§ 16.1. Definitions.
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter and Chapters 17 and 18 (relating to State Board of Medicine—medical doctors; and State Board of Medicine—practitioners other than medical doctors), have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
ACCME—The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
AMA—American Medical Association.
AMA PRA—American Medical Association Physician’s Recognition Award.
Accredited medical college—An institution of higher learning accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education to provide courses in the arts and sciences of medicine and related subjects and empowered to grant professional and academic degrees in medicine.
Act—The Medical Practice Act of 1985 (63 P.S. § § 422.1—422.53).
Approved activity—A continuing medical education activity accepted for AMA PRA credit.
Board—The State Board of Medicine.
Board-regulated practitioner—A medical doctor, midwife, physician assistant, respiratory therapist, athletic trainer, acupuncturist, practitioner of Oriental medicine, genetic counselor, behavior specialist, perfusionist, prosthetist, orthotist, pedorthist, orthotic fitter, naturopathic doctor or an applicant for a license, registration or certificate that the Board may issue.
Category 1 activities—Continuing medical education activities approved for AMA PRA Category 1 credit.
Category 2 activities—Continuing medical education activities approved for AMA PRA Category 2 credit.
Conviction—A judgment of guilt, an admission of guilt or a plea of nolo contendere.
ECFMG—The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates.
FLEX—The Federation Licensing Examination, which was used by the Board to test applicants for a license to practice medicine and surgery without restriction. The examination was comprised of two components—FLEX I and FLEX II. The last regular administration of FLEX I and FLEX II was in December 1993.
Federation—The Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States, Inc.
Fifth pathway program—A program that satisfies standards equivalent to those recommended for fifth pathway programs by the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association, and which is recognized by the licensing authority in the state, territory or possession of the United States in which the program is physically located.
Graduate medical training—Training accredited as graduate medical education by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or by another accrediting body recognized by the Board for the purpose of accrediting graduate medical education, or training provided by a hospital accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals which is acceptable to an American Board of a Medical Specialty towards the training it requires for the certification it issues in a medical specialty or subspecialty.
Immediate family member—A parent, spouse, child or adult sibling residing in the same household.
MCARE Act—The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act (40 P. S. § § 1303.101—1303.910).
NBME—The National Board of Medical Examiners of the United States, Inc.
National Boards—The examination of the National Board of Medical Examiners of the United States, Inc. NBME Part I was last administered in June 1992, NBME Part II was last administered in April 1992 and NBME Part III will be last administered in May 1994.
SPEX—Special purpose examination offered by the Federation and NBME to assist the assessment of current competence requisite for the practice of medicine and surgery by physicians who hold or have held a license in the United States or another jurisdiction.
Sexual behavior—Any sexual conduct which is nondiagnostic and nontherapeutic; it may be verbal or physical and may include expressions of thoughts and feelings or gestures that are sexual in nature or that reasonably may be construed by a patient as sexual in nature.
Sexual exploitation—Any sexual behavior that uses trust, knowledge, emotions or influence derived from the professional relationship.
Treatment regimen—The provision of care and practice of a component of the healing arts by a Board-regulated practitioner.
USMLE—The United States Medical Licensing Examination, a single, uniform examination for medical licensure consisting of three steps. The examination is provided by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and replaces the FLEX and the NBME National Boards Parts examination.
Unaccredited medical college—An institution of higher learning which provides courses in the arts and sciences of medicine and related subjects, is empowered to grant professional and academic degrees in medicine, is listed by the World Health Organization or is otherwise recognized as a medical college by the country in which it is situated, and is not accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Board.
Authority The provisions of this § 16.1 amended under sections 8, 13.3(c), 24(a), (c) and (d), 41(8) and 51.1(d) of the Medical Practice Act of 1985 (63 P.S. § § 422.8, 422.13c(c), 422.24(a), (c) and (d), 422.41(8) and 422.51a(d)); section 910 of the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act (40 P.S. § 1303.910); section 3 of the Acupuncture Licensure Act (63 P.S. § 1803); 23 Pa.C.S. § 6383(b)(2); sections 202(6), 203(b) and (c) and 207 of the Naturopathic Doctor Registration Act (63 P.S. § § 272.202(6), 272.203(b) and (c) and 272.207).
Source The provisions of this § 16.1 amended April 8, 1994, effective April 9, 1994, 24 Pa.B. 1838; amended January 3, 2004, effective January 4, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 40; amended August 27, 2004, effective August 28, 2004, 34 Pa.B. 4686; amended April 13, 2007, effective April 14, 2007, 37 Pa.B. 1644; amended July 13, 2007, effective July 14, 2007, 37 Pa.B. 3230; amended August 24, 2012, effective August 25, 2012, 42 Pa.B. 5484; amended August 2, 2013, effective August 3, 2013, 43 Pa.B. 4329; amended March 25, 2022, effective March 26, 2022, 52 Pa.B. 1899; amended January 6, 2023, effective January 7, 2023, 53 Pa.B. 14; amended May 17, 2024, effective May 18, 2024, 54 Pa.B. 2780. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (413085) to (413088).
Cross References This section cited in 49 Pa. Code § 18.309b (relating to approved educational courses).
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