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CALIFORNIA BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE SECTION 2080-2099 

2080.

• Except as otherwise provided, the provisions of this article applicable to applications generally shall apply to all certificates issued.

• 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 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.

• 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.

• Such other information concerning the professional instruction and preliminary education of the applicant as the division may require.

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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.

• The fee shall be waived for a physician and surgeon who certifies to the Medical Board of California that license renewal 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. 

• 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:

  • Anatomy, including gross anatomy, embryology, histology, and neuroanatomy.

  • Bacteriology and immunology.

  • Biochemistry.

  • Pathology.

  • Pharmacology.

  • 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.
  

• (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.

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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.

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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.

• Instruction in the clinical courses shall total a minimum of 72 weeks in length. 

• 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.

• 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:

  • Is a formal part of the medical school or school of osteopathic medicine.

  • Has an approved residency program in family practice or in the clinical area of the instruction for which credit is being sought.

  • 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.

  • Is formally affiliated with a medical school or a school of osteopathic medicine located outside the United States or Canada.

• 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:

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • The clinical instruction shall be conducted pursuant to a written program of instruction provided by the school.

  • The school shall supervise the implementation of the program on a regular basis, documenting the level and extent of its supervision.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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. 

• 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.

• 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.

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE  SECTION 2100-2115 

2100. 
The provisions of this article shall apply to all applications of graduates of medical schools located outside the United States or Canada. Such applicants shall otherwise comply with the provisions of this chapter, except where such provisions are in conflict with or inconsistent with the provisions of this article.

2102. 
Any applicant whose professional instruction was acquired in a country other than the United States or Canada shall provide evidence satisfactory to the division of compliance with the following requirements to be issued a physician's and surgeon's certificate:

• Completion in a medical school or schools of a resident course of professional instruction equivalent to that required by Section 2089 and issuance to the applicant of a document acceptable to the division that shows final and successful completion of the course. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to require the division to evaluate for equivalency any coursework obtained at a medical school disapproved by the division pursuant to this section.

• Certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates, or its equivalent, as determined by the division. This subdivision shall apply to all applicants who are subject to this section and who have not taken and passed the written examination specified in subdivision (d) prior to June 1, 1986.

• Satisfactory completion of the postgraduate training required under Section 2096. An applicant shall be required to have substantially completed the professional instruction required in subdivision (a) and shall be required to make application to the division and have passed steps 1 and 2 of the written examination relating to biomedical and clinical sciences prior to commencing any postgraduate training in this state. In its discretion, the division may authorize an applicant who is deficient in any education or clinical instruction required by Sections 2089 and 2089.5 to make up any deficiencies as a part of his or her postgraduate training program, but that remedial training shall be in addition to the postgraduate training required for licensure.

• Pass the written examination as provided under Article 9 (commencing with Section 2170). If an applicant has not satisfactorily completed at least two years of approved postgraduate training, the applicant shall also pass the clinical competency written examination. An applicant shall be required to meet the requirements specified in subdivision (b) prior to being admitted to the written examination required by this subdivision. Nothing in this section prohibits the division from disapproving any foreign medical school or from denying an application if, in the opinion of the division, the professional instruction provided by the medical school or the instruction received by the applicant is not equivalent to that required in Article 4 (commencing with Section 2080).

2103.  
An applicant who is a citizen of the United States shall be eligible for a physician's and surgeon's certificate if he or she has completed the following requirements:

• Official transcripts or other official evidence satisfactory to the Division of Licensing of compliance with Section 2088.

• Official evidence satisfactory to the division of completion of a resident course or professional instruction equivalent to that required in Section 2089 in a medical school located outside the United States or Canada. However, nothing in this section shall be construed to require the division to evaluate for equivalency any coursework obtained at a medical school disapproved by the division pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 2080).

• Official evidence satisfactory to the division of completion of all formal requirements of the medical school for graduation, except the applicant shall not be required to have completed an internship or social service or be admitted or licensed to practice medicine in the country in which the professional instruction was completed.

• Attained a score satisfactory to an approved medical school on a qualifying examination acceptable to the division.

• Successful completion of one academic year of supervised clinical training in a program approved by the division pursuant to Section 2104. The division shall also recognize as compliance with this subdivision the successful completion of a one-year supervised clinical medical internship operated by a medical school pursuant to Chapter 85 of the Statutes of 1972 and as amended by Chapter 888 of the Statutes of 1973 as the equivalent of the year of supervised clinical training required by this section.

  • Training received in the academic year of supervised clinical training approved pursuant to Section 2104 shall be considered as part of the total academic curriculum for purposes of meeting the requirements of Sections 2089 and 2089.5.

  • An applicant who has passed the basic science and English language examinations required for certification by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates may present evidence of those passing scores along with a certificate of completion of one academic year of supervised clinical training in a program approved by the division pursuant to Section 2104 in satisfaction of the formal certification requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 2102.

