A new law that goes into effect July 1st establishes a new “emeritus” license for Iowa physicians. Dr. Lillian Erdahl, an Iowa City surgeon, is president of the Iowa Medical Society.
To qualify for an emeritus license, an Iowa doctor must be at least 60 years old and Erdahl says they’ll primarily be teaching or supervising medical residents just starting their careers as doctors.
In 2024, the Iowa Medical Society launched an initiative to expand slots for medical residencies at Iowa’s 13 teaching hospitals, where experienced doctors guide and oversee recent medical school graduates. State officials have secured tens of millions of federal dollars to support residencies, as research shows a majority of doctors wind up practicing in the state where they completed their residency. Nearly 100 of the 150 members of the Iowa House and Senate voted to establish an emeritus license for doctors. Representative Austin Baeth, a doctor of internal medicine, is among the 33 legislators who voted against it.
Some other states offer faculty medical licenses, but Baeth says they require those doctors to keep up with continuing education requirements.
Dr. Erdahl says the goal of this new license is to encourage physicians nearing retirement to serve mentors or teachers of the next generation of doctors.
Iowa has a shortage of physicians and Dr. Erdahl says the emeritus license is one of several steps to try to address the problem.
