Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee today approved a bill that will require international background checks for all applicants seeking to practice medicine or surgery in the state of New Jersey, according to a Politicker NJ report.
Here are five things to know:
1. This bill is in response to a case where a Passaic County, N.J., physician who was convicted of manslaughter in the United Kingdom later began practicing in New Jersey.
2. The legislation would prohibit the Board of Medical Examiners from issuing or renewing a license to any applicant for licensure unless it first determines that no criminal history record information exists on file with the law enforcement authorities of any foreign country in which the applicant has resided, unless the BME determines that it cannot obtain reliable criminal history records from the foreign country.
3. The bill would also require an applicant to identify and provide contact information for any employers in the medical or healthcare fields for whom the applicant has worked in the previous ten years.
4. The bill would prohibit the BME from issuing an initial license to an applicant unless it first contacts all of those employers identified by the applicant that the BME is able to contact and determines that the applicant is of good moral character and is capable of discharging the functions of a licensee in a manner consistent with the public's health, safety and welfare.
5. The bill next heads to the full Senate for a vote.