compel it to
approve the school or to issue the applicant a certificate or for any
other appropriate relief.  If the applicant is denied a certificate
on the grounds of unprofessional conduct, the provisions of Article
12 (commencing with Section 2220) shall apply.  In such an action the
court shall proceed under Section 1094.5 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, except that the court may not exercise an independent
judgment on the evidence.  The action shall be speedily determined by
the court and shall take precedence over all matters pending therein
except criminal cases, applications for injunction, or other matters
to which special precedence may be given by law.
2089.  (a) Each applicant for a physician's and surgeon's
certificate shall show by official transcript or other official
evidence satisfactory to the Division of Licensing that he or she has
successfully completed a medical curriculum extending over a period
of at least four academic years, or 32 months of actual instruction,
in a medical school or schools located in the United States or Canada
approved by the division, or in a medical school or schools located
outside the United States or Canada which otherwise meets the
requirements of this section.  The total number of hours of all
courses shall consist of a minimum of 4,000 hours.  At least 80
percent of actual attendance shall be required.  If an applicant has
matriculated in more than one medical school, the applicant must have
matriculated in the medical school awarding the degree of doctor of
medicine or its equivalent for at least the last full academic year
of medical education received prior to the granting of the degree.
   (b) The curriculum for all applicants shall provide for adequate
instruction in the following subjects:
   Alcoholism and other chemical substance dependency, detection and
treatment.
   Anatomy, including embryology, histology, and neuroanatomy.
   Anesthesia.
   Biochemistry.
   Child abuse detection and treatment.
   Dermatology.
   Geriatric medicine.
   Human sexuality.
   Medicine, including pediatrics.
   Neurology.
   Obstetrics and gynecology.
   Ophthalmology.
   Otolaryngology.
   Pain management and end-of-life care.
   Pathology, bacteriology, and immunology.
   Pharmacology.
   Physical medicine.
   Physiology.
   Preventive medicine, including nutrition.
   Psychiatry.
   Radiology, including radiation safety.
   Spousal or partner abuse detection and treatment.
   Surgery, including orthopedic surgery.
   Therapeutics.
   Tropical medicine.
   Urology.
   (c) The requirement that an applicant successfully complete a
medical curriculum that provides instruction in pain management and
end-of-life care shall only apply to a person entering medical school
on or after June 1, 2000.
2089.5.  (a) Clinical instruction in the subjects listed in
subdivision (b) of Section 2089 shall meet the requirements of this
section and shall be considered adequate if the requirements of
subdivision (a) of Section 2089 and the requirements of this section
are satisfied.
   (b) Instruction in the clinical courses shall total a minimum of
72 weeks in length.
   (c) Instruction in the core clinical courses of surgery, medicine,
family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and
psychiatry shall total a minimum of 40 weeks in length with a minimum
of eight weeks instruction in surgery, eight weeks in medicine, six
weeks in pediatrics, six weeks in obstetrics and gynecology, a
minimum of four weeks in family medicine, and four weeks in
psychiatry.
   (d) Of the instruction required by subdivision (b), including all
of the instruction required by subdivision (c), 54 weeks shall be
performed in a hospital that sponsors the instruction and shall meet
one of the following:
   (1) Is a formal part of the medical school or school of
osteopathic medicine.
   (2) Has an approved residency program in family practice or in the
clinical area of the instruction for which credit is being sought.
   (3) Is formally affiliated with an approved medical school or
school of osteopathic medicine located in the United States or
Canada.  If the affiliation is limited in nature, credit shall be
given only in the subject areas covered by the affiliation agreement.
   (4) Is formally affiliated with a medical school or a school of
osteopathic medicine located outside the United States or Canada.
   (e) If the institution, specified in subdivision (d), is formally
affiliated with a medical school or a school of osteopathic medicine
located outside the United States or Canada, it shall meet the
following:
   (1) The formal affiliation shall be documented by a written
contract detailing the relationship between the medical school, or a
school of osteopathic medicine, and hospital and the responsibilities
of each.
