Licensure & DEA

Medical Licensure Policy

The State of California Business and Professions code Sections 2065 and 2066, states the following:

All graduates of foreign or domestic medical schools are allowed to train in an ACGME accredited training program for a maximum of two years without medical licensure.   Graduates of foreign medical schools who have trained in a ACGME accredited program in another state; the period of time of that training reduces the amount of time allowed for unlicensed training in California.

Residents who continue to train after the two-year licensing exemption has expired may be fined by the Medical Board in amounts ranging from $100 to $2500 depending upon the severity of the violation.

The policy of the program will be as follows:

• All resident physicians must obtain California medical licensure before the end of the second year of clinical training. Accomplishing this requires that USMLE Parts I, II, and III are successfully completed by May of the first year of training.
• In the event that licensure is not obtained by the end of the second year of training, the trainee will be immediately suspended from the program. No credit for residency training will be given for the time under suspension.
• Reinstatement to the program will require adequate documentation of licensure.
• The forms may be obtained from the Medical Board website: http://www.mbc.ca.gov/.

Effective  January 1, 2020:

The minimum requirements for postgraduate training in California will require successful completion of thirty-six (36) months of a Board-approved program for all applicants, regardless of whether the medical school attended was domestic or international.

Note: SB 798 will change the current minimum requirements of postgraduate training for U.S./Canadian graduates requiring twelve (12) months and international medical school graduates requiring twenty-four (24) months to thirty-six months (36) of a Board-approved program.

A Postgraduate Training License (PTL) will be issued to all residents who are participating in a California ACGME program. The issuance of a PTL will allow residents to train without violating the law.

A trainee must obtain a PTL within 180 days after enrollment in a Board-approved

postgraduate program and would be valid until 90 days after the trainee has completed the required thirty-six (36) months of training.

In preparing for these new changes within your institution, it is strongly recommended that a trainee applying for a PTL immediately submit an application and all supporting documents required by the Board, as soon as he or she has confirmation of acceptance into a Board-approved program to avoid any interruptions with the trainee’s obligations.

After successful completion of thirty-six (36) months of training, the trainee will apply for a full and unrestricted license with the Board within 90 days to continue practicing medicine in California. Please note, the Board will not require the renewal of a PTL. However, the program must notify the Board if the trainee transfers to another Board-approved program, resigns, or is terminated. The Board must also be notified if the trainee’s program is extended for any reason(s), if the trainee takes a leave of absence and/or the trainee receives no credit for any rotation.

Drug Enforement Agency (DEA) Certification Policy

• Our policy is to comply with Federal statutes governing the use of DEA This applies to all resident physicians in Core Surgery and General Surgery Training Programs at all sites.
  
  
• Trainees are expected to obtain DEA certification as soon as possible, after they have obtained medical licensure in the State of California.
  
  
• First-year trainees without medical licensure may write and sign outpatient prescriptions only if such prescriptions will be filled within the facility to which they are assigned
  
  
• Outpatient prescriptions to be filled outside of the institution should be written by a physician, either attending physician or resident physician who possesses valid DEA and medical license numbers.
  
  
• Trainees without DEA certification are forbidden from using the DEA and medical license numbers of other resident physicians to write outpatient prescriptions.
  
  
• DEA prescriptions for controlled substance may only be prescribed and signed by the patient's practitioner. DEA-authorized practitioners are available at all rotation sites, for all residents, on the day it is requested.
  
  
• "Pre-signing" blank and forged prescription is prohibited by law and will be reported to the Program Director.
  
  
• Failure to comply with the DEA policy could result in disciplinary actions including probation, suspension or termination from the training program