Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · Kentucky · Chapter 311 — Physicians, osteopaths, podiatrists, and related medical practitioners

311.571 Qualifications for licenses -- Exception in extraordinary circumstances.

1,355 words·~6 min read·/ky/chapter-311/311-571

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(1)No applicant who is a graduate of a medical or osteopathic school located within the
United States and its territories and protectorates or Canada shall be eligible for a
regular license to practice medicine in the Commonwealth unless the applicant:
(a)Is able to understandably speak, read, and write the English language;
(b)Has graduated from an accredited college or university or has satisfactorily
completed a collegiate course of study necessary for entry into an approved
medical or osteopathic school or college;
(c)Has graduated from a prescribed course of instruction in a medical or
osteopathic school or college situated in the United States or Canada and
approved by the board;
(d)Has satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of postgraduate training of a
duration to be established by the board in an administrative regulation
promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, after consultation with the
University of Kentucky College of Medicine, the University of Louisville
School of Medicine, and the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic
Medicine;
(e)Has successfully completed an examination prescribed by the board; and
(f)Has fulfilled all other reasonable qualifications for regular licensure that the
board may prescribe by regulation.
(2)No applicant who is a graduate of a medical or osteopathic school located outside
the United States or Canada shall be eligible for a regular license to practice
medicine in the Commonwealth unless the applicant:
(a)Is able to understandably speak, read, and write the English language;
(b)Has successfully completed a course of study necessary for entry into an
approved medical or osteopathic school or college;
(c)Has graduated from a prescribed course of instruction in a medical or
osteopathic school or college situated outside the United States or Canada and
approved by the board or is a citizen of the United States and has been
awarded a diploma by an approved medical or osteopathic school located
within the United States or Canada as part of a program designed to allow for
the transfer of students to such schools from schools located outside the
United States or Canada;
(d)Has successfully completed an examination prescribed by the board;
(e)Has been certified by the educational commission for foreign medical
graduates or by an approved United States specialty board;
(f)Has satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of postgraduate training of a
duration to be established by the board in an administrative regulation
promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, after consultation with the
University of Kentucky College of Medicine, the University of Louisville
School of Medicine, and the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic
Medicine; and
(g)Has fulfilled all other reasonable qualifications for regular licensure that the
board may prescribe by regulation.
(3)No applicant shall be eligible for a limited license-institutional practice unless the
applicant:
(a)Has fulfilled all the requirements for regular licensure as delineated in
subsection
(1)of this section; or
(b)Has fulfilled the requirements for regular licensure as delineated in subsection
(2)(a) to
(e)and
(g)of this section and in addition has satisfactorily completed
a prescribed course of postgraduate training of at least one
(1)full year's
duration approved by the board; and
(c)Has fulfilled all other reasonable qualifications for limited licensure that the
board may prescribe by regulation.
(4)The board may grant an applicant a limited license-institutional practice for a
renewable period of one
(1)year if the applicant:
(a)Has fulfilled the requirements for regular licensure as delineated in subsection
(2)(a), (b), (d), (e), and
(g)of this section;
(b)Has fulfilled the requirements for a limited license-institutional practice as
indicated in subsection (3)(c) of this section; and
(c)Has satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of postgraduate training of at
least one
(1)full year's duration approved by the board.
(5)The board may grant an applicant a fellowship training license for a renewable
period of one
(1)year if the applicant:
(a)Has been accepted for a fellowship approved by the administration of any of
Kentucky's medical schools and conducted under the auspices of that medical
school; or
(b)Has graduated from a medical school located outside the United States or
Canada that has been approved by the board, and:
1. Has been certified by the appropriate licensing authority in his or her
home country in the subject specialty of the fellowship; and
2. Is able to demonstrate that he or she is a physician of good character and
is in good standing in the country where he normally practices medicine.
(a)The board may grant an applicant a special faculty license for a renewable
period of one
(1)year if the applicant:
1. Holds or has been offered a full-time faculty appointment at an
accredited Kentucky medical or osteopathic school approved by the
board and is nominated for a special faculty license by the dean of the
school of medicine or school of osteopathy;
2. Possesses a current valid license to practice medicine or osteopathy
issued by another state, country, or other jurisdiction;
3. Is able to understandably speak, read, and write the English language;
4. Is board certified in his or her specialty;
5. Is not otherwise eligible for a regular license under this chapter; and
6. Is not subject to denial of a license under any provision of this chapter.
(b)The applicant shall submit the fee established by administrative regulation
promulgated by the board for an initial license to practice medicine.
(c)An applicant approved for a license under this subsection shall not engage in
the practice of medicine or osteopathy outside an accredited medical school
program or osteopathic school program and any affiliated institution or
program for which the medical school or osteopathic school has assumed
direct responsibility.
(d)The board may grant a regular license to practice medicine or osteopathy to a
person who has had a special faculty license for a period of at least five
consecutive years.
(7)An applicant seeking regular licensure in the Commonwealth who was originally
licensed in another state may obtain licensure in the Commonwealth without
further testing and training if the applicant:
(a)Has been endorsed in writing by the applicant's original licensing state as
being licensed in good standing in that state; and
(b)Would have satisfied all the requirements for regular licensure described in
the preceding subsections had the applicant sought original licensure in this
state.
(8)No applicant shall be granted licensure in the Commonwealth unless the applicant
has successfully completed an examination prescribed by the board in accordance
with any rules that the board may establish by regulation concerning passing scores,
testing opportunities and test score recognition.
(9)Notwithstanding any of the requirements for licensure established by subsections
(1)to
(8)of this section and after providing the applicant or reregistrant with
reasonable notice of its intended action and after providing a reasonable opportunity
to be heard, the board may deny licensure to an applicant or the reregistrant of an
inactive license without a prior evidentiary hearing upon a finding that the applicant
or reregistrant has violated any provision of KRS 311.595 or 311.597 or is
otherwise unfit to practice. Orders denying licensure may be appealed pursuant to
KRS 311.593.
(10)Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the board may grant licensure to an applicant
in extraordinary circumstances upon a finding by the board that based on the
applicant's exceptional education, training, and practice credentials, the applicant's
practice in the Commonwealth would be beneficial to the public welfare.
(11)Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the board may exercise its discretion
to grant a visiting professor license to an applicant after considering the following:
(a)Whether the applicant meets the qualifications for a regular license;
(b)Whether the applicant is licensed to practice medicine in other states or in
other countries; and
(c)The recommendation of the program director of an accredited medical school
that confirms the applicant's employment as a visiting professor and that
includes, if necessary, written justification for a waiver of the requirements
specified in subsections
(1)and
(2)of this section. Orders denying applications for a visiting professor license shall not be appealed under KRS 311.593.
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.