Medicine: trainees: international medical graduates.

The Medical Practice Act provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California and imposes various requirements in that regard. Existing law requires an applicant for a license as a physician and surgeon to successfully complete a specified medical curriculum, a clinical instruction program, and a training program. Existing law provides that nothing in the Medical Practice Act shall be construed to prohibit a foreign medical graduate from engaging in the practice of medicine whenever and wherever required as part of a clinical service program, subject to certain conditions. Existing law, until January 1, 2019, authorizes a clinical instruction pilot program for certain international medical graduates at the David Geffen School of Medicine of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) as part of an existing preresidency training program, at the option of UCLA. Existing law requires the program to include specified elements relating to the qualifications of the program participants, the clinical instruction, and the training timeframe requirements. Under existing law, those international medical graduates (IMGs) selected for the program are authorized to receive hands-on clinical instruction in specified core courses of study. This bill would eliminate the reference to the specific courses authorized to be offered to the IMG participants. The bill would also remove the repeal date of January 1, 2019, thereby extending the operation of these provisions indefinitely. The bill would additionally remove various references to the program operating as a pilot. Existing law specifies that nothing in those provisions should be construed to alter the licensure requirements, and also provides that the board may consider participation in the clinical instruction of the program as remediation for medical education deficiencies, as specified. Existing law also requires UCLA, on or before January 1, 2018, to prepare a report for the board and the Legislature on topics related to the pilot program. This bill would delete the above provisions. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the UCLA International Medical Graduate Program.