§ 5-37-2. License to practice - Qualifications of applicants - Fee - Reexamination. (a)(1) Authority to practice allopathic or osteopathic medicine under this chapter shall be by a license issued by the director of the department of health to any reputable physician who intends to practice allopathic or osteopathic medicine in this state, and who meets the requirements for licensure established in this chapter and regulations established by the board or by the director. Applicants for licensure shall present satisfactory evidence of graduation from a medical school or school of osteopathic medicine approved by the board and in good standing; shall meet postgraduate training requirements and any other requirements that the board or director establishes by regulation; and shall pass in a satisfactory manner any examination that the board may require. Any physician applying for licensure shall pay a nonrefundable application fee and when applicable a reexamination fee for each reexamination, in a total amount as set forth in § 23-1-54.

(2) A license to practice allopathic medicine shall be issued to persons who have graduated from a school of medicine, possess a degree of doctor of medicine (or meet the requirements of subsection (b) of this section), and meet the requirements for licensure.

(3) A license to practice osteopathic medicine shall be issued to persons who have graduated from a school of osteopathic medicine and possess a degree of doctor of osteopathy and otherwise meet the requirements for licensure. A license to practice osteopathic medicine shall confer upon the holder the right to practice osteopathic medicine in all its branches as taught and practiced in accredited colleges of osteopathic medicine. The holder of that license shall be subject to the same duties and liabilities and entitled to the same rights and privileges that may be imposed by law or governmental regulation upon physicians of any school of medicine.

(b)(1) Qualification of Certain Other Applicants for License. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, an individual, who at the time of his or her enrollment in a medical school outside the United States is a citizen of the United States, shall be eligible to apply for a certificate pursuant to this section if he or she has satisfied the following requirements:

(i) Has studied medicine in a medical school located outside the United States, which is recognized by the World Health Organization;

(ii) Has completed all of the formal requirements of the foreign medical school except internship and/or social service;

(iii) Has attained a score satisfactory to a medical school approved by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education on a qualifying examination acceptable to the state board for medicine, and has satisfactorily completed one academic year of supervised clinical training under the direction of any United States medical school;

(iv) Has completed the postgraduate hospital training required by the board of applicants for licensure; and

(v) Has passed the examination required by the board of all applicants for licensure.

(2) Satisfaction of the requirements of subsection (b)(1) is in lieu of the completion of any foreign internship and/or social-service requirements, and no such requirements are a condition of licensure as a physician in this state.

(3) Satisfaction of the requirements of subsection (b)(1) is in lieu of certification by the Educational Council for Foreign Medical Graduates, and this certification is not a condition of licensure as a physician in this state.

(4) No hospital licensed by this state, or operated by the state or a political subdivision of the state, or that receives state financial assistance, directly or indirectly, shall require an individual, who at the time of his or her enrollment in a medical school outside the United States is a citizen of the United States, to satisfy any requirements other than those contained in subsections (b)(1)(i), (b)(1)(ii), and (b)(1)(iii) prior to commencing an internship or residency.

(5) A document granted by a medical school located outside the United States that is recognized by the World Health Organization issued after the completion of all the formal requirements of that foreign medical school except internship and/or social service, upon certification by the medical school in which this training was received of satisfactory completion by the person to whom this document was issued of the requirements in subsection (b)(1)(iii), shall be deemed the equivalent of a degree of doctor of medicine for purposes of licensure and practice as a physician in this state.

(6) No funds appropriated by the general assembly to any school or college of medicine shall be disbursed until the director of the department of health has certified that this school or college has established, and will maintain until December 31, 1989, a clinical training program as contemplated by subsection (b)(1)(iii), to accommodate residents of this state deemed qualified by that school or college of medicine consistent with that school's or college's educational resources.

History of Section. (G.L. 1896, ch. 165, § 3; P.L. 1901, ch. 926, § 1; P.L. 1908, ch. 1579, § 1; G.L. 1909, ch. 193, § 3; P.L. 1914, ch. 1057, § 1; P.L. 1915, ch. 1216, § 1; G.L. 1923, ch. 159, § 3; P.L. 1927, ch. 1029, § 1; G.L. 1938, ch. 275, § 3; impl. am. P.L. 1939, ch. 660, § 180; impl. am. P.L. 1949, ch. 2228, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 5-37-2; P.L. 1960, ch. 76, § 19; P.L. 1971, ch. 203, § 2; P.L. 1974, ch. 70, § 1; P.L. 1976, ch. 308, § 1; P.L. 1979, ch. 50, § 1; P.L. 1983, ch. 164, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 59, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 301, § 5; P.L. 1986, ch. 387, § 1; P.L. 1999, ch. 354, § 7; P.L. 2001, ch. 77, art. 14, § 12; P.L. 2007, ch. 73, art. 39, § 10; P.L. 2012, ch. 241, art. 9, § 12.)