• Satisfactory completion of the postgraduate training required under Section 2096.

• Passed the written examination required for certification as a physician and surgeon in this chapter.

2104. 
The Division of Licensing shall approve programs of supervised clinical training in hospitals for the purpose of providing basic clinical training to students who are graduates of foreign medical schools or have completed all the formal requirements for graduation except for internship or social service and who intend to apply for licensure as a physician and surgeon pursuant to Section 2103. Such programs shall be under the direction of approved medical schools.

2104.5. 
The board, in consultation with various medical schools located in California, the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, and executive directors and medical directors of nonprofit community health centers, hospital administrators, and medical directors with experience hiring graduates of the Fifth Pathway Program or foreign medical school graduates shall study methods to reactivate the Fifth Pathway Program in medical schools located in this state. The executive directors and medical directors of nonprofit community health centers, the hospital administrators, and the medical directors should serve or work with underserved populations or in facilities located in medically underserved communities or in health professional shortage areas. The board shall submit a report to the Legislature on or before July 1, 2003, that shall include options for the Legislature to consider in order to facilitate the establishment of one or more Fifth Pathway Programs in medical schools located in California. The study shall focus on whether the Fifth Pathway Program can address the needs of areas where a shortage of providers exists, communities with a non-English speaking population in need of medical providers who speak their native language and understand their culture, and whether it can provide greater provider stability in these communities.

2105. 
No hospital licensed by this state, or operated by the state or a political subdivision thereof, or which 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 subdivisions (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of Section 2103 prior to commencing the postgraduate training required by subdivision (f) which are not required for graduates of approved medical schools located in the United States or Canada.

2107. 

• The Legislature intends that the Division of Licensing shall have the authority to substitute postgraduate education and training to remedy deficiencies in an applicant's medical school education and training. The Legislature further intends that applicants who substantially completed their clinical training shall be granted that substitute credit if their postgraduate education took place in an accredited program. 

• To meet the requirements for licensure set forth in Sections 2089 and 2089.5, the Division of Licensing may require an applicant under this article to successfully complete additional education and training. In determining the content and duration of the required additional education and training, the division shall consider the applicant's medical education and performance on standardized national examinations, and may substitute approved postgraduate training in lieu of specified undergraduate requirements. Postgraduate training substituted for undergraduate training shall be in addition to the year of postgraduate training required by Sections 2102 and 2103.

2111. 

• Physicians who are not citizens but who meet the requirements of subdivision (b), are legally admitted to the United States, and who seek postgraduate study in an approved medical school may, after receipt of an appointment from the dean of the California medical school and application to and approval by the Division of Licensing, be permitted to participate in the professional activities of the department in the medical school to which they are appointed. The physician shall be under the direction of the head of the department to which he or she is appointed, and shall be known for these purposes as a "Section 2111 guest physician."

• (b) 

  • Application for approval shall be made on a form prescribed by the division. The application shall show that the person does not immediately qualify for a physician and surgeon certificate under this chapter and that the person has completed at least three years of postgraduate basic residency requirements.

  • Approval shall be granted for a maximum of three years and shall be renewed annually. Renewal shall be granted subject to the discretion of the division. Notwithstanding the limitations in this subdivision on the length of the approval, a Section 2111 guest physician may apply for, and the division may in its discretion grant, not more than two extensions of that approval. An extension may be granted only if the dean of the California medical school has provided justification that the extension is necessary and the person holds a certificate issued by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.

  • Except to the extent authorized by this section, the visiting physician may not engage in the practice of medicine, bill for his or her medical services, or otherwise receive compensation therefor. The time spent under appointment in a medical school pursuant to this section may not be used to meet the requirements for licensure under Section 2102.

  • Nothing in this section shall preclude any United States citizen who has received his or her medical degree from a medical school located in a foreign country from participating in any program established pursuant to this section.

2112. 

• Physicians who are not citizens but are legally admitted to the United States and who seek postgraduate study, may, after application to and approval by the Division of Licensing, be permitted to participate in a fellowship program in a specialty or subspecialty field, providing the fellowship program is given in a hospital in this state which is approved by the Joint Committee on Accreditation of Hospitals and providing the service is satisfactory to the division. Such physicians shall at all times be under the direction and supervision of a licensed, board-certified physician and surgeon who is recognized as a clearly outstanding specialist in the field in which the foreign fellow is to be trained. The supervisor, as part of the application process, shall submit his or her curriculum vitae and a protocol of the fellowship program to be completed by the foreign fellow. Approval of the program and supervisor is for a period of one year, but may be renewed annually upon application to and approval by the division. The approval may not be renewed more than four times. The division may determine a fee, based on the cost of operating this program, which shall be paid by the applicant at the time the application is filed.

• Except to the extent authorized by this section, no such visiting physician may engage in the practice of medicine or receive compensation therefor. The time spent under appointment in a medical school pursuant to this section may not be used to meet the requirements for licensure under Section 2101 or 2102.

