South Carolina General Assembly
108th Session, 1989-1990

Bill 3981

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3981
Ratification Number:       274
Act Number                 180
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Standards for examinations of
                           physicians
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A180, R274, H3981)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 40-47-140, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO STANDARDS FOR EXAMINATION OF PHYSICIANS, SO AS TO SET STANDARDS FOR FLEX AND SPEX EXAMINATIONS.

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

Standards for examinations of physicians

SECTION 1. Section 40-47-140 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 541 of 1988, is further amended to read:

"Section 40-47-140. The board by regulation shall establish minimum standards of performance to be attained on examinations for an applicant to qualify for a license.

For FLEX examinations taken before June 1, 1985, the following standards apply:

An applicant for permanent licensure must obtain, in one sitting, a score of at least seventy-five on each day of the examination. If the applicant has a FLEX weighted average of seventy-five or more with no daily score below seventy, the board may accept this score if the applicant currently is board certified by a specialty board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialities.

For FLEX examinations taken after June 1, 1985, the following standards apply:

An applicant for permanent licensure shall obtain a score of seventy-five or more on both Component I and Component II. An applicant shall pass both Components within five years of the first taking of any Component of this examination.

For the SPEX (Special Purpose) examination, the following standards apply:

An applicant for permanent licensure who has not passed National Boards, FLEX, SPEX, or been certified or recertified by a Specialty Board recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialities within ten years of the date of his application to this board, shall pass the SPEX exam. A passing score on the SPEX examination is seventy-five or better. This requirement is in addition to all other requirements for licensure."

Time effective

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