Medical students and residents have a lot on their plates. No professional program is more challenging than a medical program. You have not only your incredibly demanding academic studies and clinical responsibilities but also your USMLE Step exams or other medical licensing exams to pass. You must also attend to your physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as your finances, housing, and relationships, in the constant transitions that medical studies and residency present. On top of all that, you must begin the professional licensing process with your state medical board, where all kinds of challenging issues can arise from any number of causes, including academic or behavioral issues in medical school, past criminal charges or convictions, and mental health, physical impairment, or addiction and dependency issues.
Don't ignore or fool around with your professional licensing issues, or let them distract you from your medical studies. Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team to help you efficiently and effectively resolve your licensing issues before your state medical board. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now for our skilled and experienced representation, resolving your professional licensing issues.
The Necessity of Medical Licensure
You must be well aware by now that you must soon obtain a professional license from your state medical board if you are to enter permanent medical practice after completing your medical residency and examination requirements. Every state legislature has established a state medical board for the purpose of protecting patients and the public from incompetent or unsafe medical care through a rigorous system of licensure. For example, Section 4731.01 of the Ohio Medical Practice Act established the State Medical Board of Ohio to examine applicants for licensure. The Act's Section 4731.341 declares it a violation of state law to practice medicine without a State Medical Board license. The Act's Section 4731.99 makes it a crime to practice medicine without a valid and current license. Other states have similar provisions. Practicing without a license can be the death knell to professional ambitions. You need your medical license. Let us help you resolve your issues now so that you have your license when you need it.
Qualifications for Medical Licensure
Each state's medical practice act sets forth similar requirements for medical licensure. You won't get a medical license in your state unless you show your state medical board that you meet those license requirements. Section 4731.22 of Ohio's Medical Practice Act, for instance, sets forth the grounds on which the State Medical Board may refuse to issue a license, including credential fraud, inability to practice safely and competently because of impairment, and certain prior criminal convictions. For another example, Section 6524 of New York's Medical Practice Act requires that applicants for a medical license demonstrate not only the required medical education, residency, and examination but also the good moral character to practice medicine. Section 6530 of New York's Medical Practice Act lists the many grounds constituting professional misconduct, including criminal convictions, substance abuse, mental or physical disability, and instances of moral unfitness, disqualifying candidates from licensure. Let us help you address and resolve these and other issues before your state medical board so that you can move on into medical practice with a valid license.
The Application Review Process
You may already have begun your application process with your state medical board for your license. If so, you know that your state medical board has put an administrative system in place to carry out its duty to investigate the qualifications of every applicant so that only fit and competent physicians gain a license to practice. For example, Section 6524 of New York's Medical Practice Act requires candidates to submit the application form that the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions, requires. Application forms typically require you to attest or certify that your answers to the application questionnaire are true, accurate, and correct to the best of your knowledge. Credential fraud, such as false statements on or misleading omissions from your application, academic misconduct in medical school, or cheating on a licensing exam, is routinely grounds on which to deny or revoke a license. For example, Section 6530 of New York's Medical Practice Act includes “obtaining the license fraudulently” as disqualifying professional misconduct. You can't conceal your licensing issues. Attempting to do so can make your licensing issue significantly worse. Instead, let us help you address and favorably resolve your licensing issues.
Common Medical Licensing Issues
Medical students and residents can face a relatively wide range of professional licensing issues. As shown above, state medical practice acts generally list disciplinary grounds that can disqualify one from obtaining a license. See, for another example, 49 Pennsylvania Code Section 16.61 setting forth the medical disciplinary grounds constituting unprofessional conduct. Common grounds on which medical students and residents face early licensing issues include:
- prior felony criminal convictions;
- prior misdemeanor criminal convictions involving dishonesty;
- criminal convictions relating to medical practice;
- restraining orders relating to alleged domestic violence;
- medical school cheating, dishonesty, or research fraud;
- medical school behavioral misconduct, such as bullying;
- medical school sexual misconduct, such as assault or harassment;
- medical school or residency intoxication or impairment;
- medical residency mental or physical decline and disability;
- medical residency program discipline, termination, or non-renewal;
- medical licensing exam disqualification or failure;
- hospitalization for mental health issues; and
- alleged misrepresentations on license applications.
Our attorneys can help you address your issues involving any of the above grounds or other grounds. We have not only the knowledge, skills, and experience but also the reputation and relationships with state medical board officials to communicate and negotiate with those officials toward a prompt and effective resolution. Put us to work on resolving your issues before they linger, worsen, and distract you from your studies.