• Nothing in this section shall preclude any United States citizen who has received his or her medical degree from a medical school located in a foreign country from participating in any program established pursuant to this section.

2113. 

• Any person who does not immediately qualify for a physician's and surgeon's certificate under this chapter and who is offered by the dean of an approved medical school in this state a full-time faculty position may, after application to and approval by the Division of Licensing, be granted a certificate of registration to engage in the practice of medicine only to the extent that the practice is incident to and a necessary part of his or her duties as approved by the division in connection with the faculty position.

• To qualify for the certificate an applicant shall meet all the following requirements:

  • Furnish documentary evidence satisfactory to the division that the applicant is a United States citizen or is legally admitted to the United States.

  • If the applicant is a graduate of a medical school other than in the United States or Canada, furnish documentary evidence satisfactory to the division that he or she has been licensed to practice medicine and surgery for not less than four years in another state or country whose requirements for licensure are satisfactory to the division, or has been engaged in the practice of medicine in the United States for at least four years in approved facilities, or has completed a combination of that licensure and training.
    
    If the applicant is a graduate of an approved medical school in the United States or Canada, furnish documentary evidence that he or she has completed a resident course of professional instruction as required in Section 2089.

  • The head of the department in which the applicant is to be appointed shall certify in writing to the division that the applicant will be under his or her direction and will not be permitted to practice medicine unless incident to and a necessary part of the applicant's duties as approved by the division in subdivision (a).
    

  • Submit an application on a form prescribed by the division.

  • The dean of the medical school shall demonstrate that the applicant has the requisite qualifications to assume the position to which he or she is to be appointed.

• A certificate of registration is valid for one year after its issuance. During this period the division may require the registrant to take the written examination required for issuance of a physician' s and surgeon's certificate. If the registrant is required to take the written examination and does not pass, the certificate of registration shall nevertheless be effective for the one-year period issued and if the effective period of the certificate will lapse before the examination may be retaken, the certificate of registration may be renewed, subject to the discretion of the division, for a period not to exceed one additional year.  If the registrant is not required to take the written examination in order to be issued a certificate of registration or has passed that examination, the certificate of registration may be renewed annually at the discretion of the division for a total period of five years from the date of issuance of the original certificate, provided, however, that the division, may in its discretion refuse to renew a certificate of registration if the registrant is a graduate of a medical school other than in the United States or Canada and has not, within two years after registration, been issued a certificate by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. The division may condition any renewal on passing the written examination as described in this subdivision.

• If the registrant is a graduate of a medical school other than in the United States or Canada, he or she shall meet the requirements of Section 2102 or 2135, as appropriate, in order to obtain a physician's and surgeon's certificate. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the division may accept practice in an appointment pursuant to this section as qualifying time to meet the postgraduate training requirements in Section 2102, and may, in its discretion, waive the examination and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certification requirements specified in Section 2102 in the event the registrant applies for a physician's and surgeon's certificate. As a condition to waiving any examination or the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certification requirement, the division in its discretion, may require an applicant to pass the clinical competency examination referred to in subdivision (d) of Section 2135. The division shall not waive any examination for an applicant who has not completed at least one year in the faculty position.

• Except to the extent authorized by this section, the registrant shall not engage in the practice of medicine or receive compensation therefor, unless he or she is issued a physician's and surgeon's certificate.

2115. 

• Physicians who are not citizens but are legally admitted to the United States and who seek postgraduate study may, after application to and approval by the Division of Licensing, be permitted to participate in a fellowship program in a specialty or subspecialty field, providing the fellowship program is given in a clinic or hospital in a medically underserved area of this state that is licensed by the State Department of Health Services or is exempt from licensure pursuant to subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety Code, and providing service is satisfactory to the division. These physicians shall at all times be under the direction and supervision of a licensed, board certified physician and surgeon who has an appointment with a medical school in California and is a specialist in the field in which the fellow is to be trained. The supervisor, as part of the application process, shall submit his or her curriculum vitae and a protocol of the fellowship program to be completed by the foreign fellow. Approval of the program and supervisor is for a period of one year, but may be renewed annually upon application to and approval by the division. The approval may not be renewed more than four times. The division may determine a fee, based on the cost of operating this program, which shall be paid by the applicant at the time the application is filed.

• Except to the extent authorized by this section, no visiting physician may engage in the practice of medicine or receive compensation therefor. The time spent under appointment in a clinic pursuant to this section may not be used to meet the requirements for licensure under Section 2102.

• Nothing in this section shall preclude any United States citizen who has received his or her medical degree from a medical school located in a foreign country from participating in any program established pursuant to this section.

• For purposes of this section, a medically underserved area means a federally designated Medically Underserved Area, a federally designated Health Professional Shortage Area, and any other clinic or hospital determined by the board to be medically underserved. Clinics or hospitals determined by the board pursuant to this subdivision shall be reported to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.

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