fastest licensure

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I must say that the IL licensing process is atrocious. I've already have licenses in Michigan and Iowa which were ok. However, even though I had a FCVS profile, IL somehow changed their rules and stated that they now need the ED-NON and AF-MED forms from my UK medical school even though it clearly says on the initial instructions that these are not needed for those with a FCVS profile.

I applied last November and still waiting...with my program due to start on July 1st!

Anyone else had nightmare experiences with IL?
 
Unless they have changed their proceedings, they source verify with your medical school.

I'm not sure if the procedure has changed but since the only part of my application missing as of three days ago was verification of medical educaiton, when I called FCVS they told me that they got the information from ECFMG. I specifically asked AGAIN (just to be sure) since getting the information from Australia can be painful (given the Aussies natural tendency to put things off and their dislike of beaurocracy) and they said that they (FCVS) do not request the information from your medical school but rather from ECFMG.

Now, if ECFMG verifies it every time they get a request I don't know.
 
when I called FCVS they told me that they got the information from ECFMG. I specifically asked AGAIN (just to be sure) since getting the information from Australia can be painful

Interesting, and certainly at variance with their usual policy of performing source verification on ALL documents and not to rely on third parties.

I went through that chinese water torture about 3 years ago. Back then, their verification request had to be sent to my medschool (and was sent back by my medschool with a 'we don't know this student' remark simply because the registrars secretary that usually handles this was on vacation and the dimwit they put in her place didn't want to have work pile up. it took a letter from the registrar along with the executed verification request to convince FCVS that I actually attended medical school).
 
Interesting, and certainly at variance with their usual policy of performing source verification on ALL documents and not to rely on third parties.

I went through that chinese water torture about 3 years ago. Back then, their verification request had to be sent to my medschool (and was sent back by my medschool with a 'we don't know this student' remark simply because the registrars secretary that usually handles this was on vacation and the dimwit they put in her place didn't want to have work pile up. it took a letter from the registrar along with the executed verification request to convince FCVS that I actually attended medical school).

I thought it a bit unusual as well, since I thought their policy was the same as you did.

Of course, the possibility always exists that the person I spoke with was incorrect.
 
I thought it a bit unusual as well, since I thought their policy was the same as you did.

I know they confirm ECFMG certification with ECFMG, maybe the drone on the phone confused the two.

Of course, the possibility always exists that the person I spoke with was incorrect.

LoL,
Impossible. Given the highly qualified staff you can hire at $6.15/hr, how could you just assume that anyone at FCVS could be incorrect.
 
They need either a certified birth certificate (which they keep as thier permnant record) or US passport (original) with explanation of why one can not provide a birth certificate. I am a US citizen but I was born overseas......my original birth certificate is my only copy that I have with no chance of getting another one from overseas. Can someone please offer some feedback?
Thank you.
 
They need either a certified birth certificate (which they keep as thier permnant record) or US passport (original) with explanation of why one can not provide a birth certificate. I am a US citizen but I was born overseas......my original birth certificate is my only copy that I have with no chance of getting another one from overseas. Can someone please offer some feedback?
Thank you.


You can get your birth certificate back by sending an extra $25 and a letter of request. They will also use your fedex account to send it back. Go to the FCVS website and FAQs.
 
what about nevada? anyone w/ experiences dealing w/ nevada?
 
what about nevada? anyone w/ experiences dealing w/ nevada?

Just from second hand word of mouth type of knowledge I heard they are rather troublesome.


(with the exception of IL, the states with 'amber waves of grain' tend to be the easier ones when it comes to licensing. in those places, licensing is part of physician recruitment, not a protectionist mechanism to keep things the way they are)
 
Anyone else had nightmare experiences with IL?

In the medical school where I graduated from (in my country), we only had two weeks of Psychiatry (clinical). Illinois requires four weeks of clinical Psychiatry -- so, even if I was about to graduate from our residency training program in TX, I had to do two more weeks of Psychiatry at the level of a fourth year medical student for me to fulfill the requirement, and get an IL medical license.
 
