A.
Basis: The authority for the promulgation of these
rules and regulations by the Colorado Medical Board ("Board") is set forth in
sections 12-20-204(1) and
12-240-106(1)(a),
12-240-115, and
12-240-110(1)(a), (b) and
(c), C.R.S.
B.
Purpose: The
purpose of the rules and regulations is to set forth administrative guidelines
for eligibility and acceptance of examinations as required by section
12-240-110(1),
C.R.S. These Rules are not meant to preclude acceptance of any licensing exam
previously approved by the board.
C. The Board authorizes the following
examinations as satisfying the required examinations identified in section
12-240-110(1)(b),
C.R.S.
1. The United States Medical Licensing
Examination ("USMLE"), administered by the National Board of Medical
Examiners;
2. The Comprehensive
Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA ("COMLEX-USA"), administered by
the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners;
3. The Federal Licensure Examination
("FLEX"), administered by the Federation of State Medical Boards.
D. Additional examinations
approved by the Board, for the purpose of satisfying the required examinations
identified in Section
12-240-110(1)(a),
C.R.S. include:
1. Medical Council of Canada
Qualifying Examination ("MCCQE"), Parts I and II, along with conferral of the
Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada ("LMCC").
To be eligible for USMLE Step 3 or COMLEX-USA Level 3,
applicant must have:
1. Obtained the
degree of Medical Doctor ("M.D.") or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine ("D.O.);
and,
2. Successfully completed both
USMLE Steps 1 and 2 or COMLEX-USA Level 1 and 2.
E. To be eligible to sit for the USMLE Step 3
or COMLEX-USA Level 3, an applicant must be serving in, or have completed, one
year of postgraduate training in a program of graduate medical education
accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education
("ACGME") of the American Medical Association ("AMA") or the American
Osteopathic Association ("AOA").
F.
An examinee who fails USMLE Step 3 or COMLEX-USA Level 3 may be reexamined at
any subsequent examination upon payment of the required fee.
G. In order to be eligible for licensure, an
applicant must successfully complete USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3 or COMLEX-USA
Levels 1, 2, 3, within seven years of the date the applicant first sat for any
step of the USMLE or any level of the COMLEX, irrespective of whether the
applicant passed said step or level.
1. This
paragraph (G) shall not apply to applicants who are enrolled in a Ph.D. degree
program from a regionally accredited university simultaneously with an LCME
accredited medical degree program or an AOA accredited osteopathic degree
program. However, such Ph.D./M.D./D.O. applicants must have successfully
completed USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3 or COMLEX-USA Levels 1, 2, and 3 within ten
years of the date the applicant first sat for any step of the USMLE or any
level of the COMLEX, irrespective of whether the applicant passed said step or
level.
2. Upon applicant's showing
of good cause, the Board may waive the time requirements set forth in this
paragraph (G). Any such waiver shall be based upon the circumstances relating
to the particular individual's application. The decision to grant or deny such
a waiver shall be in the sole discretion of the board.
H. A failure of any USMLE step or COMLEX-USA
level, regardless of the jurisdiction in which the examination was
administered, shall be considered a failure of that step for purposes of
Colorado licensure and shall be considered for purposes of determining
compliance with the requirements of paragraph (D) above.
I. The USMLE examination is designed to
supersede and replace the FLEX over time.
1.
For those medical students and physicians who may have already successfully
completed part of the FLEX or National Board Examination sequence, the Board
designates the following combinations of examinations, and passing score for
each, which shall be considered comparable to the existing examinations. In
order to meet the examination requirement for licensure, the examination
sequence combinations illustrated above must be successfully completed no later
than January 1, 2000.
NBME Part I (passing score = 75) or USMLE Step 1 (passing
score = 75)
NBME Part II (passing score = 75) or USMLE Step 2 (passing
score = 75)
NBME Part III (passing score = 75) or USMLE Step 3 (passing
score = 75)
Or
FLEX Component 1 (passing score = 75)
plus
USMLE Step 3 (passing score = 75)
Or
NBME Part I (passing score = 75) or USMLE Step 1 (passing
score = 75)
plus
NBME Part II (passing score = 75) or USMLE Step 2 (passing
score = 75)
plus
FLEX Component 2 (passing score = 75)
2. For those applicants who successfully
completed the FLEX, the Board finds the following minimum scores required to
meet the requirements of section
12-240-110(1),
C.R.S.:
DATE OF EXAM
|
ACCEPTED SCORES
|
Before June 1985
|
75% weighted average; passed in one sitting; no
scrambling or replacement of scores.
|
Between June 1985 and December 1993
|
75 each component; both components must be passed
within 7 years
|