Discovery of Medical Licensing Issues
Expect your state medical board's investigators to discover the nature and full extent of your medical licensing issues. State medical boards routinely require applicants for licensure to authorize criminal history background checks and checks of medical school and residency records. State medical board officials may also check civil and criminal court filings, disciplinary records of other state medical boards and the boards of other healthcare professions, and other public and professional records. See, for example, the Texas Medical Board's criminal history requirement. They may also learn of your issues through public press reports, social media, and reports or complaints from medical school professors, students, and administrators, and medical residency supervisors, patients, and colleagues. State medical boards also generally have the authority to require an applicant to appear before the board or a panel of the board to answer questions if board members doubt the applicant's character and fitness. If you have issues that have already raised red flags with your state medical board, prepare to address those issues by retaining our highly qualified attorneys.
Resolving Licensing Issues in Advance
You may be able to resolve your licensing issues in advance with our help, before your state medical board flags your license application. Medical licensing issues tend to arise in one or more of the following areas. Our attorneys address those issues as each of the following sections describe .
Medical School Issues Affecting Medical Licensure
If you have a disciplinary record with your medical school, let us work with your school officials to see if we can clarify or remove that record so that it does not slow or interfere with your state medical board application. We may be able to show your medical school's officials that you have completed remedial education, training, treatment, counseling, or mentoring to resolve the disciplinary issue. If instead you have faced an academic progress or academic misconduct issue leaving a substantial mark on your academic record, we may be able to help you clarify, correct, or remove that record in communications and negotiations with your medical school officials or a general counsel's office offering special alternative relief at your medical school's college or university. Your medical school will also have procedures that we can invoke if our informal communications do not favorably resolve your lingering issues, interfering with your license application. See, for example, the Medical Student Rights & Responsibilities Grievance Procedure at Michigan State University. Let us invoke your medical school procedures or meet with your medical school officials to resolve your issues in advance of licensure.
Medical Licensing Exam Issues Affecting Medical Licensure
We may also be able to address issues you face with USMLE officials or other licensing exam officials, before those issues complicate, delay, and frustrate your medical licensure. We may be able to reach and informally communicate and negotiate with USMLE officials to address and resolve their concerns. If informal communications do not gain relief, we can invoke available procedures like the USMLE's Irregular Behavior Procedure, to formally present your explanation and evidence addressing and resolving the issue. The issue may be with the accuracy of your representations on your application for the exam, your exhausting exam attempts and needing to qualify under emergency retake procedures, or alleged cheating during or around the exam. Whatever your issue is, when we resolve it with exam officials, we spare you the complications with medical licensing officials.
Medical Residency Issues Affecting Medical Licensure
The same would be true with your medical residency program. If our informal communications with your medical residency program director do not address and favorably resolve your issue, we can invoke formal grievance procedures to address and resolve lingering or pending issues, preparing you for your medical licensure. See, for example, the University of Florida's grievance procedure for suspension, non-renewal, or dismissal from its Graduate Medical Education program. If your issue is with your medical residency, your residency program or its sponsoring university or hospital likely has a similar procedure for our attorneys to invoke to address and resolve your pending or lingering issue, before it affects your medical licensure. If your residency has already affected your license application, then resolving the issue with your residency program first may be what you need to correct the issue with your state medical board.
Records Issues Affecting Medical Licensure
Medical students and residents can also have medical licensing issues arise out of the records they submit or state medical board officials obtain directly from the recordkeepers. You may, for instance, have a court record reflecting a prior unresolved criminal charge or inaccurately reflecting a criminal conviction that you did not suffer or that the court dismissed, expunged, or reversed. If so, then we can work with the court, judge, and clerk to correct that record to supply an accurate record to the state medical board. The same would be true for a record of your citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, or lawful resident status, such as a green card or visa. If you are unable to supply a certified record to the state medical board, we can work with immigration or other officials to get the appropriate record to the state medical board in the required form. Let us help you examine, clarify, correct, and update your record for your best presentation to licensing officials.
Procedural Protections for License Applicants
Your state medical board will have its own procedures that our attorneys can invoke if our informal communications, negotiations, and advocacy do not promptly resolve your medical licensing issues. If, for instance, you have already faced rejection of your medical licensing application, denying you a license, we can appeal that action through state administrative procedures. Generally, state boards must provide license applicants with constitutional due process when adversely affecting an applicant's interest in a license, employment, and career. Due process in this instance means fair notice of the problems with the license application and a fair opportunity to give your explanation for the problems in a fair hearing before an impartial decision maker. For example, Texas Medical Practice Act Section 164.007 provides for a hearing before an administrative law judge and an appeal to the full Texas Medical Board or to a state civil court after a refusal to issue a medical license.
