aba screwing me up

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NTT

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i'm so mad at aba (and myself too)...i finished residency in June this year and doing fellowship now. I only have temporary training permit at the state where i'm doing fellowship..apparently, I got a letter from ABA just today that states that I have until Nov 30th to submit a full state license to be considered eligible for aba exam...I already seated for the written part early this month..i'm so mad now...probably i didn't read all the aba documents carefully enough..
but, why does aba wait until now to inform me??? and why do they allow only until nov to submit document?? GRRRR...sorry, gotta vent guys...anyone in the same boat?

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Odds are you probably overlooked it in the original paperwork when applying for the written. Our program director also reminded us.

Forget about it. What's done is done.

What to do is simple: apply for a license in any state. It doesn't matter where -- you just need an active license. When you finish your orals, having an active license satisfies the the professional standing requirement.
 
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It is ridiculous that on top of everything else that you have to have a full state medical be board license to sit for the exam.


Since you have only three months you need to get a state license asap. I would strongly suggest getting the help of a company that specializes in submitting state licenses. They can tell to which states you have a good chance of getting licensed in less than 90 days and help you get the paperwork submitted quickly. You have no chance of getting a Florida, California or Texas in 90 days, but some other states it may be possible.
 
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It is ridiculous that on top of everything else that you have to be board certified to sit for the exam.


Since you have only three months you need to get a state license asap. I would strongly suggest getting the help of a company that specializes in submitting state licenses. They can tell to which states you have a good chance of getting licensed in less than 90 days and help you get the paperwork submitted quickly. You have no chance of getting a Florida, California or Texas in 90 days, but some other states it may be possible.

I hope you're not referring to FCVS. Using that service can delay your app because you are now dealing with 2 bureaucracies. (damn that's a tough word to spell.)
 
Actually, when you registered w/ the ABA, they made it clear that one of the requirements is an unrestricted state license and they provided the date it must be submitted by.

You should thank the ABA for sending out a reminder, instead of letting you find out in October, when you didn't get the results of the written exam.

PA license took about 4 weeks, I believe.
 
I don't understand why people wait to the absolute last minute to get a full medical license.

Take this warning. Two of my friends passed his written boards. One in 2003 and the other in 2006. Well guess what? At that time, Board were taken in July after residency. The ABA by laws required you to have a full medical license by August 31st or your score would be null and void.

They both procrastinated. They were both issued licenses one month after the deadline. The ABA voided both of their written exams even though they passed. They had to wait for another year to sit for the written.

This is serious business guys/gals.

Get your medical license ASAP when you are applying for the ABA written exam. You have at least 9 months prior to finishing your residency to get a full medical license. What are you waiting for. Plus some states like California and Florida give residents a discount (usually $200) as opposed to being an attending. However, one word of warning if you try to get a license like Florida (with the discount while in training). Say you applied in May (while in residency/fellowship). You finish your fellowship/residency in June. Florida approved your license in August. Guess what? Florida won't issue you a license until you pay the full attending licensing fees. So the discounted rate only counts if you assume you will get your full license in Florida by the time you are still in training. This happened to a buddy of mine. Cost him 1 month of work. That's $$$$.

Bottom line. Don't mess with medical licenses. Sure they cost money. But we are talking $300-800 in the overall scheme of things. Not getting boarded may cost you up to $20K in terms of pay raises. Think big picture. What's done is done for the OP. They just need to work on their licenses quickly. But for current CA-3's. It's never too late to work on your full medical license.

I got my medical license in August of my CA-3 year. I didn't have to scramble like my fellow CA-3 come next May/June when you are hoping to get your license on time.
 
I don't understand why people wait to the absolute last minute to get a full medical license.


Well, in the OP's case, I would imagine he was hoping to wait until he got an actual job. He doesn't need the license for his fellowship. If he lands a job in another state, that just means another $5-800 in 12 months.
 
I'm surprised that your program director didn't make this clear during your 3rd year. As soon as you know where you're going you have to get the license. You should email him/her and have him make it clear to the current CA3s so there is no repeat of your stressful hassles. FWIW, I had Indiana when I was in the military. It was cheap and very fast. I think they said 8 weeks, but it was 4.
Forget about CA, FL and TX.
BTW, one job I interviewed for withheld $60k if you were not certified! That's no joke.
 
Well, in the OP's case, I would imagine he was hoping to wait until he got an actual job. He doesn't need the license for his fellowship. If he lands a job in another state, that just means another $5-800 in 12 months.

Yes I understand the OP's point.

But you need to look at the overall picture. Trying to save on $500-800 vs. potentially getting your ABA written scores voided (even if you pass it).

What's that money worth to you? Look we are all on limited budgets as a resident. I was making less than $40K in a expensive east coast city. I split an apartment with on of my co-residents. Skim on things. A person should be able to come up with that money for a medical license.