In the medical school where I graduated from (in my country), we only had two weeks of Psychiatry (clinical). Illinois requires four weeks of clinical Psychiatry -- so, even if I was about to graduate from our residency training program in TX, I had to do two more weeks of Psychiatry at the level of a fourth year medical student for me to fulfill the requirement, and get an IL medical license.

Sounds like Cali. You can be the most accomplished neurosurgeon in any of the other 52 states, if you want to go to cali and you are missing a week of family practice, you have to go back....
 
Unless they have changed their proceedings, they source verify with your medical school.

Late update...it looks like things have changed as of last December. From the FCVS website:

As of December 15, 2006, FCVS will request that ECFMG obtain and provide to FCVS verification of medical education for all IMG applicants to FCVS. Physician applicants to FCVS need to complete the ECFMG Release forms (included in the FCVS on-line application or paper application on the FCVS web site) and FCVS will coordinate with ECFMG to obtain the physician's credentials.



So seems to me there is even less reason for it to have taken 6 weeks (so far) for ECFMG to "verify" what they "verified" 7 years ago. I just figured it was the typical Aussie laidback attitude that was slowing things down...now it seems as if its the typical lazy ECFMG employee.
 
Late update...it looks like things have changed as of last December.
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So seems to me there is even less reason for it to have taken 6 weeks (so far) for ECFMG to "verify" what they "verified" 7 years ago. I just figured it was the typical Aussie laidback attitude that was slowing things down...now it seems as if its the typical lazy ECFMG employee.

I guess that is where my waffle 'unless things have changed' comes in handy.

So, if I understand it correctly they DO bank on ECFMG having done the source verification of graduation at the time of issuing the certificate and ECFMG doesn't go back to the medschool ?

Or do they just leave it to ECFMG to DO the certification at the time of FCVS processing (as ECFMG has better logistics and more experience in dealing with overseas medical schools, names of the relevant contacts etc.)
 
I guess that is where my waffle 'unless things have changed' comes in handy.

So, if I understand it correctly they DO bank on ECFMG having done the source verification of graduation at the time of issuing the certificate and ECFMG doesn't go back to the medschool ?

Or do they just leave it to ECFMG to DO the certification at the time of FCVS processing (as ECFMG has better logistics and more experience in dealing with overseas medical schools, names of the relevant contacts etc.)

Always good to have a "waffling" way out! 😉

That I haven't been able to ascertain from their web site. The relevant page:


State medical boards and other licensing authorities requesting confirmation of the ECFMG certification status of international medical graduates must submit a completed request form (282A-SB) and a $25 processing fee to ECFMG. Requests submitted without the processing fee will be returned to the requester. ECFMG accepts checks, money orders, and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover) as payment for this service. ECFMG certified physicians may also request that ECFMG confirm their certification status to a state medical board/licensing authority by submitting Form 282A-SB and the required payment. However, status reports will be sent directly to the state medical board/licensing authority, not to the requesting physician.

The completed Status Report will include the following information:

Whether an individual is ECFMG certified;
Date the certificate was issued and the date(s) through which the certificate remains valid for the purpose of entry into graduate medical education;
Passing performance* on examination(s) for ECFMG Certification;
Date of most recently passed English test;
Date of most recently passed CSA;
Name of medical school, country and degree year; and the
Status of verification of medical education credentials.
* Scores for USMLE Step exams are not included in Status Reports. Contact the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) for a history of USMLE scores.


ECFMG does have an International Credentials Verification Service (EICS) but as near as I can figure that's for individuals applying for medical licensure in Canada, the UK, some parts of Australia and South Africa.

