Easiest states to get license as non-BC physician

[cirruslife82]

I left my primary care residency program at 2 years due to severe burnout issues. After 1.5 years, I've addressed the issues, and will be reapplying to residency (different specialty) with very positive and supportive letters from my PD, faculty, and attendings. Seeing that it will be potentially be July 2021 before I start (unless I find and am accepted to a vacant position), I'd like to get my medical license and work in the meantime. Nothing complicated, even doing disability, military, or medicare physicals if that's all I can do. I just need to work. I'll also be doing some supervised volunteer work in free clinics to help build my skills back up.

I applied in my home state, but it was before deciding to go back to residency, and the medical board wanted me to take a competency assessment/exam which was prohibitively expensive ($10k - $20k), so I withdrew my application (not denied).

Are there any states that might look a little more favorably on my application and may give me a license until I can get back into residency? Willing to move. The more south and east, the better.

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[Raryn]

There's no easy answer here without knowing where you went to medical school.

If you are a US medical grad who completed 2 full years of residency AND your program gave you credit, you can get licensed in ~45 states (no Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, South Dakota - or I believe CA under the new law that just passed). Might be a few more or less if you're a DO.

If you're a foreign grad or if your old program didn't give you two full years of credit, that list is substantially smaller.

Looking at the Southeast, generally Georgia is regarded as the "easiest" state to get a license in, but that's a historic reputation and I have no idea if it holds up in 2020 or not.

Having done no clinical work at all for 1.5 years does also bring up some questions the board may ask you, but there's definitely no universal requirement for a 5 figure competency assessment.

 

[cirruslife82]

Thank you for the insight. I am a US grad, DO. I actually left residency just short of two years (should have been very specific in OP), so I did not get a full two years of credit, unfortunately, only one.

 

[gutonc]

Thank you for the insight. I am a US grad, DO. I actually left residency just short of two years (should have been very specific in OP), so I did not get a full two years of credit, unfortunately, only one.

This list will give you the training requirements. It does not list any additional hoops like you apparently had to jump through though. That's something you're going to have to probably figure out on a case-by-case basis.

 

[hallowmann]

Just looking at FSMB for the southeast:

Alabama requires only 1 year.
Arkansas requires only 1 year.
Florida requires an AOA intern year, so if your program was AOA or you could get Res 42 approval, that's a potential option. (Separate Osteopathic board)
Georgia requires only 1 year.
Louisiana requires only 1 year.
Oklahoma requires only 1 year. (Separate Osteopathic board)
South Carolina requires only 1 year.
Tennessee requires only 1 year. (Separate Osteopathic board)

This list will give you the training requirements. It does not list any additional hoops like you apparently had to jump through though. That's something you're going to have to probably figure out on a case-by-case basis.

Of note, it doesn't look like this was updated since the change in CA, and I believe they now require 3 yrs of GME.

 

[futuredo32]

What could the OP do with a year in training if further residency didn't work out?

 

[BoardingDoc]

What could the OP do with a year in training if further residency didn't work out?

Disability exams. Prison medicine. Hang a shingle and be a general practitioner and hope that insurance companies will contract with you or just be cash only. Not a ton, but certainly not nothing.

 

[Oo Cipher oO]

Many military physicians will get medical licenses for GMO tours before completing residency. Anecdotally, I found Virginia to be relatively easy and done completely online. As far as jobs some federal positions require that you only hold a valid license from any state. Urgent care, Indian health services, federal prison may all be options. If you feel like wearing a uniform and deploying you could look into joining the one of the branches of the military.

 

[cirruslife82]

Thank you all for the additional replies.

In terms of ease, I was mainly looking for boards that might be a little less "selective" in handing out licenses than those states who are known to be very diffucult. Even though my state technically requires only one year of post-grad, the fact that they would require me to pay upwards of $20k for a comeptency assessment has certainly soured my perspective. Then again, my state is known to be an "Adverse Board" so it wasn't a complete surprise. Then again, as someone who completed less than 2 years of residency before leaving (regardless of circumstances), I'm sure they just want to know that they aren't letting lose a medical terror upon their state.

