Resources for new (and seasoned) licensees

The North Carolina Medical Board is committed to providing our licensees with tools that will help them be successful in their practice (and hopefully avoid any regulatory issues). In this episode, we outline a centralized resource we've created to help them learn about and stay informed on a variety of Board policies and practice specific topics. 

Learn more here: www.ncmedboard.org/quickstart

Host: Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director, North Carolina Medical Board
Producer: Sylvia French-Hodges, Communications Specialist, North Carolina Medical Board

Follow the North Carolina Medical Board on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

Email your questions to: podcast@ncmedboard.org.

Transcript

Episode 45 – Resources for new (and seasoned) licensees

Intro music: 0:00 

Podcast introduction: 0:10

Contrary to popular belief, the North Carolina Medical Board isn’t out to get its licensees. In fact, Board Members and staff operate from a position of belief that most licensees are competent professionals who, given good information, will make good decisions.

This is Jean Fisher Brinkley, Communications Director for the North Carolina Medical Board, and this is MedBoard Matters.

So, what does making good decisions look like in the context of medical regulation? Basically, it means playing by the rules. While there are some similarities between state regulatory boards, there is also incredible diversity among them in terms of who they license, what they regulate and how they look into allegations of misconduct. 

The North Carolina Medical Board wants to make sure its licensees are well informed about the laws, rules and policies that affect the practice of medicine in our state so they can avoid missteps that could land them in hot water with the Board. 

Most of the information licensees might need is on our website, which can be found at www.ncmedboard.org. But to be honest, most licensees don’t spend a lot of time browsing it. The typical licensee visits the website once a year to renew their professional license and, even then, it’s usually sort of a drive by transaction. 

So, last year, NCMB decided to take the website to its licensees, more specifically, the freshly licensed ones. When a physician or PA is licensed in North Carolina, Board staff send a series of “welcome” emails to give them kind of a jumpstart on practicing in North Carolina. 

So far, we have reached more than 3,000 freshly minted North Carolina Medical Board licensees. And I am happy to say that our messages have gotten a pretty good response – our statistics show that 3 out of 4 licensees at least take a look at what we have to say. 

Honestly, we think the information we are now sending to new licensees is helpful for any licensee to know. But judge for yourself. On this episode of MedBoard Matters, we’ll be taking an audio tour NCMB’s New Licensee Resources page.

If you would like to follow along on your computer as we browse the page, go to www.ncmedboard.org/quickstart. That’s one word, all lowercase, q u i c k s t a r t. Ready? Let’s get started.

Main Topic: 2:48
Our first stop on the New Licensee Resources page is aptly named “Getting Started” and it includes information about the Board. This is just what it sounds like, which is a brief description of the composition of the North Carolina Medical Board, a link to photos and bios of our current Board Members and some FAQs about the Board. 

Also in this section is information on NCMB’s licensee information pages. Any medical professional who is getting started in the state wants to make sure patients can find them, right?  

Well, the North Carolina Medical Board maintains the state’s most comprehensive database of information about licensed physicians and PAs. It’s the most-used resource on our website, with more than 3,000 searches every weekday. Every licensee in North Carolina has an individual information page. State law requires that NCMB publish certain information, like whether the licensee has an active license to practice or where they went to medical school. Licensee information pages also show whether a licensee has public regulatory actions. The Board also offers licensees the opportunity to provide additional information, such as their practice website, honors and awards, and what their approach to practice is. The New Licensee Resources page includes instructions on how to access and update your own page. Whether you are a new or long-established licensee, I encourage you to check out the licensee information pages. It’s basically free marketing. 

Ok, moving on. Just below Getting Started we have Practicing in North Carolina, which includes information on the laws, rules and position statements that govern and inform the practice of medicine in our state.  

The authorizing statute that sets NCMB’s mandate – to regulate medicine and surgery for the benefit and protection of the people of North Carolina – is known as the Medical Practice Act. The Act outlines the Board’s primary responsibilities and powers and defines potential bases for regulatory action by the Board. The Board may only take action against a licensee when it can demonstrate that a violation of the Medical Practice Act has occurred. We’ve linked the entire statute here. I won’t lie – it’s not the easiest reading. That said, it's important. Pretty much everything the Board does can be traced back to the Medical Practice Act.  

Next in this section is Rules. Rules can be extremely informative about the specific ways the North Carolina Medical Board conducts its responsibilities. For example, if you want to know the exact requirements for applying for a physician license, you’ll find it in rule 21 NCAC 32N .0107. 

Of course, that particular information is most useful BEFORE you get your North Carolina license, but good news, there are rules about all sorts of things the Board does. If you want to know how complaints and investigations work, there’s a rule. If you want to understand the right way to establish and maintain a supervisory relationship with a PA, there’s a rule on that too. If you want to know all of the information NCMB is required to publish on those licensee information pages I mentioned, you guessed it, there’s a rule. Actually, there are more rules than I can easily count. To browse the rules from the new licensee resource page, click on the specific area – physician rules, PA rules, medical corporations – and you are off to the races.  

