During 1968, there were 21,816 licenses to practice medicine and surgery issued by 54 legally constituted medical examining boards. The number licensed by each board on the basis of written examination or by endorsement of credentials is shown in Table 1. This represents almost 1,500 more licenses than were issued in the calendar year 1967. Of the 21,816 licenses issued, 7,625 were granted after written examination, and 14,191 by reciprocity or endorsement of state licenses or the certificate of the National Board of Medical Examiners.
It does not follow that all physicians licensed after written examination were tested in a given year.
For the sixth successive year, California led all states in number of licenses issued in 1968. There were 3,203 licenses issued by California, 353 more than were given by that state in 1967, and 893 more than were issued by New York, which granted only 2,310 medical licenses