Section 2111.

(a) Physicians who are not citizens but who meet the requirements of subdivision (b), are legally admitted to the United States, and who seek postgraduate study in an approved medical school may, after receipt of an appointment from the dean of the California medical school and application to and approval by the Division of Licensing, be permitted to participate in the professional activities of the department or division in the medical school to which they are appointed. The physician shall be under the direction of the head of the department to which he or she is appointed, supervised by the staff of the medical school's medical center, and known for these purposes as a "visiting fellow." The visiting fellow shall wear a visible name tag containing the title "visiting fellow" when he or she provides clinical services.

(b) (1) Application for approval shall be made on a form prescribed by the division and shall be accompanied by a fee fixed by the division in an amount necessary to recover the actual application processing costs of the program. The application shall show that the person does not immediately qualify for a physician's and surgeon's certificate under this chapter and that the person has completed at least three years of postgraduate basic residency requirements. The application shall include a written statement of the recruitment procedures followed by the medical school before offering the appointment to the applicant.

(2) Approval shall be granted only for appointment to one medical school, and no physician shall be granted more than one approval for the same period of time.

(3) Approval may be granted for a maximum of three years and shall be renewed annually. The medical school shall submit a request for renewal on a form prescribed by the division, which shall be accompanied by a renewal fee fixed by the division in a amount necessary to recover the actual application processing costs of the program.

(c) Except to the extent authorized by this section, the visiting fellow may not engage in the practice of medicine. Neither the visiting fellow nor the medical school may assess any charge for the medical services provided by the visiting fellow, and the visiting fellow may not receive any other compensation therefor.

(d) The time spent under appointment in a medical school pursuant to this section may not be used to meet the requirements for licensure under Section 2102.

(e) The division shall notify both the visiting fellow and the dean of the appointing medical school of any complaint made about the visiting fellow.

The division may terminate its approval of an appointment for any act that would be grounds for discipline if done by a licensee. The division shall provide both the visiting fellow and the dean of the medical school with a written notice of termination including the basis for that termination. The visiting fellow may, within 30 days after the date of the notice of termination, file a written appeal to the division. The appeal shall include any documentation the visiting fellow wishes to present to the division.

(f) Nothing in this section shall preclude any United States citizen who has received his or her medical degree from a medical school located in a foreign country and recognized by the division from participating in any program established pursuant to this section.

(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 565, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2007.)