The last item in the Practicing in North Carolina section is Position Statements. Position statements are interpretive statements that try to define or explain the meaning of laws or rules or set out Board expectations for licensee conduct in specific circumstances. There are position statements related to the clinician-patient relationship, statements on prescribing, statements on professional working relationships. There are currently nearly 40 position statements in all sorted into 10 categories.

Position statements do not have the force of law but are nonetheless helpful to licensees looking for guidance on the standards they should adhere to, to avoid regulatory problems.  

Once you have a North Carolina medical license, it’s important to know what you need to do to keep it valid. The next section on our new page is all about Staying Current. It includes information about license renewal, which must be completed annually for physicians and PAs, as well as information on keeping your name and contact information up to date. By law, licensees must keep a valid contact address and email on file with the Board. If it changes, you can come to the new licensee resources page and click on Address and Name Change. You could also log in to the Licensure Gateway, the account you set up to apply for a North Carolina license and update your information there.  

Finally, this section includes a link to information about continuing medical education requirements for licensees. Staying current with CME is required to maintain an active license so you’ll want to know exactly how much you’ll need to complete. 

If you scroll just a little further down the page, you will find the Staying Connected section. Staying Connected is all about the many ways licensees can stay on top of news, information and resources from NCMB.  

Our Board does not believe in just standing by waiting to impose discipline when licensees make a wrong step. We think NCMB best serves the people of North Carolina by keeping its licensees as informed as possible and by providing resources and education to help licensees practice safely. There are a lot of links in this section, so I am just going to hit the highlights.  

The two main ways we get information out to licensees are our website and the first resource I’ll mention – NCMB’s licensee newsletter, the Forum. The Forum is sent to licensees via email every two months. Every licensee receives it. We find that it is far and away our best method for reaching large numbers of licensees. If we want licensees to know something, we put it in the Forum. If you click through to read the full articles, you may leave comments or give feedback on position statements or other policies under consideration. The Board really does value feedback from its licensees. 

NCMB is also active on social media and currently has a presence on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Some licensees find that social is a convenient way to monitor what’s going on with the Board. Another resource for staying connected with NCMB is our outreach program. The Board gives dozens of presentations to professional meetings and groups, including private medical practices, each year. We have prepared talks in a number of topics but the Board is also happy to tailor its presentations to the specific interests of the group. Click on Presentations and webinars on the resource page to find a link to the online form you can use to request a speaker. You are already aware of the next resource I’ll mention, which is the MedBoard Matters podcast. The podcast is one of our very favorites ways to give licensees in depth information about various topics in regulatory medicine. We are currently in our fifth year and have built a library of timely and relevant episodes, if I do say so myself. You can check out past episodes any time by visiting www.ncmedboard.org/podcast. There is also a link to the podcast right here on the New Licensee Resources page under MedBoard Matters Podcast.  

The final section on our resource page is Wellness. Why is this on the New Licensee Resources page? Well, it’s no secret that burnout is rampant among medical professionals. The most recent Medscape Physician Burnout & Depression report, produced in 2024, found that 49% of clinicians reported experiencing burnout. Unfortunately, just 15% of those affected reported seeking professional help. Medscape dug a little deeper into the reasons for that and found that nearly half of all medical professionals who reported experiencing burnout or depression said that they believed others would doubt their abilities as a clinician if they told anyone. And 42% said that they would not talk about their struggles for fear that the Medical Board or their employer would find out. 

NCMB has developed a page of wellness resources, which is linked on the New Licensee Resources page. I also want take a moment to make sure all licensees are aware that the North Carolina Medical Board does not require medical professionals to disclose if they are in treatment for a mental or physical health problem when it is time to renew their license, or when they are applying for a license in our state. The Board removed these questions several years ago to remove a perceived barrier to treatment. So, if you or someone you know are avoiding getting needed treatment because you are afraid of repercussions – please stop doing that. NCMB wants licensees who need help to get help. Period. 

Episode closing: 11:53

Well, that brings us to the end of both our tour of NCMB’s New Licensee Resources page and this episode of MedBoard Matters. I hope I’ve convinced at least a few of you that there is a lot of useful information on our website, and I hope you remember how to find it. Once again, go to www.ncmedboard.org/quickstart to browse resources for new licensees.  

While I’ve got you thinking about accessing NCMB’s information, I want to mention that we recently launched a new mobile website interface for visitors who use a smartphone to access our website. 

Open a web browser on your phone and enter www.ncmedboard.org to see the new interface. Although users can still access the full content of the website, we’ve tried to help you out by featuring some of our most high-value content on the home screen.  

If you are taking a meeting with a vendor who wants you to sell their supplements in your medical practice you can pull out your phone, go to the medical board’s site and review the position statement on the sale of goods from licensees’ offices. Or if your colleague tells you about a new rule they read about in the Forum, you can hop on your phone and be browsing the newsletter in minutes.  

If you have comments, questions or suggestions for us, email them to podcast@ncmedboard.org. If you’d like to visit our show page, go to www.ncmedboard.org/podcast.  

Thank you for listening. We’ve got some interesting topics lined up for 2025. I hope you will join us again.