The independent panel that nominates candidates for the North Carolina Medical Board is seeking candidates to fill Board seats that will come open in November 2012. Candidates are needed for two physician Board positions and one Board seat for a physician assistant or nurse practitioner. No incumbent Medical Board members are eligible to apply for these positions.

Candidates must have an active North Carolina medical license or, if applying for the PA/NP seat, an active physician assistant or nurse practitioner license. Candidates must be practicing at least part time and have no history of public discipline for the past 10 years. Candidates should be aware that serving on the NC Medical Board requires a significant commitment of time and possess both the ability and willingness to dedicate this level of service to people of North Carolina, as well as the medical profession.

The process established by statute (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-2 and 90-3) requires anyone interested to apply though the Review Panel for the North Carolina Medical Board. This body screens applicants, conducts interviews, and makes recommendations to the Governor, who then makes appointments to the Medical Board. The application is available at: www.ncmedboardreviewpanel.com and is due by July 2. The Review Panel will interview all qualified applicants in Raleigh on August 25.

For more information, call Dave Feild, the administrator for the Review Panel, at (919) 414-4259.

Effective October 1, 2011, all International Medical Graduates (IMGs) will be required to use the Federation of State Medical Board’s Credential Verification Service (FCVS) when applying for a full, unrestricted medical license in North Carolina.

It generally takes at least four months to complete the FCVS process, or as much as six months if the physician waits until after January 1 to begin establishing his or her FCVS profile. The NCMB advises any IMG who intends to begin work as a licensed physician by July 2012 to start the FCVS process now. Please note: Graduates of Canadian medical schools are not considered to be IMGs and will not be required to use FCVS.

FCVS was established in 1996 to provide a centralized, uniform process for state medical boards to obtain a verified record of a physician’s core medical credentials. FCVS obtains primary source verification of medical education, postgraduate training, examination history, board action history, board certification and identity. This repository of information allows a physician to establish a confidential, lifetime professional portfolio with FCVS that can be forwarded, at the physician’s request, to any state medical board, hospital, health care organization or any other entity that has established an agreement with FCVS.

Learn more about FCVS.

The North Carolina Medical Board has created detailed guidance on the subject of laser tattoo and hair removal for practitioners and patients, in response to inquiries on the topic.

In addition, the Board voted in March to amend its position statement on Laser Surgery to reflect that laser tattoo removal is considered a form of laser surgery.

Read the Laser Surgery guidance document.

Read the revised Laser Surgery position statement.