PURPOSE:
To outline the requirements to be eligible for an appointment to the University of Utah Affiliated Hospitals housestaff.

1. POLICY:
   To be eligible for appointment to the University of Utah Affiliated Hospitals housestaff, the candidate must meet the requirements spelled out in the University of Healthcare Graduate Medical Education Resident Selection Process and Policy (Sec. GME 1.1).
2. PROCEDURE:
   To verify that each resident is qualified for appointment, he/she will complete and submit to the Office of Graduate Medical Education a “New Hire Welcome Packet.” This Welcome Packet must be completed entirely, leaving no questions or forms blank, as instructed. The Office of Graduate Medical Education will obtain or verify the following information on each resident as provided in the Welcome Packet, and keep it in the Graduate Medical Education Office file. The resident will not begin work or be put in the payroll system until the credentialing process is complete. The date of hire will be delayed as well.
    
   1. U.S. and Canadian Medical Graduates:
      1. A picture of the applicant;
      2. Documentation of required immunizations (see Immunization Policy);
      3. Documentation of ACLS certification; documentation of PALS for Pediatric housestaff (see ACLS/BLS/PALS policy);
      4. A letter of verification of graduation directly from a US medical school or accredited college of Osteopathic Medicine, or a Canadian medical school accredited by the LCME, or an accredited dental school;
      5. Verification of all previous training including a statement about satisfactory completion;
      6. Verification of all other previous work experience from medical, osteopathic, or dental school graduation to the present;
      7. Verification of any medical licenses issued in any other states, including DEA license;
      8. A copy of the current Utah medical license,¹ if the houseofficer is level three or higher. All eligible incoming Fellows must obtain a Utah medical license, a Utah controlled substance license, and a Federal DEA certificate (as applicable) prior to beginning his/her fellowship at the University of Utah as per the Medical License Controlled Substance DEA number policy (Section GME 1.5). If an exception to licensure has been made, a letter from the Director of Graduate Medical Education to the Program Director documenting the exception must be on file;
      9. Verification of passing scores on USMLE exams Parts 1 and 2 (CK & CS) if the resident is beginning as a PGY1 , or verification of passing scores on USMLE exams Parts 1, 2(CK and CS) and 3 if the resident is a PGY 2 or higher trainee; or passing scores on COMLEX Parts 1 and 2 (CE & PE) if the resident is beginning as a PGY1, or Parts 1, 2 (CE & PE) and 3 if the resident is a PGY2 or higher trainee; or passing scores on LMCC MCCQE Part 1 if beginning as a PGY1, or Parts 1 and 2 if beginning as a PGY2 or higher;
      10. For any applicant who does not come through the National Resident Matching Program as a PGYI applicant, the GME Office will query the National Practitioner Data Bank;
      11. A completed Criminal Background Check;
      12. Compliance with University Hospital drug testing policy;
      13. If resident is a non-US citizen or non-US permanent resident, valid employment eligibility documentation must be provided for the I-9 hiring process. The GME Office assists residents in obtaining J-1 clinical visas sponsored by ECFMG; documentation for ECFMG sponsorship must be provided at the time of application for a J-1 clinical visa.
      14. Documentation of completion of HIPAA and Safety training.
   2. International Medical Graduates
      1. A picture of the applicant;
      2. Documentation of required immunizations (see Immunization Policy);
      3. Documentation of ACLS certification; documentation of PALS for Pediatric residents (see ACLS/BLS/PALS policy);
      4. A current ECFMG certificate;
      5. If resident is a non-US citizen or non-US permanent resident, valid employment eligibility documentation must be provided for the I-9 hiring process. The GME Office assists residents in obtaining J-1 clinical visas sponsored by ECFMG; documentation for ECFMG sponsorship must be provided at the time of application for a J-1 clinical visa..
      6. A completed Criminal Background check;
      7. A current Utah medical license, if PGY3 or above. If an international medical graduate has not had sufficient U.S. medical training to be eligible for a Utah medical license, an exception to the licensure requirement must be requested by the Program Director through the GMEC. The resident’s file should contain documentation of any granted administrative variance.
      8. Compliance with University of Utah drug testing policy;
      9. Documentation of HIPAA and Safety training.

A resident is not considered to be credentialed until all the enumerated requirements contained in this policy have been satisfied. A resident who is not credentialed will not begin any scheduled rotations, including research, until credentialing is complete. A resident who is not credentialed will not be hired, and pay will not begin, until credentialing is complete.
Falsification of any information by an applicant on any of the above items will result in the denial of the application, and the withdrawal of any Houseofficer Agreement, which may have already been extended to the applicant.
In any instance that a program wishes to hire a resident a year in advance of the contract training year, and that resident has had other post-graduate training or clinical practice experience, the program will query the National Practitioner Data Bank before hiring. If a satisfactory National Practitioner Data Bank report is obtained and the resident is hired, the GME Office will again query the National Practitioner Data Bank at the beginning of the training year during the usual resident credentialing process, as stated in No. 10 above.
The GME Office will use the forms in the New Hire Welcome Packet as the sources of information to be verified, and the applicant will attest that the information provided on those forms is complete and truthful.
For any applicant who has a negative evaluation from the National Practitioner Data Bank, or is being or has been investigated by a medical licensing board in any state, a review will be undertaken by the GME Executive Committee. This committee will review the information it receives, notify the applicant of the negative evaluation, and provide him/her the opportunity to respond. If appropriate, the committee will interview the applicant and/or other pertinent individuals or agencies. A determination will be made as to whether the applicant may be hired, hired on probation with a condition attached to his/her contract, or hired on probation pending the outcome of the case, or whether the conditional offer of a training position will be withdrawn. It is expected that these cases will be rare, and each will be handled in a slightly different manner, depending upon circumstances. In each case the program director will be fully informed of the details as the case progresses. Any applicant who disagrees with the outcome of the GME Executive Committee may appeal the decision to the School of Medicine Graduate Medical Education Committee.
Any applicant who has a criminal background check with negative information will be referred to the GME Executive Committee. Failure to completely disclose all previous convictions other than minor traffic convictions will be considered falsification of records and will be grounds for automatic dismissal or withdrawal of offer of training.
If, at any time during residency training, a resident is being investigated by the Physicians Licensing Board of Utah or any state, that resident may be placed on administrative suspension until the case is resolved.

¹The Utah Physician's Licensing Board thoroughly verifies all credentials including all previous training, previous licensure, etc., through the Federation Credentials Verification Service, prior to granting a Utah license.