Official Summary Text
AB 2398, as amended, Alvarez.
Practice of medicine: Physician Graduate License Act.
Graduate medical education capacity: report.
Existing law establishes the Department of Health Care Access and Information in the Health and Welfare Agency and requires the department to perform specified functions relating to, among other things, health policy and planning, health professions development, and health facility data.
This bill would require the department to convene a workgroup to discuss graduate medical education capacity in California, with a focus on access to residency positions. The bill would require the workgroup to be composed of interested stakeholders, as specified. The bill would require the department, in consultation with the Medical Board of California, to prepare and
submit a report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2028, that includes, among other information, recommendations for increasing residency capacity in California, improving geographic and specialty distribution, and reducing barriers to entry, including for international medical graduates. The bill would repeal its provisions on January 1, 2030.
Existing law, the Medical Practice Act, establishes the Medical Board of California to license and regulate the practice of medicine and specifies educational, examination, and other qualifications for licensure as a physician and surgeon.
This bill would establish the Physician Graduate License Act, under which the board would be required to issue a physician graduate license to an applicant who has graduated from medical school but has not completed a residency program and who satisfies specified requirements. The bill would require a physician graduate to practice under a supervising practice agreement with a sponsoring physician and surgeon who meets specified requirements, including maintaining an active practice in California.
This bill would make a physician graduate license valid for 3 years
and renewable for an unspecified number of 3-year periods, subject to certain conditions. The bill would require the board to set application, licensure, and renewal fees for the physician graduate license, as specified. The bill would provide that, for the purposes of medical practice, a physician graduate is considered a full-scope physician.