SENATE BILL 590
54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019
INTRODUCED BY
Gerald Ortiz y Pino
AN ACT
RELATING TO HEALTH; REDUCING FROM TWO YEARS TO ONE YEAR THE POSTGRADUATE TRAINING REQUIRED FOR ALLOPATHIC AND OSTEOPATHIC PHYSICIANS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 61-6-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1923, Chapter 44, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
"61-6-11. LICENSURE.--
A. The board may consider for licensure a person who is of good moral character, is a graduate of an accredited United States or Canadian medical school, has passed an examination approved by the board and has completed [two years] one year of an approved postgraduate training program.
[B. An applicant who has not completed two years of an approved postgraduate training program, but who otherwise meets all other licensing requirements, may present evidence to the board of the applicant's other professional experience for consideration by the board in lieu of the approved postgraduate training program. The board shall, in its sole discretion, determine if the professional experience is substantially equivalent to the required approved postgraduate training program.
C.] B. A graduate of a board-approved medical school located outside the United States or Canada may be granted a license to practice medicine in New Mexico, provided the applicant presents evidence to the board that the applicant is a person of good moral character and is in compliance with the United States immigration laws and provided that the applicant presents satisfactory evidence to the board that the applicant has successfully passed an examination as required by the board and has successfully completed two years of postgraduate medical training in an approved postgraduate training program. A graduate of a medical school located outside the United States who successfully completes at least two years of an approved postgraduate training program at or affiliated with an institution located in New Mexico prior to December 30, 2007 and who meets the other requirements of this section may also be granted a license to practice medicine.
[D.] C. All applicants for licensure may be required to appear personally before the board or a designated agent for an interview.
[E.] D. An applicant for licensure by examination shall not be granted a license if the applicant has taken the examination in two or more steps and has failed to successfully pass the final step within seven years of the date that the first step was passed. An applicant for licensure who holds a medical doctor degree and a doctoral degree in a medically related field must successfully complete the entire examination series within ten years from the date the first step of the examination is passed. [Provided, that] The board may, by rule, establish exceptions to the time requirements of this subsection.
[F.] E. Every applicant for licensure under this section shall pay the fees required by Section 61-6-19 NMSA 1978.
[G.] F. The board may require fingerprints and other information necessary for a state and national criminal background check."
SECTION 2. Section 61-10-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2016, Chapter 90, Section 6) is amended to read:
"61-10-6. LICENSURE--REQUIREMENTS.--
A. The board may consider for licensure an individual who:
(1) is a graduate of a school of osteopathic medicine accredited by the commission on osteopathic college accreditation and recognized by the American osteopathic association;
(2) has successfully passed all three levels of the comprehensive osteopathic medical licensing examination, its predecessor examination or the United States medical licensing examination; provided that the board shall not grant a license to an applicant who has not passed the final level of the respective examination within seven years of having successfully passed the first level of that examination;
(3) provides evidence to the board of having completed at least [two years] one year of a board-approved nationally accredited [post-graduate] postgraduate training program; and
(4) makes an application in accordance with board rules and pays the fees required pursuant to Section 61-10-6.1 NMSA 1978.
[B. An applicant who has not completed two years of a board-approved nationally accredited post-graduate training program, but who otherwise meets all other licensing requirements, may present evidence to the board of the applicant's other professional experience for consideration by the board in lieu of the approved post-graduate program required pursuant to Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of this section.
C.] B. As a condition of licensure, the board may require an applicant for licensure to:
(1) appear personally before the board or its designated agent for an interview; or
(2) be fingerprinted and supply any other information necessary to obtain a state or national criminal background check; provided that an applicant shall pay any fees for a criminal background check directly to the screening entity that performs the check."
SECTION 3. Section 61-10-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1933, Chapter 117, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:
"61-10-8. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION.--
A. After July 1, 2016, a first-time applicant for licensure to practice as an osteopathic physician shall:
(1) be a graduate of a college of osteopathic medicine accredited by the commission on osteopathic college accreditation and recognized by the American osteopathic association; and
(2) have completed at least [two years] one year of [post-graduate] postgraduate training approved by the American osteopathic association or the accreditation council for graduate medical education.
B. An osteopathic physician who has been licensed in this state or another state of the United States before July 1, 2016 shall have completed at least one year of [post-graduate] postgraduate training approved by the American osteopathic association or the accreditation council for graduate medical education."
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