Our Role Addressing Licensing Issues
Our attorneys do many things to address medical licensing issues for medical students and residents. As just indicated, our attorneys can invoke your state medical board's formal hearing procedures and then prepare for and conduct your hearing. How we address your licensing issue depends on what your issue is. But the steps we can take may include:
- researching, drafting, and filing legal briefs showing the state medical board that your application meets the legal requirements;
- gathering, organizing, and presenting documentary evidence in a reliable and convincing form;
- identifying, preparing, and calling witnesses on your behalf, exonerating you from the charge or mitigating any penalty;
- preparing you to testify on your own behalf, and conducting your direct examination;
- cross-examining any witnesses testifying against you and otherwise showing their lack of credibility;
- arranging and conducting conciliation conferences with medical board officials, advocating and negotiating for voluntary relief;
- arranging remedial measures for you to complete to address medical board concerns, and presenting those measures as sufficient;
- appealing adverse license decisions to the full medical board or other higher administrative body or official, advocating reversal;
- obtaining civil court review and reversal if appeals fail, while also seeking alternative special oversight relief.
Defenses to State Medical Board Licensing Issues
The paragraph just above shows you some of the procedural steps we can take on your behalf to resolve your medical licensing issues with the state medical board. You may also have outright defenses to the issues that the state medical board flags on your license application. We can help you raise and prevail on those defenses. You simply may not have the issues the medical board claims. Your defenses before the state medical board that our attorneys may raise and pursue could include any one or more of the following:
- the complainants or medical board officials have misidentified you as the candidate involved in the alleged wrong;
- you successfully resolved the alleged matter with its withdrawal or dismissal, absolving you from the alleged wrong;
- the alleged matter is not among the statutory or regulatory grounds for disqualification from licensure;
- if the matter involved a criminal conviction, the courts dismissed, expunged, or reversed the conviction, or the executive pardoned it;
- if the matter involved alleged unfitness, you have recovered from the condition and present no future risk on that issue; and
- if the matter involved alleged impairment or addiction, and you were not impaired or addicted, or have recovered after treatment.
Qualified Student Defense Representation
Understand that when you, as a medical student or resident, face medical licensing board issues, you need qualified attorney representation. Local criminal defense attorneys, civil litigation attorneys, and transactional attorneys are unlikely to have our refined administrative hearing skills and extensive administrative experience necessary to handle medical licensing issues before a state medical board. They are also unlikely to have our national reputation and relationships. Do not retain unqualified local counsel for your medical licensing board matter. Unqualified counsel may do more harm than good, causing rejection of your licensing application and setting you back into a new application cycle. Instead, retain our highly qualified attorneys. We have the requisite skill and experience dealing both with medical school and residency matters on the one hand, and with state medical board officials on the other hand. Trust us with your representation when you have so much at stake.
Your Stakes in a Medical Licensing Matter
You have enormous stakes in your medical licensing matter. You are correctly focused on completing medical school, medical residency, and your medical licensing step exams. Yet your medical board application goes hand in hand with your other preparation for your medical career. A stumble in medical school or residency, or with your step exams, leads to licensing issues. Completing your license application and its review may take many months, in an ordinary case. Medical school, residency, or examination issues, criminal history issues, disability or impairment issues, or other professionalism, fitness, or misconduct issues can delay the license application process for many more months, even up to a year or more.
Delays in your licensure can mean delays in beginning your medical practice. License delays can even mean losing medical employment, especially when the delays are due to issues that in themselves raise red flags with your employer. A denial of licensure means not practicing in the state once your medical residency opportunities and temporary licensure expire. Losing the opportunity for a license can mean losing everything you've invested in your medical education, while also losing the substantial return on investment that you reasonably expected. Don't risk those losses. Get our skilled and experienced representation now, before licensing issues become licensing delays and denials.
Multistate Impacts to Medical Licensing Issues
Don't assume that your state medical licensing issues are only issues with your current state medical license board. If your current state medical board denies you a license, that denial can have national, not just state, implications. State medical boards routinely require applicants to disclose whether they have suffered license denial or discipline in another state. State medical board officials also check licensing applications and records in other states. A license denial in your current state could, depending on the grounds, mean a license denial in other states. Better to address your issues now than to face them again later, with a record of denial already established against you. Let us help.
Premier Medical Student / Resident Defense
If you are a medical student or resident facing licensing issues with your state medical board, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Student Defense Team to help you favorably resolve those issues. We have helped hundreds of medical students and residents, and students in other programs and fields, resolve their school and licensing issues. Call 888.535.3686 or use our contact form now for our skilled and experienced representation.