So it would appear that ECFMG doesn't have to return to the source (ie, your medical school) to renew or redo source verification. But I am still confused why then it has taken them 6 weeks to do so - they've already done the work. Everything else is verified - residency, USMLE scores, etc. Its the only thing holding up my AZ license. I'm not sure however if "Status of Verification of Medical Credentials" from ECFMG is enough for FCVS - although they aren't asking me for more info and say they are waiting for it from ECFMG. I"m not sure anyway what "status of verification" means - thus, it is not clear whether that means they simply say, "yeah, she was verified in 1999/2000 and nothing has changed" or whether they go back to the source (the school) and ask if they rescinded my degree or sumthin...

But I shouldn't be suprised...ECFMG and any conglomerate takes WAY more time than you would think.
 
Good luck with anyone getting a Florida license. Have lots of patience!
 
Hi,

Have one quick question I am an IMG doing final year residency at Pennsylvania with my MT License, I applied to FCVS to get a perm. license (A blunder mistake I made). Its almost over 5 months still they are waiting from ECFMG for verifying medical education from my school. I asked FCVS that why ECFMG is verifying AGAIN from my school which they already verified when I got my MT License at Pennsylvania. so they dont have any answer...any idea why do they send again back to my school for re-verification. moreover when I called Pennsylvania state medical board they said that they don't need a latest verification from ECFMG since they already have Medical School on their records when we applied for MT License...then what are they waiting for FCVS to send???? any idea??? do u guys think that I should apply directly to state at this time ??? or is it too late??? ofcourse waste of money and time...

thanks in advance for valuable ideas...
 
Hi,
do u guys think that I should apply directly to state at this time ??? or is it too late??? ofcourse waste of money and time...

Talk to the PA medboard. The big hangup is usually verification of medical school graduation, if PA medboard is fine with what they already have on file, you might be able to get your unrestricted license without them getting the package from FCVS.

I would complete the process with FCVS anyway, some states require it.
 
if PA medboard is fine with what they already have on file, you might be able to get your unrestricted license without them getting the package from FCVS.

Good idea, but at this time my application is still with FCVS and looks like they didn't even sent to PA Medical board, they are waiting an answer from ECFMG and ECFMG is waiting from my school (I think)...May be I should apply simultaneously to PA Medical Board and do the work simultaneously...thanks a lot..
 
Good idea, but at this time my application is still with FCVS and looks like they didn't even sent to PA Medical board,

Don't know how it works in PA, but for my licenses I still had to apply directly to the states. After I indicated that I would use FCVS, they sent me an abbreviated application that didn't contain any of the stuff FCVS would give them.

Have you sent in your app to PA board yet ?
 
Have you sent in your app to PA board yet ?
no not yet...I applied to FCVS and waiting...may be I will call on Monday to find out more information from PA Board...
 
Hi,

Have one quick question I am an IMG doing final year residency at Pennsylvania with my MT License, I applied to FCVS to get a perm. license (A blunder mistake I made). Its almost over 5 months still they are waiting from ECFMG for verifying medical education from my school. I asked FCVS that why ECFMG is verifying AGAIN from my school which they already verified when I got my MT License at Pennsylvania. so they dont have any answer...any idea why do they send again back to my school for re-verification. moreover when I called Pennsylvania state medical board they said that they don't need a latest verification from ECFMG since they already have Medical School on their records when we applied for MT License...then what are they waiting for FCVS to send???? any idea??? do u guys think that I should apply directly to state at this time ??? or is it too late??? ofcourse waste of money and time...

thanks in advance for valuable ideas...

It sounds as if you don't understand the role of FCVS in obtaining your state license. ALL FCVS does is to obtain verification of your education credentials and supply them to the individual state(s) that you request.

FCVS does not apply for the license for you nor do they have any other role than that above. You still must apply for a state license and in doing so, let them know that they will be receiving your education credentials from FCVS. You can download the application for an unrestricted medical license from Pennsylvania here: http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/cwp/view.asp?a=1104&q=432792

Note that there is a space included to note that FCVS will be handling your credentials and that you must also provide other information, including testament from two physicians licensed in PA that you are of sufficient moral and ethical character to warrant licensing in the state.

