International background checks on doctors – should NJ require them? – Poll

Remember the story of a UK doctor who lost his medical license and began practicing in New Jersey after he accidentally killed a sedated patient during a tooth extraction? State legislators didn't forget Dr. Richard Kaul's actions. In fact, they're pushing forward a bill that would make international background checks a requirement for doctors.The legal initiative is led by Sen. Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck). According to Weinberg, Kaul was convicted of manslaughter. Yet he "was able to come to New Jersey from the United Kingdom and easily get his license here to do surgery that he wasn’t educated for and it took a while for New Jersey to catch up with him," she said.

Supporters of the bill say international background checks will help weed out bad doctors from the American market, thus protecting the public.

Opposers of the bill, however, say that loopholes will exist. For example, a doctor who passes the international background check could still commit a crime. And because other countries require background checks before licensing doctors, too, some say a statewide initiative is redundant and unnecessary.

Should New Jersey require doctors practicing in the state to have international background checks? Let us know what you think in the poll below!