Hi to all members. After reading some of these posts on ValueMd i got confused and decided to do my own research in to the matter pertaining to licensure requirements in California.

I rang the California Medical Board yesterday and spoke to the liaison for foreign medical schools regarding this matter on their website:

"If a medical school is not listed on the recognized school list, the medical school is either unrecognized or disapproved. The education and training received at an unrecognized or disapproved medical school is not acceptable for licensure in California."

The reason that I inquired is my medical school is neither on the recognized nor the unrecognized list. I was told that an institution is tested (on their own established criteria) when a graduate from schools not in the approved list applies for licensure in California. One of the criteria is whether the school is domicile (school's sole objective is to train physicians to work in the country of training and NOT for other countries like US) or offshore. My comprehension on the matter is that once your medical school is government run (not private or offshore) and established the chances of your school being added to this list are high.

The California medical board established these lists and criteria based on concerns about 2 types of medical schools.

1. Some offshore private medical schools being run in the Caribbean etc. whose primary objective is to take exorbitant sums of fees and offer substandard education aimed at equating their Caribbean MD degree to the same caliber/quality of an American MD. I personally think that lumping all offshore medical schools into one basket is going to create some problems but I guess the state is trying to put in stringent measures to avoid problems in the future.
2. Some Eastern European Medical Schools that have lately started their language of instruction in English.

Now as it relates to me: My institution where I acquired my MBBS degree certificate is an established Government medical school that seeks to primarily/solely train physicians to practice in my own country. Hence I can be eligible for licensure in California once I am ECFMG certified and have completed 2 years post graduate training in USA. I am one of the very few graduates from my medical school that is seeking to work as a physician in USA and I will be the first graduate applying to California.. Once I meet their criteria, my medical school's name will be placed on the approved list and all subsequent graduates will be automatically recognised.

I was also told that if you apply to the other states that wish to use this California list (like Indiana etc) the state boards will consult with Medical Board of California when in doubt. I think this can be frustrating and listing certain schools and omitting some schools will always pose some confusion and inevitably comparison of schools (for example i was myself questioning why schools like University of Kabul Faculty of Medicine in Afghanistan or Saddam University Saddam College of Medicine in Iraq or University of Zimbabwe are recognised in California and some schools in UK/Australia are not in the approved list).

2 examples of this can suffice:
* Searching IMED for UK schools yields 44 medical schools. All the schools are government run but only 36 are recognised in California
* Similarly, searching IMED for Australian schools yields 18 schools but California only recognises 10.
* Other countries show this type of trend also.

This means that all the schools not in the approved list have not been tested as no-one has applied to California. It also means that there are doctors in California who have graduated from University of Kabul Faculty of Medicine, Afghanistan Saddam University Saddam College of Medicine in Iraq or University of Zimbabwe as they have been recognised. Confusing huh??

OK now with all that info... whats the take home message?

If your school is in neither of the lists and you have a MBBS or MD degree from a school that is NOT offshore it means that no-one from the history of your medical school has applied to California. It will be most likely recognised once you apply to California (after going through the review process) and when it is the school will be listed in the approved list.

Lastly, if I were to advise any student that is entering medical school and wishes to practise in California: Please check this list and attend an offshore school that is on this list or a governement school.

I am thankful and optimistic that I will practise in California.

hi

i am in the same situation as you are, my school is not recognized by the board, but other schools that are less known in my country are listed.

So how is the process going, is it possible to get the school recognized ?
What are the steps involved ?

Thanks