It's the cost of the profession of medicine. Don't be cheap on medical licenses. A couple of years ago, my friend got let go from his group practice on the east coat. He had an expired California medicine that he was too cheap to renew (didn't want to pay the $800 renewal fee). I hooked him up with a job out in California. But he could start working for at least 45 days until California re-activated the license. That's $20-30K potential money you are losing.
 
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one word. virginia
2 words pennsylvania
 
I'm surprised that your program director didn't make this clear during your 3rd year. As soon as you know where you're going you have to get the license. You should email him/her and have him make it clear to the current CA3s so there is no repeat of your stressful hassles. FWIW, I had Indiana when I was in the military. It was cheap and very fast. I think they said 8 weeks, but it was 4.
Forget about CA, FL and TX.
BTW, one job I interviewed for withheld $60k if you were not certified! That's no joke.

Agreed. I had no intention of getting a license until our chairman sent a letter recently.



Yes I understand the OP's point.

But you need to look at the overall picture. Trying to save on $500-800 vs. potentially getting your ABA written scores voided (even if you pass it).

What's that money worth to you? Look we are all on limited budgets as a resident. I was making less than $40K in a expensive east coast city. I split an apartment with on of my co-residents. Skim on things. A person should be able to come up with that money for a medical license.

The "overall picture" here is that he had no idea he needed a license to be certified by the ABA. You can get on his case about not knowing the requirements for ABA certification, but I would be willing to bet had he known, this would have been wrapped up months ago.

I had no intention to delay my licensure, but I figured I had 12 months or so to figure out where I would be practicing. Now that I know I need it by 11/30/11, I have chosen a state and will be applying this Fall. Otherwise, I would have likely found myself in the OP's position.
 
you have to be board certified to sit for the exam.

Man, those guys suck. Talk about the deck being stacked against you. Let me know when you figure out how to get around that one.
 
You will find similar roadblocks and issues all through your career. You need to realize this is part of what you have to deal with and just do it.

Our hospital medical staff bylaws, as well as our group, both require current ACLS certification. Amazingly, they also require a current license to practice. Our anesthetists must have current AANA or NCCAA certification. There is no grace period once the expiration date passes. No ACLS/license/certification - no work - no pay - physcian, AA, or CRNA. It's that simple.

There's hardly a year that goes by that someone in our group doesn't get tripped up by this. We absolutely positively will not let you work unless you're current in everything. The ramifications of allowing someone to practice without a license can be staggering.

I am aware of at least one group that unknowingly allowed one of their anesthesia providers to work with an expired license. The fine from the state board was $5000. That was peanuts compared to the 6 months of professional fees that had to be refunded to insurance companies and patients because the provider practiced without a license. Had they not refunded those fees pro-actively, and the insurance companies discovered it on their own, that would be called insurance and/or Medicare fraud. Not something you want to trifle with.
 
Last time I've checked Indiana license was the easiest to get - 2-3 weeks.

You have to pay for your forgetfulness or inattentiveness. Money is the least to loose....

P.S. That crybaby title of the thread tells tons about you - it was NOT ABA who screwed you up, it was YOU and nobody else...
 
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$35! That's unbelievable! I think CA was $800 for the license and another $x hundred application fee.

Renewed my CA license last week. $808 renewal fee.

The initial license application was around $1500 I think, $495 application fee. I think I got a small "discount" because I applied when I was still a resident. They also took about 7 months to process it. Didn't even LOOK at my application for 5 of those months.
 
be advised that all unrestricted PA licenses expire 12/31/2010, regardless of when they were issued. the renewal fee is several hundred dollars.
 
be advised that all unrestricted PA licenses expire 12/31/2010, regardless of when they were issued. the renewal fee is several hundred dollars.


Physicians must renew their licenses in every even-numbered year. Medical doctors (MDs) must renew by Dec. 31, while doctors of osteopathy (DOs) must renew by Oct. 31.
How do I renew?
The state Board of Medicine or state Board of Osteopathic Medicine will send a license renewal notice to the last mailing address that it has on file. License renewal forms are not forwarded, so be sure to notify the relevant board of an address change within 10 days.
You may either complete and mail back this renewal form or go to http://www.mylicense.state.pa.us/ to renew. You may only renew online if you are within the current renewal period and more than 30 days away from the renewal deadline.
You will need the ID renewal number from your renewal notice. If you’re renewing for the first time, you also will need:
  1. Pennsylvania license number
  2. Current mailing address
  3. Credit card information
  4. Social Security number
  5. Email address
  6. Continuing medical education (CME) information
How much does it cost?
The renewal fee for MDs is $360. The renewal fee for DOs is $440.
 
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