IAMRA 2025 Registration Open
Registration is now open for the 16th International Conference on Medical Regulation, organized by IAMRA (International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities) and hosted by the Medical Council of Ireland. The conference will be held in Dublin, Ireland September 3-6, 2025. This year's theme is “People-focused regulation for a safer global community.” Early bird registration ends on June 16, 2025, but registration will be available up to and during the meeting.
This important international conference will be of interest to those involved in medical regulation and regulation of other health professions; medical education across the continuum, including primary medical education, post graduate medical training, and continuing professional development; assessment and remediation; and healthcare policy and medical workforce planning.
For additional information or to register, please visit https://iamradublin2025.org/
Licensing Models
Recommendations Released
The Advisory Commission on Additional Licensing Models has released its first set of recommendations to guide and advise state medical boards, state legislators, policymakers and others, as they develop and implement laws specific to the licensing of physicians who have already trained and practiced medicine outside the US or Canada.
The Advisory Commission was formed in December 2023 by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), Intealth™, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in response to increasing interest among state policymakers to improve patient access and reduce workforce shortages by changing licensure requirements for physicians who have completed training and/or practiced abroad.
The following 9 recommendations, which are not intended as an endorsement, focus on the aforementioned eligibility requirements and related considerations for entry by internationally trained physicians into additional licensure pathways. They were drafted based on areas of concordance in legislation already introduced and enacted, as well as expert opinion that was collected during a months long public comment period in which more than 150 individuals and organizations participated.
Rulemaking authority should be delegated, and resources allocated, to the state medical board for implementing and evaluating any additional licensure pathways.
An offer of employment should be required for pathway eligibility. State medical boards should be authorized to define what is an appropriate clinical facility for the supervision and assessment of internationally trained physicians (ITPs) for their provisional licensure period.
Possession of authorization from another country or jurisdiction to lawfully practice medicine in that country or jurisdiction, and at least three years of experience in medical practice should be required for pathway eligibility.
A limit on the physician's time “out of practice” that is consistent with that state's existing re-entry to practice requirements should be considered.
A successfully completed period of supervision and assessment by an employer should be required of ITPs to transition from provisional licensure to full licensure.
State medical boards should preserve their authority to assess each candidate for full and unrestricted licensure.
State medical boards implementing additional licensure pathways should collect and share data to evaluate the program's effectiveness.
State medical boards should preserve their authority to assess each candidate for full and unrestricted licensure.
State medical boards implementing additional licensure pathways should collect and share data to evaluate the program's effectiveness.
The full guidance document and recommendations can be viewed at https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/communications/acalm-guidance.pdf
Additional recommendations from the Advisory Commission are anticipated later in 2025 to address other important areas, such as the criteria or assurances that should be required for a physician to transition from provisional to full and unrestricted licensure.