CHAPTER 626

An Act to amend Sections 54-298, 54-800, 54-805, 54-806, 54-807, 54-808
and 54-810 of the Code of Virginia, and to amend the Code of Virginia
by adding four new sections numbered Sections 54-306.2, 54-306.8, 54-
806.4 and 54-807.1, the amended and new sections relating to the
powers, duties and functions of the Board of Medical Examiners for
the State of Virginia in the giving of examinations, the requirements
for admission to examinations, and the granting of licenses by endorse-
ment or reciprocity; and to repeal Section 54-277 of the Code of Vir-
ginia prescribing requirements for admission to medical colleges in
Virginia.

(S 46]

Approved April 7, 1954

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That Sections 54-293, 54-300, 54-305, 54-306, 54-307, 54-308 and 54-
310 of the Code of Virginia be amended and reenacted, and that the Code
of Virginia be amended by adding four new sections numbered 54-306.2,
54-306.3, 54-306.4 and 54-307.1, as follows:

Section 54-293. Records kept by Board; when admissible as evidence.
—The Board shall preserve a record of its proceedings in a book kept for
that purpose, which shall show the name, age, place and duration of resi-
dence therein of each applicant for a license, the time spent in study in
professional schools, the year and school of graduation, * and whether the
applicant was granted a certificate or rejected. The record shall be prima
facie evidence of all matters contained thereon. * Copies of such records,
certified by the secretary of the Board, * shall be admissible as evidence in
all * courts of this State.
Section 54-300. Rules and regulations governing Part II of the ex-
amination.—The representatives of each branch of the healing arts * on
which examinations are given shall prescribe rules and regulations for the
examination of candidates taking Part II of the examination on the prac-
tice of the branch * which they represent, * but the * members represent-
ing the medical, homeopathic and osteopathic branches shall jointly pre-
scribe * rules and regulations for the * medical, homeopathic and osteo-
pathic examinations.

Section 54-305. Requirements for admission to Part I examination.
—The Board shall admit to Part I examination any candidate who * sub-
mits evidence verified by affidavits and satisfactory to the Board that he:

(a) Is nineteen years of age or more * ;

(b) Is of good moral character ;

(c) Has completed successfully at least a two-year academic course
in an accredited college; and

(d) Has studied * that branch of the healing arts in which he desires
a certificate to practice at a recognized professional school for not less than
two years, including two satisfactory courses of at least eight months each,
or the full equivalent of such courses. The candidate must have success-
fully completed in such school or schools the subjects embraced in the
Part I examination. * Except as otherwise provided herein the school at-
tended must * have maintained at the time of such attendance the stand-
ards required by Section 54-306 for an approved school of attendance and
study.

The Board may in its discretion admit to the Part I examination any
candidate whose professional study and attendance was in a school outside
of the United States and Canada if such candidate submits evidence that,
except as to having passed the Part I examination, he is qualified under
the provisions of this chapter to be admitted to the Part II examination.

Section 54-306. Requirements for admission to Part II examination.
—The Board shall admit to Part II examination any candidate who has
successfully passed Part I examination, and who meets the further re-
quirements of this * chapter. The Board may, in its discretion, admit to
Part II examination any candidate who has had five or more years of legal
and reputable practice, in which event such candidate shall not be required
to take and pass the Part I examination, * but all other requirements of
this section shall be met, including the full period of study leading to the
professional degree and the passing of the Part II examination. * In addi-
tion to these requirements, every candidate for Part II examination must
* submit evidence verified by affidavit and satisfactory to the Board that
he is twenty-one years of age or older, is of good moral character, * and
* that he has studied that branch of the healing arts in which he desires a
certificate to practice for not less‘than four school years, including four
satisfactory courses of at least eight months each, or for not less than
thirty-two months with four equivalent satisfactory courses of at least
eight months each, in * one or more recognized professional schools, *
which schools at the time of such study maintained standards enabling
them to meet one of the following requirements:

(1) If in the United States or Canada, was on the published list of
approved schools prepared by the following organizations, respectively:
For medical schools, the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the
American Medical Association and the Executive Council of the Associa-
tion of American Medical Colleges; for homeopathic schools, the American
Institute of Homeopathy; for osteopathic schools, the American Osteo-
pathic Association; for chiropractic schools, the International Chiroprac-
tors Association or the National Chiropractic Association, Incorporated;
and for naturopathic schools, the American Naturopathic Association.
(2) If outside of the United States and Canada, was on the published
list of foreign medical schools whose graduates are recommended by the
Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical
Association and the Executive Council of the Association of American
Medical Colleges for consideration by medical institutions and organiza-
tions in the United States on the same basis that they consider graduates
of approved medical schools in the United States.

(3) If outside of the United States and Canada, is found by the Board
from evidence submitted by the graduate or from its own investigation to
have maintained at the time of such professional study standards equal
to those required of other schools for qualification hereunder.

