Licensure Process - International Medical School Graduates

To practice medicine in Tennessee a person must possess a lawfully issued license from the board. The procedure for obtaining a license is as follows: (1) An applicant shall obtain an application form from the Board Administrative Office, respond truthfully and completely to every question or request for information contained in the form and submit it along with all documentation and fees required by the form and this rule to the Board Administrative Office. It is the intent of this rule that all activities necessary to GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING CHAPTER 0880-02 THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE accomplish the filing of the required documentation be completed prior to filing a licensure application and that all documentation be filed simultaneously. (2) It is the applicant’s responsibility to request a graduate transcript from a medical school approved by the American Medical Association or its extant accreditation program for medical education or its successor be submitted directly from the school to the Board Administrative Office. The transcript must show that the degree has been conferred and carry the official seal of the institution. (3) To be a Board approved international medical school for purposes of this rule the school shall meet the following curriculum criteria: (a) All courses must have been completed by personal attendance. No international medical school accepting or providing credits for courses taken by correspondence shall be approved. (b) Course instruction must consist of the equivalent of at least four (4) academic years with a minimum of thirty-two (32) weeks of relevant medical instruction each academic year. (c) The school shall be recognized by the World Health Organization but such recognition is not binding on the Board. (d) The school’s admission standards must meet or exceed those of medical schools accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). (e) Acceptable medical educational courses and activities must have been centrally organized, integrated and controlled into a continuous program which was conducted, monitored and approved by the parent institution. (f) If the school does not meet these requirements the applicant cannot obtain a license in Tennessee. (4) An applicant shall cause to be submitted a notarized copy of the original permanent E.C.F.M.G. certificate. In lieu of the certificate the following shall be acceptable: (a) Graduates of Mexican medical schools may submit a letter from the E.C.F.M.G. stating all requirements for issuance of a certificate have been met. (b) For all applicants who cannot receive the original or copies of the original certificate due to the phase out of the E.C.F.M.G. must have submitted directly from the testing agency to the Board’s Administrative Office proof of successful completion of the U.S.M.L.E. Steps 1 & 2 which are the equivalent of the old E.C.F.M.G. certificates. (c) For applicants who have completed the E.C.F.M.G. requirements by utilization of the fifth pathway, all necessary supporting documentation from the E.C.F.M.G. and the institution wherein the fifth pathway criteria were met. (5) An applicant shall submit evidence satisfactory to the Board of successful completion of a three (3) year United States Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited residency or fellowship program approved by the American Medical Association or its extant accreditation program for medical education or its successor. Such evidence shall include, but not be dispositive of this requirement, a notarized certificate of completion and a letter attesting to satisfactory completion issued by the director of the program which shows that the residency was completed in one (1) discipline. An applicant who holds a specialty GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING CHAPTER 0880-02 THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE board certification may be deemed to have completed the three (3) year residency requirement of this rule if the specialty board is recognized and is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties. (6) An applicant shall submit a clear and recognizable, recently taken, bust photograph which shows the full head, face forward from at least the top of the shoulders up. (7) An applicant shall submit evidence of good moral character. Such evidence shall be two (2) recent (within the six [6] months preceding the date the Board received the application) original letters from medical professionals, attesting to the applicant’s personal character and professional ethics on the signatory’s letterhead. (8) An applicant shall submit proof of United States citizenship or of being lawfully present in the United States pursuant to T.C.A. § 4-58-103. (9) An applicant shall submit the application fee and state regulatory fee as provided in Rule 0880-02-.02(1)(a) and (g). (10) All applicants shall submit or cause to be submitted a certificate of successful completion of the examination for licensure as governed by Rule 0880-02-.08. (11) An international medical school student may apply to the board for licensure within twelve (12) months of completion of the post-graduate training program required by paragraph (5) of this rule if all other requirements are met and the director of the residency or fellowship program submits a letter attesting to the applicant’s satisfactory performance in and anticipated successful completion of the residency or fellowship program. However, no license shall be approved or issued until the requirements of paragraph (5) of this rule are met. (12) An applicant shall disclose the circumstances surrounding any of the following: (a) Conviction of any criminal law violation of any country, state, or municipality, except minor traffic violations. (b) The denial of licensure application by any other state or the discipline of licensure in any state. (c) Loss or restriction of hospital privileges. (d) Any other civil suit judgment or civil suit settlement in which the applicant was a party defendant including, without limitation, actions involving medical malpractice, breach of contract, antitrust activity or any other civil action remedy recognized under any country’s or state’s statutory, common, or case law. (e) Failure of any medical licensure examination. (13) All documents required to be submitted shall be translated into English and such translation certified along with the original document as to authenticity by the issuing source. (14) The applicant shall cause the results of a criminal background check to be submitted to the Board’s administrative office directly from the vendor identified in the Board’s licensure application materials. (15) Submission of any document or set of documents required by this rule or submission of verification of the authenticity, validity and accuracy of the content of any document or set of GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING CHAPTER 0880-02 THE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE documents required by this rule directly from the FCVS to the Board Administrative Office shall be deemed to be submission of originals of those documents or sets of documents by the issuing institution(s). (16) Application review and licensure decisions shall be governed by Rule 0880-02-.07.