   (2) The school and hospital shall provide to the division a
description of the clinical program.  The description shall be in
sufficient detail to enable the division to determine whether or not
the program provides students an adequate medical education.  The
division shall approve the program if it determines that the program
provides an adequate medical education.  If the division does not
approve the program, it shall provide its reasons for disapproval to
the school and hospital in writing specifying its findings about each
aspect of the program that it considers to be deficient and the
changes required to obtain approval.
   (3) The hospital, if located in the United States, shall be
accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, and
if located in another country, shall be accredited in accordance
with the law of that country.
   (4) The clinical instruction shall be supervised by a full-time
director of medical education, and the head of the department for
each core clinical course shall hold a full-time faculty appointment
of the medical school or school of osteopathic medicine and shall be
board certified or eligible, or have an equivalent credential in that
specialty area appropriate to the country in which the hospital is
located.
   (5) The clinical instruction shall be conducted pursuant to a
written program of instruction provided by the school.
   (6) The school shall supervise the implementation of the program
on a regular basis, documenting the level and extent of its
supervision.
   (7) The hospital-based faculty shall evaluate each student on a
regular basis and shall document the completion of each aspect of the
program for each student.
   (8) The hospital shall ensure a minimum daily census adequate to
meet the instructional needs of the number of students enrolled in
each course area of clinical instruction, but not less than 15
patients in each course area of clinical instruction.
   (9) The division, in reviewing the application of a foreign
medical graduate, may require the applicant to submit a description
of the clinical program, if the division has not previously approved
the program, and may require the applicant to submit documentation to
demonstrate that the applicant's clinical training met the
requirements of this subdivision.
   (10) The medical school or school of osteopathic medicine shall
bear the reasonable cost of any site inspection by the division or
its agents necessary to determine whether the clinical program
offered is in compliance with this subdivision.
2089.7.  (a) The requirement of four weeks of clinical course
instruction in family medicine shall apply only to those applicants
for licensure who graduate from medical school or a school of
osteopathic medicine after May 1, 1998.
   (b) This section shall become operative on June 30, 1999.
2090.  "Human sexuality" as used in Sections 2089 and 2191 means the
study of a human being as a sexual being and how he or she functions
with respect thereto.
2091.  The requirement that instruction in child abuse detection and
treatment be provided shall apply only to applicants who matriculate
on or after September 1, 1979.
2091.1.  The requirement that instruction in alcoholism and other
chemical substance dependency be provided applies only to applicants
who matriculate on or after September 1, 1985.
2091.2.  The requirements that instruction in spousal or partner
abuse detection and treatment be provided shall apply only to
applicants who matriculate on or after September 1, 1994.  The
requirement for coursework in spousal or partner abuse detection and
treatment shall be satisfied by, and the board shall accept in
satisfaction of the requirement, a certification from the chief
academic officer of the educational institution from which the
applicant graduated that the required coursework is included within
the institution's required curriculum for graduation.
2096.  In addition to other requirements of this chapter, before a
physician's and surgeon's license may be issued, each applicant,
including an applicant applying pursuant to Article 5 (commencing
with Section 2100), shall show by evidence satisfactory to the
Division of Licensing that he or she has satisfactorily completed at
least one year of postgraduate training, which includes at least four
months of general medicine, in an approved postgraduate training
program.
   The amendments made to this section at the 1987 portion of the
1987-88 session of the Legislature shall not apply to applicants who
completed their one year of postgraduate training on or before July
1, 1990.
2099.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the
Division of Licensing may delegate to any member of the division its
authority to approve the admission of candidates to examinations and
to approve the issuance of physician's and surgeon's certificates to
applicants who have met the specific requirements therefor.  The
division may further delegate to the executive director or other
official of the board the authority to approve the admission of
candidates to examinations and to approve the issuance of physician's
and surgeon's certificates to applicants who have met the specific
requirements therefor in routine cases to candidates and applicants
who clearly meet the requirements of this chapter.