To the poster who asked what I could do with only a year of post-grad and a license, I have found a number of options. In addition to the disability exams, medicare exams, or hanging up a shingle, I have also found there are wound care companies that will hire someone with a license after some initial training, state and federal prisons, lab director positions, and military entrance physical assessments ($90/hr is what I was quoted). Prior to my licensing issue, I had something lined up to act as medical director of a small medical spa that was starting to get involved in some cosmetic stuff (fillers, etc). I was planning on doing some additional training to bring in a few more low-complexity procedures.

Assuming my state's medical board main concern was me practicing clinical medicine, I'm wondering if it's worth calling them up and asking if I could get a medical license without taking the expensive assessment if I agree in writing to only do medicare/military physicals with the license (for work until I can get back into residency). I just want to earn a paycheck until then. This is my first time ever dealing with a medical board, so I have no idea how flexible they can be.

 

[Raryn]

There's sites that make lists of which boards are most "lax" on the discipline front and more physician friendly. No idea on the accuracy, but this is an example.

VA and GA are on the list of "easiest to apply to" and SC is on the list of least disciplinary actions.

 

[rokshana]

There's sites that make lists of which boards are most "lax" on the discipline front and more physician friendly. No idea on the accuracy, but this is an example.

VA and GA are on the list of "easiest to apply to" and SC is on the list of least disciplinary actions.

I don’t know how they think GA is easy to apply...I had mine expedited and it still took 4 weeks.
VA is pretty easy enough...got it in 3 weeks, but was straight out of residency so not a lot of verification to be done.
PA was pretty fast and cheap...5 weeks.

 

[Raryn]

I don’t know how they think GA is easy to apply...I had mine expedited and it still took 4 weeks.
VA is pretty easy enough...got it in 3 weeks, but was straight out of residency so not a lot of verification to be done.
PA was pretty fast and cheap...5 weeks.

Better than 6 months for some of the boards...

 

[Apollyon]

SC is on the list of least disciplinary actions.

More than 10 years ago, I had passing acquittance with a lawyer that used to be with the SC Med Board. He said that SC did something other states didn't like, which is use private orders, instead of public orders. If they have the lowest reported number, I would guess that they are still using the private orders.

 

[dpmd]

I don’t know how they think GA is easy to apply...I had mine expedited and it still took 4 weeks.
VA is pretty easy enough...got it in 3 weeks, but was straight out of residency so not a lot of verification to be done.
PA was pretty fast and cheap...5 weeks.

They mean easy as in fewer requirements for obtaining the license, not in terms of speed.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

There's sites that make lists of which boards are most "lax" on the discipline front and more physician friendly. No idea on the accuracy, but this is an example.

VA and GA are on the list of "easiest to apply to" and SC is on the list of least disciplinary actions.

Last I heard we had the lowest disciplinary actions/1000 physicians in the country.

 

[BobBarker]

You can get an Oklahoma license and find a job fairly easily.

 

[Jolie South]

As a PGY2, I obtained an Indiana license. It was issued the same day all my materials were received and didn’t require crazy things.

 

[cirruslife82]

As a PGY2, I obtained an Indiana license. It was issued the same day all my materials were received and didn’t require crazy things.

Do you mind me asking how long ago that was?

 

[chocomorsel]

I don’t know how they think GA is easy to apply...I had mine expedited and it still took 4 weeks.
VA is pretty easy enough...got it in 3 weeks, but was straight out of residency so not a lot of verification to be done.
PA was pretty fast and cheap...5 weeks.

Easy to apply does not necessarily equate fast. Easy means less paperwork involved and less hoops to jump through.

 

[chocomorsel]

Do you mind me asking how long ago that was?

