78R5447 JMM-D

By:  Carona                                                       S.B. No. 788



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the eligibility of certain graduates of foreign medical 
schools for a license to practice medicine.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 155, Occupations Code, is 
amended by adding Section 155.0045 to read as follows:
	Sec. 155.0045.  ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN GRADUATES OF FOREIGN 
MEDICAL SCHOOLS HAVING SPECIAL EXPERTISE.  (a)  An applicant who is 
a graduate of a medical school that is located outside of the United 
States and Canada and whose curriculum meets the requirements for 
an unapproved medical school as determined by a committee of 
experts selected by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board 
is eligible for a license under this chapter if the applicant:
		(1)  holds a valid certificate issued by the 
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates;
		(2)  is fully trained in and practices a subspecialty 
of medicine under an unrestricted license to practice medicine in 
the country in which the applicant resides;
		(3)  has successfully completed at least one year of an 
approved fellowship accredited by the Accreditation Council for 
Graduate Medical Education;  and
		(4)  passes the Texas medical jurisprudence 
examination.             
	(b)  An application under this section must be made on behalf 
of the applicant by the chairman of the department in which the 
applicant completed the fellowship described by Subsection (a)(3).  
The application must be completed on a form prescribed by the board 
and must include or be accompanied by the information and 
documentation required by the board, including the chairman's 
recommendation to the board regarding the applicant.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.                      
	(b)  The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners shall adopt 
rules and prescribe forms necessary to implement the requirements 
of Section 155.0045, Occupations Code, as added by this Act, not 
later than March 1, 2004.