Object to Mississippi ruling

[corpsman]

Talked to the board today and Mississippi is giving 20 days to allow objections to the ruling on the use of the Cali list. I also spoke with the Lt Gov of MS and he assured me after speaking with the board that they were looking into ways to make the rule apply more fairly.
http://www.msbml.state.ms.us/regchanges/30.II.02.101.pdf

[MedMan87]

Great so another school following the Cali List, is that 13 now?

[Arkie]

I'll be sure to contact them tomorrow. Thanks for the heads up.

[Arkie]

"If the degree is from a foreign medical school, the school must be included
in the list of medical schools recognized by the Medical Board of
California at the time of graduation. However, if the medical school is
located in If the degree is from a medical school in any of the member
countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) which includes the
British Overseas Territories and not included in the list of medical schools
recognized by the Medical Board of California, the medical school must
be accredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in
Medicine and Other Health Professions (CAAM-HP) at the time of
graduation. In addition, the applicant must either (i) possess a valid
certificate from the ECFMG or (ii) document successful completion of a
Fifth Pathway program, as described in Section 101."

So it is also VERY important for anyone at a non-"Big 4" to contact your school administration and make sure they understand the importance of gaining CAAM-HP approval. Blindly following California's lead regarding ANYTHING is a mistake, especially for states suffering from rural physician shortages. Nice to see that MS is including this parameter in their decision, b/c as we've all seen, California isn't exactly known for it's efficiency (neither in Carib region med school accreditation nor government fiscal responsibility).

[corpsman]

The ruling was supposed to be adopted without variance on July 1, 2009 but they said that the response they got from various doctors and students influenced them to give another chance for an oral proceeding. I myself spoke with several lawyers, hospitals, LT gov, and a senator. Letters to the board would help tremendously right now.

[jonasp]

Its nice to see that finally state med boards are getting word that what they are doing is actually hurting more than helping especially in states with a large rural population in dire need of physicians.I hope people keep talking and raise awareness of this important issue.I have no problem with CAAMHP accreditation being used as the marker for all state licensing. Enough with the reliance on California.

[ol' man]

Got an address for us to write to?

[futureboy]

Got an address for us to write to?

From the medical board memo linked in Corpsman's above post:

"Any comments concerning the proposed regulation may be sent to the following address:

Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure
1867 Crane Ridge Drive, Suite 200-B
Jackson, MS 39216"

[ol' man]

Sorry. Slow connection here and I couldnt open that document. Letter is composed and on its way....

[corpsman]

I now have the mayor of Greenville, Ms on the issue. She supposed to be getting in contact with Washington County's attorney to request an oral preceeding on behalf of the county due to the shortage of doctors in the area and the fact that 3 doctors that were recruited to the area will not be able to come. She did say that the more people that send in letters... the better. This will make the board well aware of the impact thier decision has on the community.

[jonasp]

Thanks for fighting corpsman. This needs to be done in every state.In fact there was a recent bill from a congressman in Texas proposing to get rid of the usmle attempt requirements and the number of years required to complete all the exams in order to recruit more physicians to rural areas in Texas. He is sacrificing quality for a little more quantity. Texas will give a hard time to most carib med schools when many of their graduates are well accomplished and have passed all their exams in the alloted time and attempts.This is happening because most people are in the dark as to what these laws are doing and who they are really affecting. Corpsman is finally getting the message out ....at least to MS.

[nevisbutterfly]

If Texas wants more physicans then they need to make the application process more friendly. At present, the board has a lawsuit against them for nit picking physicians in the state by filing bogus claims against them.

DOCTORS SUE TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD FOR MISCONDUCT – Cites institutional culture of retaliation & intimidation AAPS News of the Day (http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/004)

[nevisbutterfly]

If you don't have time to write a snail mail then please at least email the director of the Mississippi Medical Board.

Her name is Rhonda Freeman
rhonda@msbml.state.ms.us


Deadline is July 23rd.

[corpsman]

There will be an oral preceeding held Sept 17, 2009. The website should be updated soon with details. You have to write in and request to attend or have a letter heard but I think that will be posted on the website as well

[Haystack615]

Keep up the good work. Thank you corpsman!

[jonasp]

Yeah thanks for all the hard work corpsman. Keep it up and keep us updated as to how we can continue to help with this issue.

[dave262]

I'm a PGY-2 resident in MS and met with rhonda about this back in march when I first got wind of it. Apparently the board proposed the rule change but didnt publicize it so when nobody protested initially they assumed it wouldnt affect anyone.

I've got my Department chairman sending a letter as well and I intend to be at the meeting in september.

This state has 38 neurologists for 3,000,000 people and 9 of those work half time. They need me :)

[hapshey_usa]

I also emailed the board back in April and they said that as long as my application was in by July 1, that I should have no problems which was the case. I'm glad that they are taking another look at this because there are so many others out there who were in the same situation as me.