Foreign Medical School Graduates (FMGs) may be granted a medical license in Arkansas without completing US or Canadian Postgraduate Training. You have to have been offered full time employment at an underserved facility, have an active foreign medical license, have actively practiced medicine during the four years before applying, and have passed the USMLEs.
Revises foreign medical graduate (FMG) laws in the state, requiring the FMG’s medical school be approved by ECFMG instead of the Board (ASMB) and creates a pathway to licensure for FMGs without foreign or domestic (ACGME-accredited) PGT (as prescribed by Ark. Code § 17- 95-403(b)(3)(iii)(b)) for applicants that have: been offered full-time employment as a physician from an Arkansas healthcare provider, defined as an entity “licensed or certified to provide healthcare services… by the ASMB” in an underserved or health professional shortage area; an active, unencumbered license to practice medicine in a foreign country; actively practiced medicine during the four year period preceding their application; credentials evaluated by the ECFMG; ECFMG certification; and “pass the exam used by the ECFMG” (USMLE Steps 1 & 2 and the Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine).
Applicants must appear personally in front of the ASMB with their licensed, sponsoring physician, provide “information as to what area or department in which [they] will be practicing medicine.” The provisional license is valid for one year, and licensees that wish to continue must complete renewal forms and pay a fee, and may be requested to appear in person before the ASMB again. Licensees must maintain remain employed by a qualified employer for at least three consecutive years, and notify the Board within five business days after any change of employer.
After two years of practice under the provisional license, the licensee is eligible for a full, unrestricted license (but must continue to practice at the qualified employer for at least one more year). Notably, Board rule making authority is not mentioned in the legislation. The original bill required two years of provisional practice at a qualified employer, the amended version requires three (but the licensee may acquire a full license after the first two years). The amended version includes more details about the process of granting and renewing a provisional license and explicitly states that licensees are eligible for full licensure after two years. SB 601 (2025)
