Healthcare

Before January 2020, medical residents in California attending Medical Board-approved postgraduate training programs did not need a physician and surgeon's license until their third year of residency training. An exception was foreign medical graduates who were required to have a Postgraduate Training Authorization Letter or "PTAL". Foreign graduates also needed two years of approved training in order to receive a Physician and Surgeon's Certificate. Domestic and Canadian residents only needed to complete one year of training.

California's attitudes toward drunk driving and the laws reflecting those attitudes, including the laws, policies and regulations of the Medical Board of California, find their roots in the political success of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a private, non-profit organization. In 1980, Candace "Candy" Lightner founded Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) after her thirteen year old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver with a record of prior drunk driving offenses.  By 1984 the organization had attracted the attention of U.S. politicians.

For many years, the Medical Board of California has maintained a list of approved medical schools. All U.S. and Canadian schools, and many foreign medical schools, are approved.  The Medical Board also maintains a list of unapproved medical schools and those not yet approved or accredited. There is a "domino" effect to California Medical Board recognition of an off-shore medical school because other states routinely rely on California's stringent accreditation process and list of approved and disapproved medical schools.

In light of research abuses committed in the 20th Century such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service between 1932 and 1972, and radiation experiments conducted during the Cold War, Congress passed the National Research Act of 1974. The Act was followed by the "Belmont Report" which made recommendations regarding the regulation of human subjects research. Today, the Code of Federal Regulations (45 CFR Part 46) provides standards for Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval when human subjects research is contemplated.

Physicians, including recent medical school graduates and physicians from other states or countries seeking a California medical license must fill out a state application which asks questions pertaining to criminal records.  Questions No. 55 through 58 pertain to criminal records that you may have to disclose.