A young physician had just completed his residency in Internal Medicine and was scheduled to start advanced fellowship training. His Postgraduate Training License (PTL) was expiring and he had applied for his Physician and Surgeon's license. Because his PTL was expiring, he was concerned that would not receive his full license in time to start his fellowship. Staff at the Medical Board's Licensing Division informed him that, due to staff and budget issues, it was taking 97 days just for an analyst to be assigned for initial review. It seemed there was no way for him to start his fellowship on time, which could mean a delay of a year or more.
We focused on qualifying the application for expedited review. The request was initially denied; however, we suceeded in demonstrating the the severity of the consequences for our client as well as patients and the license was issued within days. Efforts are now underway to improve the staffing situation in the Licensing Division to address the backlog of license applications. Our client's fellowship will go forward as planned.
Stephen Boreman served a Liaison to the Medical Board of California and Osteopathic Medical Board during his prior employment with the Office of Attorney General. He now practices exclusively in Medical Board matters, with emphasis on licensing issues.