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Formyduval v. Bunn6/20/2000
lance appear to overlap. By its terms, Rule 702(b) applies to all medical malpractice actions against any "health care provider." See N.C.G.S. § 90-21.11 (1999). Section (b)(2)(a) requires expert witnesses to have engaged in "active clinical practice of the same health profession" as the defendant, or, if the defendant is a specialist, in "active clinical practice of the same specialty" as the defendant. The first part of section (b)(2)(a), which applies to non-specialists only, thus could be construed to overlap with section (c), which contains a similar provision regarding "active clinical practice as a general practitioner," if the term "general practitioner" is equated with a non-specialist.
However, it appears the intent of the legislature was to limit the applicability of section (c) to physicians, as section (c)(2) refers specifically to instruction of students "in the general practice of medicine." See N.C.G.S. § 90-18 (1999) (defining the "practice of medicine" to exclude the practice of, inter alia, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, chiropractic, and nursing); cf. G.S. § 90-21.11 (defining health care provider as one who, inter alia, practices dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, chiropractic, or nursing). This interpretation avoids any potential redundancy. See, e.g., State v. Bates, 348 N.C. 29, 35, 497 S.E.2d 276, 279 (1998) (statute must be construed, if possible, to give meaning to all its provisions).
Thus, we interpret the statute to apply as follows: health care providers other than physicians are governed exclusively by section (b). Section (c) applies only to physicians who are "general practitioners," while section (b) applies only to physicians who are "specialists."
The terms "general practitioner" and "specialist" are not defined in Rule 702. We thus look to the "plain meaning" of these terms. Polaroid Corp., 349 N.C. at 297, 507 S.E.2d at 290. Dictionaries may be used to determine the plain meaning of words. Hunter v. Kennedy, 128 N.C. App. 84, 86, 493 S.E.2d 327, 328 (1997).
"General practitioner" is variously defined as a physician "who does not limit his practice to a specialty," Webster's Third New International Dictionary 945 (1966), a "physician whose practice covers a variety of medical problems in patients of all ages," American Heritage College Dictionary 567 (3d ed. 1997), and a "physician who does not hold specialty qualifications, and who does not restrict his practice to any particular field of medicine," Vergil N. Slee, Debora A. Slee, & H. Joachim Schmidt, Health Care Terms 476 (3d ed. 1996) (hereinafter Health Care Terms).
"Specialist" is defined as a "physician whose practice is limited to a particular branch of medicine or surgery, esp. one certified by a board of physicians." American Heritage College Dictionary 1307; see also 5 J.E. Schmidt, Attorney's Dictionary of Medicine S-219 (1999) (defining specialist as a "medical practitioner who limits his practice to certain diseases . . .; a person who is a diplomate of one of the specialty boards"). Board certification in a specialty area of medicine is voluntary, and is available to physicians who, after graduating from medical school, complete a residency of at least three years, pass a written examination in the specialty, and in some cases, practice full-time in the specialty for an additional period of time following completion of the residency. See 1 American Board of Medical Specialties, The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists xxi (32d ed. 1999); see also American Medical Association, Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the U.S. 5-6 (2000) (hereinafter Physician Characteristics). A licensed physician may practice in any specia
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