South Carolina General Assembly
107th Session, 1987-1988

Bill 2080


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               2080
Ratification Number:       85
Act Number                 53
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Physicians, surgeons, and osteopaths and
                           the matter of reexamination for
                           licensure
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A53, R85, H2080)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 40-47-150, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PHYSICIANS, SURGEONS, AND OSTEOPATHS AND THE MATTER OF REEXAMINATION FOR LICENSURE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT, IF THE APPLICANT HAS NOT MET THE CRITERIA OF THE STATE BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS FOR PASSING THE EXAMINATION AFTER THREE TAKINGS, HE IS NOT PERMITTED TO RETAKE THE EXAMINATION AND ANY SCORE RECEIVED AFTER THREE TAKINGS MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED EXCEPT BY SPECIAL PERMISSION OF THE BOARD, REQUIRE THE APPLICANT TO DEMONSTRATE SPECIAL OR COMPELLING CIRCUMSTANCES IN ORDER TO HAVE A FOURTH TAKING CONSIDERED, PROVIDE FOR A PETITION FOR SPECIAL PERMISSION, AND PROVIDE THAT, IF AN INDIVIDUAL IS GRANTED SPECIAL PERMISSION TO HAVE THE RESULTS OF A FOURTH TAKING OF THE EXAMINATION CONSIDERED AND HE STILL HAS NOT PASSED THE EXAMINATION AS REQUIRED BY THE BOARD, NO FURTHER ATTEMPTS AT OR SCORES FROM THE EXAMINATION MAY BE CONSIDERED BY THE BOARD.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Reexamination; requirements for further takings

SECTION 1. Section 40-47-150 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 40-47-150. In case of failure at any examination, the applicant shall have the privilege of a second examination with the payment of the regular fee. In case of failure in a second examination the applicant, to be eligible, in addition to the requirements for previous examinations, must have pursued his studies for such time as the Board may approve and furnish satisfactory evidence thereof.

If the applicant has not met the Board's criteria for passing the examination after three takings, he shall not be permitted to retake the examination and any score received after three takings shall not be considered except by special permission of the Board. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to demonstrate special or compelling circumstances in order to have a fourth taking considered. A petition for special permission shall be filed with the Board setting forth in detail the special or compelling circumstances the applicant wishes the Board to consider. These special or compelling circumstances include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) the applicant's successful completion of additional medical education in an American Medical Association approved medical school;

(2) the applicant's score on the third examination and its closeness to the passing score required by the Board; or

(3) other special or compelling factors presented by the applicant to the Board.

If an individual is granted special permission to have the results of a fourth taking of the examination considered and he still has not passed the examination as required by the Board, no further attempts at or scores from the examination shall be considered by the Board."

Time effective

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.