Indiana was quick. Within about 6 weeks if I remember.
Also fairly easy requirements. Just got mine reinstated after two years by sending in two sheets of paper.

 

[Piebaldi]

As a PGY2, I obtained an Indiana license. It was issued the same day all my materials were received and didn’t require crazy things.

Agreed with this. My IN license took a whopping 9 days. Also one of the cheapest to maintain at $200 bucks/year and no CME requirements.

 

[rokshana]

They mean easy as in fewer requirements for obtaining the license, not in terms of speed.

Georgia is picky...va if you are an amg pretty simple...if you are fmg then there is additional paperwork that you need to list your clinical rotations

 

[cirruslife82]

Indiana was quick. Within about 6 weeks if I remember.
Also fairly easy requirements. Just got mine reinstated after two years by sending in two sheets of paper.

Agreed with this. My IN license took a whopping 9 days. Also one of the cheapest to maintain at $200 bucks/year and no CME requirements.

That's certainly nice to hear. How they will look at a license application for a doc with only 21 months of residency though is going to be my biggest hurdle. Perhaps there's only one way to find out. I did just apply for the Virginia license. I'm wondering if I should go ahead and apply for Indiana too in case Virginia denies it. I don't want to have to add a license denial to an application before I can get board certified.

 

[Piebaldi]

That's certainly nice to hear. How they will look at a license application for a doc with only 21 months of residency though is going to be my biggest hurdle. Perhaps there's only one way to find out. I did just apply for the Virginia license. I'm wondering if I should go ahead and apply for Indiana too in case Virginia denies it. I don't want to have to add a license denial to an application before I can get board certified.

Why are you applying for several licenses? They don't do a CSI type investigation - they look at your documents, make sure things are ok, no major red flags. It takes a lot for a license to be denied generally speaking. It doesn't matter that you are only 21months in - if you passed step 3, and are in good standing, and everything else is ok, you should be ok. i wouldn't apply for a bunch of licenses though. No point and realize that you have to pay to keep them - I recently inactivated my NY license to avoid paying renewal fees. Some states even charge you to inactivate them !

 

[rokshana]

Why are you applying for several licenses? They don't do a CSI type investigation - they look at your documents, make sure things are ok, no major red flags. It takes a lot for a license to be denied generally speaking. It doesn't matter that you are only 21months in - if you passed step 3, and are in good standing, and everything else is ok, you should be ok. i wouldn't apply for a bunch of licenses though. No point and realize that you have to pay to keep them - I recently inactivated my NY license to avoid paying renewal fees. Some states even charge you to inactivate them !

He does have a big ole red flag...he left his residency...it’s not that he is looking to get licensed To moonlight...he has a 1.5 year gap since he left training then.

 

[cirruslife82]

He does have a big ole red flag...he left his residency...it’s not that he is looking to get licensed To moonlight...he has a 1.5 year gap since he left training then.

Yep, precisely this. Asking to see which states might be a little more lax and willing to work with someone with this kind of license application.

 

[Piebaldi]

Georgia is picky...va if you are an amg pretty simple...if you are fmg then there is additional paperwork that you need to list your clinical rotations

I get that he left the residency, but he will be applying for residency again. Unless there were major issues with his performance (said burnout0, it shouldn't be. a major issue. I graduated myself with a combined degree and was off cycle, so I had gap between internship and PGY-2 - i also quit my PGY-2 residency and transferred into a new specialty. No professional/performance issues. No licensing board ever bat an eye.
So unless OP has some sort of negative issue from leaving his original residency which does not seem like he does, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[cirruslife82]

I get that he left the residency, but he will be applying for residency again. Unless there were major issues with his performance (said burnout0, it shouldn't be. a major issue. I graduated myself with a combined degree and was off cycle, so I had gap between internship and PGY-2 - i also quit my PGY-2 residency and transferred into a new specialty. No professional/performance issues. No licensing board ever bat an eye.
So unless OP has some sort of negative issue from leaving his original residency which does not seem like he does, it shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks for sharing that, it gives me hope. I did not have any documented professional or performance issues in residency, though admittedly I wasn't the strongest in my class by any means, and my reasons for leaving were 100% burnout and dissastisfaction with my particular primary care specialty. Do you think it would be of any benefit to write an accompanying letter to the board (for my VA license application) explaining that I will be returning to residency and the reason for obtaining the license to is get a job doing physical exams while I am waiting to get back into residency?

