Obstacles to maintaining licensure in the United States

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7505.1443

BMJ 2005;330:1443-1445 (18 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7505.1443

Education and debate

GMC and the future of revalidation

Obstacles to maintaining licensure in the United States

Frances E Cain, manager, post-licensure assessment system¹, Regina M Benjamin, chief executive officer², James N Thompson, president¹

¹ Federation of State Medical Boards, PO Box 619850, Dallas, TX 75261-9850, USA, ² Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic, Bayou La Batre, AL 36509, USA

Correspondence to: F E Cain fcain@fsmb.org

Although relicensing of doctors is well established in the US,systems to evaluate competence rigorously are still some wayoff

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Introduction

Public pressure for accountability of doctors is increasingin the United States as it is in the United Kingdom. The releaseof several high profile reports in the 1990s regarding systemsbased errors and patient safety prompted US medical licensingand regulatory agencies to review their role in assuring theability of healthcare practitioners to practise safely, notjust at the point of initial licensure but over the course oftheir careers. Before effective systems to assess doctors' continuingcompetence can be implemented, however, medical licensing authoritiesneed to establish what should be measured and how, and to considerthe potential repercussions on medical regulation as a whole.

Is he fit for the job?

Credit: KOBAL COLLECTION

US licensing procedures

Medical licensure in the United States is granted by state licensingboards comprising doctors, other health care providers, andpublic representatives. The licensing board is charged by statuteto ensure that only qualified, . . . [Full text of this article]