CLEAR

Australia: uniform regulation for attorneys taskforce

"The regulation of the legal profession in Australia remains overly complex and inconsistent, with up to 55 different regulators across the country. To deliver a seamless national economy we can no longer justify such disparate regulation for just one profession," said federal and state top legal bureaucrats in announcing an agreement to harmonise legal profession laws. Read more.

FSMB: portability and investigations among top issues

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) has released State of the States: Physician Regulation 2009. The report focuses on three issues: streamlining licensure through the use of a uniform application, making connections that improve medical practice, and investigating complaints. The federation's uniform application, which is now used by 17 medical boards, is integrated with a license portability demonstration project. The Summary of 2008 Board Actions was also released. 

Indiana: number of licenses issued down (and up)

The Indiana Public Licensing Agency reports a 20% overall decrease in the number of licenses issued the past two years. Non-health professions have dropped by as much as half, while health professions have grown almost 8%. Read more.

Florida: DBPR celebrates Earth Day year-round

The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) celebrated Earth Day by sharing the environmentally friendly practices it implemented during the past year. Read more.

Attorneys: will the UK and Australia affect the US?

A University of Arizona law professor suggests that likely legal professional regulation changes in the United Kingdom and Australia will result in similar changes in the United States. Read more.

US: Public Citizen's 2006-2008 ranking

Public Citizen’s Health Research Group Ranking of the Rate of State Medical Boards’ Serious Disciplinary Actions, 2006-2008 is the latest in a series of reports that calculate the rate of serious disciplinary actions per 1,000 doctors in each state. The analysis is based in part on Summary of 2007 Board Actions, a recently released Federation of State Medical Boards document.

Kentucky: mandatory reporting reinstated for lawyers

The state Supreme Court has ruled that lawyers must report the misconduct of other lawyers and judges. This decision reverses a 2007 state bar association vote against mandatory reporting and its own 1990 decision to drop the reporting requirement. Read more.

UK: nurse's removal for undercover activities provokes public response

An independent panel of the Nursing & Midwifery Council’s Conduct and Competence Committee has determined that a nurse who took secret footage of substandard hospital conditions should be removed from practice. The nurse says she had reported the conditions before taking the images, which were used in a BBC program on elderly patient neglect. In response to her removal, The Royal College of Nursing has launched an online public petition and a Facebook page. Read more.

UK: Legal Services Board sets priorities

The Legal Services Board has released its Business Plan 2009/10 containing seven key policy areas: putting the public interest at the heart of regulation; widening access to the legal market; improving service through better complaints-handling; developing excellence in regulation; securing independent regulation; promoting diversity; and developing legal education strategies for the public. Read more.

Manitoba: assessing the immigrant professional

A new Fairness Commissioner's office will work with regulators and others to assess immigrant training in an effort to avoid unnecessary repetition of professional preparation. This assistance will help skilled immigrants move more quickly into the Manitoba work force.The office's work is based on the Fair Registration Practices in Regulated Professions Act. Read more.