KRS § 311.571 — KY Code / Title XXVI / Chapter 311 / Section 311.571
311.571 Qualifications for licenses -- Exception in extraordinary circumstances
Status: in_force

311.571 Qualifications for licenses -- Exception in extraordinary circumstances.

(1) No applicant who is a graduate of a medical or osteopathic school located within the

United States and its territories and protectorates or Canada shall be eligible for a

regular license to practice medicine in the Commonwealth unless the applicant:

(a) Is able to understandably speak, read, and write the English language;

(b) Has graduated from an accredited college or university or has satisfactorily

completed a collegiate course of study necessary for entry into an approved

medical or osteopathic school or college;

(c) Has graduated from a prescribed course of instruction in a medical or

osteopathic school or college situated in the United States or Canada and

approved by the board;

(d) Has satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of postgraduate training of a

duration to be established by the board in an administrative regulation

promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, after consultation with the

University of Kentucky College of Medicine, the University of Louisville

School of Medicine, and the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic

Medicine;

(e) Has successfully completed an examination prescribed by the board; and

(f) Has fulfilled all other reasonable qualifications for regular licensure that the

board may prescribe by regulation.

(2) No applicant who is a graduate of a medical or osteopathic school located outside

the United States or Canada shall be eligible for a regular license to practice

medicine in the Commonwealth unless the applicant:

(a) Is able to understandably speak, read, and write the English language;

(b) Has successfully completed a course of study necessary for entry into an

approved medical or osteopathic school or college;

(c) Has graduated from a prescribed course of instruction in a medical or

osteopathic school or college situated outside the United States or Canada and

approved by the board or is a citizen of the United States and has been

awarded a diploma by an approved medical or osteopathic school located

within the United States or Canada as part of a program designed to allow for

the transfer of students to such schools from schools located outside the

United States or Canada;

(d) Has successfully completed an examination prescribed by the board;

(e) Has been certified by the educational commission for foreign medical

graduates or by an approved United States specialty board;

(f) Has satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of postgraduate training of a

duration to be established by the board in an administrative regulation

promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, after consultation with the

University of Kentucky College of Medicine, the University of Louisville

School of Medicine, and the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic

Medicine; and

(g) Has fulfilled all other reasonable qualifications for regular licensure that the

board may prescribe by regulation.

(3) No applicant shall be eligible for a limited license-institutional practice unless the

applicant:

(a) Has fulfilled all the requirements for regular licensure as delineated in

subsection (1) of this section; or

(b) Has fulfilled the requirements for regular licensure as delineated in subsection

(2)(a) to (e) and (g) of this section and in addition has satisfactorily completed

a prescribed course of postgraduate training of at least one (1) full year's

duration approved by the board; and

(c) Has fulfilled all other reasonable qualifications for limited licensure that the

board may prescribe by regulation.

(4) The board may grant an applicant a limited license-institutional practice for a

renewable period of one (1) year if the applicant:

(a) Has fulfilled the requirements for regular licensure as delineated in subsection

(2)(a), (b), (d), (e), and (g) of this section;

(b) Has fulfilled the requirements for a limited license-institutional practice as

indicated in subsection (3)(c) of this section; and

(c) Has satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of postgraduate training of at

least one (1) full year's duration approved by the board.

(5) The board may grant an applicant a fellowship training license for a renewable

period of one (1) year if the applicant:

(a) Has been accepted for a fellowship approved by the administration of any of

Kentucky's medical schools and conducted under the auspices of that medical

school; or

(b) Has graduated from a medical school located outside the United States or

Canada that has been approved by the board, and:

1. Has been certified by the appropriate licensing authority in his or her

home country in the subject specialty of the fellowship; and

2. Is able to demonstrate that he or she is a physician of good character and

is in good standing in the country where he normally practices medicine.

(6) (a) The board may grant an applicant a special faculty license for a renewable

period of one (1) year if the applicant:

1. Holds or has been offered a full-time faculty appointment at an

accredited Kentucky medical or osteopathic school approved by the

board and is nominated for a special faculty license by the dean of the

school of medicine or school of osteopathy;

2. Possesses a current valid license to practice medicine or osteopathy

issued by another state, country, or other jurisdiction;

3. Is able to understandably speak, read, and write the English language;

4. Is board certified in his or her specialty;

5. Is not otherwise eligible for a regular license under this chapter; and

6. Is not subject to denial of a license under any provision of this chapter.

(b) The applicant shall submit the fee established by administrative regulation

promulgated by the board for an initial license to practice medicine.

(c) An applicant approved for a license under this subsection shall not engage in

the practice of medicine or osteopathy outside an accredited medical school

program or osteopathic school program and any affiliated institution or

program for which the medical school or osteopathic school has assumed

direct responsibility.

(d) The board may grant a regular license to practice medicine or osteopathy to a

person who has had a special faculty license for a period of at least five (5)

consecutive years.

(7) An applicant seeking regular licensure in the Commonwealth who was originally

licensed in another state may obtain licensure in the Commonwealth without

further testing and training if the applicant:

(a) Has been endorsed in writing by the applicant's original licensing state as

being licensed in good standing in that state; and

(b) Would have satisfied all the requirements for regular licensure described in

the preceding subsections had the applicant sought original licensure in this

state.

(8) No applicant shall be granted licensure in the Commonwealth unless the applicant

has successfully completed an examination prescribed by the board in accordance

with any rules that the board may establish by regulation concerning passing scores,

testing opportunities and test score recognition.

(9) Notwithstanding any of the requirements for licensure established by subsections

(1) to (8) of this section and after providing the applicant or reregistrant with

reasonable notice of its intended action and after providing a reasonable opportunity

to be heard, the board may deny licensure to an applicant or the reregistrant of an

inactive license without a prior evidentiary hearing upon a finding that the applicant

or reregistrant has violated any provision of KRS 311.595 or 311.597 or is

otherwise unfit to practice. Orders denying licensure may be appealed pursuant to

KRS 311.593.

(10) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the board may grant licensure to an applicant

in extraordinary circumstances upon a finding by the board that based on the

applicant's exceptional education, training, and practice credentials, the applicant's

practice in the Commonwealth would be beneficial to the public welfare.

(11) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the board may exercise its discretion

to grant a visiting professor license to an applicant after considering the following:

(a) Whether the applicant meets the qualifications for a regular license;

(b) Whether the applicant is licensed to practice medicine in other states or in

other countries; and

(c) The recommendation of the program director of an accredited medical school

that confirms the applicant's employment as a visiting professor and that

includes, if necessary, written justification for a waiver of the requirements

specified in subsections (1) and (2) of this section.

Orders denying applications for a visiting professor license shall not be appealed

under KRS 311.593.