BCPS

[mustang sally]

Just wondering what you guys receive in your respective hospitals for being board certified. Did your hospital pay for your exam? Or did you just get a raise once you passed the test? Anyone get his/her annual fee covered?

I have been wanting to become board certified for awhile, but I work in a small rural hospital so there is not a lot of impetus for me to do it. Mainly I have been wanting to try to pass the exam for my own personal gratification, and also in the hopes that it will keep me somewhat competitive if I ever decide to switch jobs (no residency). But...it is freakin-A expensive for everything, so sometimes I'm just not sure if it's worth it. My boss said maybe he could budget for me to get something out of it and I'm just wondering what is most commonly paid for by the hospital. Thanks!

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[Niosh]

I get nothing so I have no plans in doing it. I do get PTO for CEUs, but I get that for just my license already.

 

[njac]

When I took the test there was zero reimbursement or raise. I took it for my own personal edification.

A few years later some other people raised a stink, so all of us with a BCPS got a $1/hr raise and those who took it that year and later were reimbursed for the exam.

When I passed BCCCP this spring they reimbursed me for the exam itself, but I didn't get another raise for it because I have the BCps raise.

Our hospital doesn't offer any education/CE money, so I pay for the psap chapters myself and just write it off on my taxes.


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[njac]

The annual maintenance fee is $125/yr (was $100) - that's $10/mo. I'm pretty sure as a pharmacist you can afford that!


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[Rukn]

So .... What's the point of this?

I'm guessing it's not the same as getting board certified as a physician ... lol

 

[Niosh]

The annual maintenance fee is $125/yr (was $100) - that's $10/mo. I'm pretty sure as a pharmacist you can afford that!

I don't think affordability is part of the question. If getting certified provides no other benefits, why waste the money (not to mention time and stress)?

 

[gwarm01]

Do many hospitals offer raises for board certification still?

I've worked at a place where it was the either/or counterpoint to a residency if you wanted a specialist position, but that was the extent of the benefit.

 

[njac]

I don't think affordability is part of the question. If getting certified provides no other benefits, why waste the money (not to mention time and stress)?

OP specifically mentioned the cost being expensive and asked if your work pays the maintenance fee.

I find it more effective than bull**** pharmacists letter CE, and it hasn't been all that much time or stress inducing.


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[njac]

Do many hospitals offer raises for board certification still?

I've worked at a place where it was the either/or counterpoint to a residency if you wanted a specialist position, but that was the extent of the benefit.

We get $1/HR.

Inter mountain in SLC used to give something ridonk like 5% raise for it.


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[bacillus1]

Got a 2 step increase (i think equivalent to maybe 4k/year)...but it set back my raise schedule back and kinda screwed me over in terms of pay raises when I switched jobs, so not as big of a raise as I would've hoped.

 

[Dalteparin]

A handshake and a bottle of Scotch... Minus the bottle of Scotch.


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[confettiflyer]

Exam paid for ($600) and the equivalent of an extra 30 hours of vacation pay that can be used on top of usual pay, so you have the flexibility of taking a longer vacation or more money, essentially.


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[BidingMyTime]

Nothing, other than having the cost of the test reimbursed. And probably accolades in the internal hospital newsletter.

 

[farmadiazepine]

We don't get anything extra.

I just stay a little bit extra every day and get like 0.5 hour overtime a day. At the end of the year its like an additional $4,000 without doing anything.

 

[deleted820760]

When I took the test there was zero reimbursement or raise. I took it for my own personal edification.

A few years later some other people raised a stink, so all of us with a BCPS got a $1/hr raise and those who took it that year and later were reimbursed for the exam.

When I passed BCCCP this spring they reimbursed me for the exam itself, but I didn't get another raise for it because I have the BCps raise.

Our hospital doesn't offer any education/CE money, so I pay for the psap chapters myself and just write it off on my taxes.


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If you don't mind me asking, how were you able to write it off on your taxes? I'm never able to write anything off on taxes. Not student loan interest and not work-related expenses including PSAP and license costs. My understanding was that work-related expenses had to be greater than a certain percentage of your income in order for you to be able to write it off on your taxes. Same with medical expenses. 🙁 I can't ever catch a break when it comes to taxes. How are other people doing it?

 

[Dred Pirate]

If you put a conference, CE, bcps and enough stuff on there you get a little bit back. Not much, but some.

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anything over 2$ (so for a typical RPh a little over 2 grand) - then you deduct anything over that - but good thing my work pays for one conference or so a year (was nice to take a $3000 vacation to vegas last year)

 

[MV777]

Just wondering what you guys receive in your respective hospitals for being board certified. Did your hospital pay for your exam? Or did you just get a raise once you passed the test? Anyone get his/her annual fee covered?

I have been wanting to become board certified for awhile, but I work in a small rural hospital so there is not a lot of impetus for me to do it. Mainly I have been wanting to try to pass the exam for my own personal gratification, and also in the hopes that it will keep me somewhat competitive if I ever decide to switch jobs (no residency). But...it is freakin-A expensive for everything, so sometimes I'm just not sure if it's worth it. My boss said maybe he could budget for me to get something out of it and I'm just wondering what is most commonly paid for by the hospital. Thanks!

I don't know why but I wasn't aware that you could attain BCPS certification without completing a residency. I am actually interested though if you could let me know how I could go about this.

 

[beautifulrobot]

PHS currently gives you a $2000/yr bump in specialty pay, it goes up depending on the number of years you've been certified to a max of $6000/yr. They don't cover the cost of the exam or maintenance fee (individual agencies might, but typically they dont). You can use the GI bill to pay for the exam but its not worth it since the exam fee is under a $1000, and you can only use the GI bill in $1000 increments for exam fees, iirc.

 

[mustang sally]

I don't know why but I wasn't aware that you could attain BCPS certification without completing a residency. I am actually interested though if you could let me know how I could go about this.

It depends on what certification you want to test for. For pharmacotherapy, you just need three years of relevant practice experience, fill out the application online & pay your $600.

 

[Niosh]

I don't know why but I wasn't aware that you could attain BCPS certification without completing a residency. I am actually interested though if you could let me know how I could go about this.

http://www.bpsweb.org/