 

[Piebaldi]

Thanks for sharing that, it gives me hope. I did not have any documented professional or performance issues in residency, though admittedly I wasn't the strongest in my class by any means, and my reasons for leaving were 100% burnout and dissastisfaction with my particular primary care specialty. Do you think it would be of any benefit to write an accompanying letter to the board (for my VA license application) explaining that I will be returning to residency and the reason for obtaining the license to is get a job doing physical exams while I am waiting to get back into residency?

I have found that brief, concise, reasonable explanations typically are better than long, drawn out explanations - long explanations may make us feel better, but tend to be counterproductive.

You will need to explain why you quit - I would say something like I did not feel this specialty was a good fit, etc and i will be applying for a better fit specialty, which is in process. If there were no reported issues say so - you will be asked about that. If you resigned vs getting fired, just explain the better fit situation. Most boards want to make sure that the gaps are not due to troublesome issues - ie - were u in jail during the gap year or were u taking time off? were u pursuing charitable work in china or were u in a drug addiction rehab program? hope that makes sense.

i would not write a letter per se - i would briefly explain ur situation in the areas where u will inevitably answer "yes" - i would explain somewhere that ur goal is to involve urself in clinical activity while waiting for residency - i would not specifically say you are doing exams, etc.

IN in my experinece is the most benign state - fast, cheap, and they dont typically ask for anything crazy. u can also actually talk to someone if there is an issue. also once u get ONE license it's easier to get another one. but i would be cautious about getting too many.

 

[rokshana]

I have found that brief, concise, reasonable explanations typically are better than long, drawn out explanations - long explanations may make us feel better, but tend to be counterproductive.

You will need to explain why you quit - I would say something like I did not feel this specialty was a good fit, etc and i will be applying for a better fit specialty, which is in process. If there were no reported issues say so - you will be asked about that. If you resigned vs getting fired, just explain the better fit situation. Most boards want to make sure that the gaps are not due to troublesome issues - ie - were u in jail during the gap year or were u taking time off? were u pursuing charitable work in china or were u in a drug addiction rehab program? hope that makes sense.

i would not write a letter per se - i would briefly explain ur situation in the areas where u will inevitably answer "yes" - i would explain somewhere that ur goal is to involve urself in clinical activity while waiting for residency - i would not specifically say you are doing exams, etc.

IN in my experinece is the most benign state - fast, cheap, and they dont typically ask for anything crazy. u can also actually talk to someone if there is an issue. also once u get ONE license it's easier to get another one. but i would be cautious about getting too many.

I have 7 and working on 8th one...have a friend who has 23 (does telemedicine)...other than having to verify more places and keeping up with renewal dates, there is no negative image from having multiple licenses...easier to maintain and renew than let lapse and have to go through the process all over.

 

[Piebaldi]

I have 7 and working on 8th one...have a friend who has 23 (does telemedicine)...other than having to verify more places and keeping up with renewal dates, there is no negative image from having multiple licenses...easier to maintain and renew than let lapse and have to go through the process all over.

While I agree there is no "negative image," unless you do something like telemedicine, most of us don't need a bunch of licenses, and it's $$ and pointless. Hardly would say that's the norm.

 

[cirruslife82]

The reason for applying for the Indiana license right now while the Virginia license application is still pending would be just in case the Virginia license is denied, I woundn't have to put any license denials on the Indiana application.