Except as otherwise provided herein, no candidate shall be admitted
to the Part II examination unless he holds a degree or certificate of grad-
uation from a professional school which at the time of the candidate's
attendance met the requirements prescribed herein for schools of attend-
ance and study. However, the Board may, in its discretion, admit to the
examination any graduate of a recognized medical school outside of the
United States and Canada which at the time of the candidate’s attendance
and graduation was not a qualified school of attendance and study under
numbered paragraphs (2) and (3) of this section if the Board is satisfied
from the evidence submitted that the candidate’s postgraduate training
or experience, or his professional education supplemented by the intern-
ship training required by Section 54-306.8, 1s of such duration and char-
acter that his qualifications are equal to those required of other candidates
for admission to the examination. Every such candidate shall meet the
other requirements of this section, including the full period of study lead-
ang to the professional degree.

Section 54-306.2. Evidence of right to practice required of certain
foreign graduates.—Every candidate who is a graduate of a school of a
country other than the United States and Canada must, in addition to
meeting the other requirements of this article, exhibit to the Board a
diploma, license or certificate conferring the full right to practice in that
country, or, in lieu thereof, satisfactory evidence showing that the candi-
date has completed the course of study and passed examinations equivalent
to those required for a diploma or license conferring such full right to
practice.

Section 54-806.8. Supplemental training or study required of certain
graduates of schools of foreign countries.—No graduate of a school outside
of the United States and Canada, other than graduates of schools included
in the published list referred to in paragraph (2) of Section 54-806, shall
be admitted to any examination given by the Board unless and until he has
completed two years of satisfactory service as an intern in a hospital in
the United States or Canada approved by the Council on Medical Education
and Hospitals of the American Medical Association for internship training.
Such training must have been completed within the five year period pre-
ceding the examination. The Board. may in its discretion consider one or
more years of postgraduate study in an approved medical school in the
United States or Canada as a substitute for one year of the internship
training herein required.

Section 54-306.4. Requirements as to citizenship; when certificate
void.—Every candidate who is not a citizen of the United States must file
with the Board before taking any examination a statement under oath that
he intends to become a citizen of the United States and that a declaration
of intention to become a citizen or a petition for naturalization has been
duly filed. Any certificate conferring the right to practice in Virginia
given by the Board to a candidate who is not a citizen of the United States
shall be void and of no effect at the end of seven years unless the holder
thereof has within such period submitted to the Board proof of full United
States citizenship.

Section 54-807. Fees for examinations.—The fee for each Part I
examination given shall be twelve dollars and fifty cents, and the fee for
each Part II examination given shall be twelve dollars and fifty cents. In
the event the candidate is admitted to the Part II examination without be-
ing required to take the Part I examination, the fee for the Part II exam-
ination shall be twenty-five dollars. No examination shall be taken until
the fee prescribed therefor has been paid.

Section 54-807.1. Evidence of identity may be required; supporting
papers in foreign language must be translated.—The Board may require
that applications for examinations and for certificates to practice issued
through reciprocity or endorsement be accompanied by birth certificates,
photographs, finger print records, or other evidence sufficient to identify
the applicant. If any supporting document is in any other language than
English, a translation satisfactory to the Board must be filed therewith.

Section 54-308. Requirements for admission to examination on
chiropody.—Examinations of applicants to practice chiropody shall be in
one part, and shall include the subjects named in Section 54-301. Each
candidate must submit evidence, verified by affidavit and satisfactory to
the Board, that he or she:

(a) Is twenty-one years of age or more.

(b) Is of good moral character.

(c) Is a graduate of an accredited high school, or has completed the
full equivalent of a grammar school and a four-year high school course.

(d) Has completed successfully at least a two-year academic course
in an accredited college.

(e) Is a graduate of a recognized school of chiropody (podiatry) *
having a minimum requirement for graduation of four school years in
attendance, which school at the time of such attendance maintained stand-
ards which qualified it for inclusion on the list of approved schools pre-
pared by the National Association of Chiropodists.

The fee for the examination on chiropody shall be twenty dollars.

Section 54-310. Issuance of certificates to applicants from other
states; reciprocal relations.—The Board may, in its discretion, arrange
for reciprocity with the authorities of other states and territories having
requirements equal to those established by this chapter, and issue certifi-
cates to applicants who have met such requirements. The Board may, in
its discretion, issue certificates to applicants upon endorsement by boards
or other appropriate authorities of states with which reciprocal relations
have not been established and to applicants holding certificates from the
National Board of Medical Examiners, provided the credentials of the ap-
plicants are satisfactory and their schools of graduation and the examina-
tions and passing grades required by such other boards are fully equal to
those required by the Virginia Board.

The fee for any such certificate shall be * one hundred dollars, which
shall be paid to the Secretary of the Board before the certificate is granted.

2. Section 54-277 of the Code of Virginia is repealed.
3. Anemergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.