Texas Administrative Code|§163.1 Definitions

                                                
The following words and terms (concerning General Definitions), when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
   (1) Acceptable approved medical school--A medical school or college located in the United States or Canada that has been accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Professional Education.    (2) Acceptable unapproved medical school--A school or college located outside the United States or Canada that:     (A) is substantially equivalent to a Texas medical school; and      (B) has not been disapproved by a state physician licensing or education agency.       (i) If another state's physician licensing agency or education agency has determined that a medical degree conferred by a medical school is not the equivalent of an accredited or authorized degree or has otherwise disapproved the medical school, the board will not recognize the medical school as an acceptable unapproved medical school, unless:         (I) the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has determined that a degree conferred by the medical school is the equivalent of an accredited or authorized degree through the review process described by §61.3021, Texas Education Code; or          (II) the applicant can provide evidence that the determination or disapproval by the other state was unfounded.        (ii) A fraudulent or substandard medical school operating outside the United States or Canada shall not be an acceptable unapproved medical school. "Fraudulent or substandard," as used in this subsection, has the meaning assigned by §61.302, Texas Education Code. If the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board certifies that it has determined, through the review process described by §61.3021, Texas Education Code, that a medical degree conferred by a medical school is not the equivalent of an accredited or authorized degree, the board will not recognize the medical school as an acceptable unapproved medical school.        (iii) This section shall not affect any person who received a license from the board prior to a determination by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board through the review process described by §31.3021, Texas Education Code.    (3) Affiliated hospital--Affiliation status of a hospital with a medical school as defined by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and documented by the medical school in its application for accreditation.    (4) Applicant--One who files an application as defined in this section.    (5) Application--An application is all documents and information necessary to complete an applicant's request for licensure including the following:     (A) forms furnished by the board, completed by the applicant:       (i) all forms and addenda requiring a written response must be typed, printed in ink, or completed online;        (ii) photographs must meet United States Government passport standards;      (B) all documents required under §163.5 of this title (relating to Licensure Documentation); and      (C) the required fee.    (6) Board--Texas Medical Board.    (7) Continuous--12 month periods of uninterrupted postgraduate training with no absences greater than 21 days, unless such absences have been approved by the training program.    (8) Good professional character--An applicant for licensure must not be in violation of or have committed any act described in the Medical Practice Act, Texas Occupations Code Annotated, §§164.051 - 164.053.    (9) One-year training program--A program that is one continuous year of postgraduate training approved by the board that is:     (A) accepted for certification by a specialty board that is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties or the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists; or      (B) accredited by one of the following:       (i) the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, or its predecessor;        (ii) the American Osteopathic Association;        (iii) the Committee on Accreditation of Preregistration Physician Training Programs, Federation of Provincial Medical Licensing Authorities of Canada;        (iv) the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; or        (v) the College of Family Physicians of Canada; or      (C) a postresidency program, usually called a fellowship, performed in the U.S. or Canada and approved by the board for additional training in a medical specialty or subspecialty; or      (D) a U.S. or Canadian graduate medical education training program, that subsequently received accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), American Osteopathic Association (AOA) or Royal College of Physicians, and was accepted by a specialty board that is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties, the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists, or the Royal College of Physicians for Board certification purposes.    (10) Sixty (60) semester hours of college courses--60 semester hours of college courses other than in medical school that are acceptable to The University of Texas at Austin for credit on a bachelor of arts degree or a bachelor of science degree; the entire primary, secondary, and premedical education required in the country of medical school graduation, if the medical school is located outside the United States or Canada; or substantially equivalent courses as determined by the board.    (11) Substantially equivalent to a Texas medical school--A medical school or college shall be considered to be substantially equivalent to a Texas medical school under the following conditions:     (A) An acceptable approved medical school shall be considered to be substantially equivalent to a Texas medical school. A medical school operating within the United States or Canada that is not an acceptable approved medical school shall not be considered to be substantially equivalent to a Texas medical school.      (B) A medical school operating outside the United States or Canada may be determined to be substantially equivalent to a Texas medical school if the medical school is designed to select and educate medical students and provide students with the opportunity to acquire a sound basic medical education through training in basic sciences and clinical sciences. The school should provide information about the school's program of advancement of knowledge through research; the school's development of programs of graduate medical education to produce practitioners, teachers, and researchers; and, the school's program to provide opportunity for postgraduate and continuing medical education, for the board's consideration. In addition, to be determined substantially equivalent to a Texas medical school, the medical school's characteristics shall include, but not be limited to, the following:       (i) The facilities for basic sciences and clinical training (i.e., laboratories, hospitals, library, etc.) shall be adequate to ensure opportunity for proper education.        (ii) The admissions standards shall ensure that the medical school has a pool of applicants sufficiently large and possessing United States national level qualifications to fill its entering class. Medical schools must select students who possess the intelligence, integrity, and personal and emotional characteristics necessary for them to become effective physicians.        (iii) The curriculum shall meet the requirements for an unapproved medical school as set forth in the "Curriculum Definitions for Course Areas Prescribed by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for Determining Eligibility of International Medical Graduates for Texas Medical Licensure," as adopted by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, as follows:         (I) The basic sciences curriculum shall include the contemporary content of those expanded disciplines that have been traditionally titled gross anatomy, biochemistry, biology, physiology, microbiology, immunology, pathology, pharmacology, and neuroscience.          (II) The fundamental clinical subjects, which shall be offered in the form of required patient-related clerkships, are internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, family practice, and surgery.        (iv) The curriculum shall be of at least 130 weeks in duration.        (v) There must be integrated institutional responsibility for the overall design, management and evaluation of a coherent and coordinated curriculum.        (vi) For schools that have geographically separated programs, the principal academic officer of each geographically remote site must coordinate the curriculum with an academic officer of the medical school responsible for organizing the educational program.    (12) Texas Medical Jurisprudence Examination (JP exam)--The ethics examination developed by the board.    (13) Two-year training program--Two continuous years of postgraduate training in the United States or Canada, progressive in nature that is:     (A) accredited by one of the following:       (i) the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education;        (ii) the American Osteopathic Association;        (iii) the Committee on Accreditation of Preregistration Physician Training Programs, Federation of Provincial Medical Licensing Authorities of Canada;        (iv) the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada;        (v) the College of Family Physicians of Canada; or        (vi) all programs approved by the board after August 25, 1984; or      (B) a board-approved program for which a Faculty Temporary License was issued for a full time teaching faculty position as defined under §172.8(i) of this title (relating to Faculty Temporary License);      (C) a postresidency program, usually called a fellowship, for additional training in a medical specialty or subspecialty, approved by the board; or      (D) a U.S. or Canadian graduate medical education training program, that subsequently received accreditation by the ACGME, AOA or Royal College of Physicians, and was accepted by a specialty board that is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties, the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists, or the Royal College of Physicians for Board certification purposes.    (14) License Holder--A person holding a license, permit, or certificate issued by the Board, including a "licensee" as defined by Board rules.    (15) Military service member--A person who is on active duty.     (16) Military spouse--A person who is married to a military service member.    (17) Military veteran--A person who served on active duty and who was discharged or released from active duty.    (18) Active duty--A person who is currently serving as full-time military service member in the armed forces of the United States or active duty military service as a member of the Texas military forces, as defined by §437.001, Government Code, or similar military service of another state.    (19) Armed forces of the United States--Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps of the United States or a reserve unit of one of those branches of the armed forces.