Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-375

Opinion No. 375 Nurses. Qualifications of-Reciprocity -State Board of Examiners for Nurses. Held: ReCiprocity with other states does not require the Board to recom- mend. for a certifiea te to practice nlll'sing, an applicant whom they find to be unqualified under the Laws of ~iol1tana. October 28, 193.'3 You inquire whether or not a nurse who has failed in an examination in ~Iontana and has thereafter taken an examination and passed in the State of Washington, without establishing more than a temporary residence in Washington, must be admitted to prac- tice in Montana. Hevised Codes 3211, as amended by Chapter 12!) of the Laws of 1929, pro- vides as follows: "The Governor shall issue a certificate of registration to any person registered under the laws of any other state hal"ing requirements for registration equivalent to those of ~Iontana; the Board to be the sole judges thereof." There is plainly a discretionary power vested in your Board of Examiners. A communica- tion from the Executive Secretary of the National League of Nursing Edu- cation states that it is her opinion that it is within your discretion to re- fuse to register the nurse in question. I am advised that a similar ruling bas 260 OPDilO:XS (Hi' THE ATTOU:XEY GE:XERAL been made by the Attorney General of Colorado. In the case of People Y. :\:[cKelway, 148 N. Y. S. 818, the laws of New York provided that an applicant for a li- cenl'e to practice medicine, examined and licensed by other state examining boards, regi.stered by the· regents as maintaining standards not lower than those provided by that act, may be registered without further examina- tion. The regents had made a rule that all examinations must be passed in English. A resident of ::\'ew York an<l a graduate of a medical school in Italy and unfamiliar with the English language passed an examination and receh'ed a license to practice medicine in the State of Michigan. The stand- ards for the State of Michigan were as high as those of New York. It was held that the rule requiring the appli- cant to take an examination in English was a reasonable rule and that the State of New York was not hound to admit this applicant by reciprocity. I therefore conclude that the decision of this case is in your discretion as to whether or not the applicant is quali- fied under the laws of the State of l\fontana.