Medicine: licensure examinations.

Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, requires the Medical Board of California to issue a physician's and surgeon's certificate to a qualified applicant. Under the act, an applicant for a physician's and surgeon's certificate is required to include specified information with his or her application and to obtain a passing score on an entire examination or on each part of an examination. Existing law authorizes applicants to take the written examinations conducted or accepted by the board in separate parts, and requires the board to adopt by resolution the passing score for each examination or each part of an examination. Existing law requires an applicant to obtain a passing score on Step III of the United States Medical Licensing Examination within not more than 4 attempts of taking that part of the examination. This bill would delete the prohibition on taking Step III of the United States Medical Licensing Examination more than 4 times. The bill would also require the board to accept as a passing score from an applicant the passing score that was adopted by the board and in effect on the date the applicant registered for that examination or part of the examination. The bill would further require the board to act by passing a resolution every time it adopts a passing score for an entire examination or for each part of an examination that is required for certification, subject to specified requirements and in conformity with the court's holding in Marquez v. Medical Board of California (2010) 182 Cal.App.4th 548.