There is no reason to wait until FCVS has your application forward to the PA State Medical Board; that only slows things up, albeit it is true that PA (or any other state) generally don't work on your application until all pieces of supporting information are available. But since you will have to provide some of that information, as well as an incredibly cheap fee, yourself, there is no reason to wait for FCVS.

Finally, a word to the wise...FCVS is like any other large corporation. They run with the speed of turtles and mistakes of ommision and commision are made frequently. Only in calling them frequently did I find that they had sent verification of my fellowship training to a completely different hospital (TWICE) than I had noted on my application. Why? Who knows...no one there could give me an explanation. They would send it to the moon if they had an address.

In addition, although they advertise that you only have to go through this verification process ONCE, I have known more than one individual who, when requesting that FCVS forward their recently (ie, within 2 or 3 years) verfied educational credentials to a new state board, found that FCVS was reverifying everything...one friend waited 13 months for her license in Georgia, a good deal of which was due to FCVS reverifying her medical school and residency credentials, despite having done it 3 years prior.

Little they do makes sense...do not try and understand it, but do understand that you still have to apply for the PA license and you can do it on-line.
 
really that's very interesting, I didnot completely understood the role of FCVS. I am preparing to file the PA application form today itself...thanks a lot for your information. but still question bothering is since the educational credentials has been verified by ECFMG and provided to State board when we applied for MT License then does the state board still required once again directly from the school (I mean either from the school (or) from FCVS)???

I noticed that in the state application form the credentials are accepted by either FCVS (or) directly from my medical school.So In my case since my FCVS status says all completed (I mean ECFMG, USMLE scores...etc..EXCEPT the Medical Education Status: Incomplete) I will mention to accept the FCVS credentialing. you think that makes any faster???

so still I have to go thru the whole credentialing process once again thru FCVS...that's really sucks...
 
really that's very interesting, I didnot completely understood the role of FCVS. I am preparing to file the PA application form today itself...thanks a lot for your information

Sure.

...but still question bothering is since the educational credentials has been verified by ECFMG and provided to State board when we applied for MT License then does the state board still required once again directly from the school (I mean either from the school (or) from FCVS)???

Having been licensed in PA myself, I can answer this question for you. No, the verification was done at the time of getting your MT license by the Pennsylvania Medical Board. Therefore, PA does not require you to re-verify (either via ECFMG or FCVS or whatever) your medical education. They will simply use the information from their own databanks.

I noticed that in the state application form the credentials are accepted by either FCVS (or) directly from my medical school.So In my case since my FCVS status says all completed (I mean ECFMG, USMLE scores...etc..EXCEPT the Medical Education Status: Incomplete) I will mention to accept the FCVS credentialing. you think that makes any faster???

Hard to say....at this point, if FCVS does have your medical credentials on file but just hasn't up-loaded them to their server, it might not be too long. However, their own web site states that "once an FCVS packet is established (this means complete), FCVS is capable of reproducing a Physician or Physician Assistant Information Profile and forwarding it to the entity of choice within three to four weeks for physicians..."

I can tell you that they have had my medical education data for at least 8 weeks (and this was verified via an email from them) and it has yet to appear on the status page on-line. Therefore, I wouldn't hold out much hope that your packet will be complete anytime soon, even if they have all the data in hand, and then as noted above, you still have 3-4 weeks before they send out their report to the PA Medical Board.

Getting my MD license from PA did not take long as I recall - they used the educational data they had from my MT verification, with the application on the web site; it wasn't more than a few weeks before the license was issued. So if it were me, I would complete the FCVS process but go ahead and apply for the PA license - you can call them to verify, but I'll bet they'll say that if they have the info from the MT verification, they don't need anymore educational credentialing to issue the MD license.

What is the rush in your case? If you are just starting your final year of residency, it would seem that you have an entire year...assuming you are staying in PA to work after residency. Or do you want the unrestricted license to be able to get a DEA or moonlight?

...so still I have to go thru the whole credentialing process once again thru FCVS...that's really sucks...

Remember that was just a couple of anecdotes I told. This may not be true for everyone, but since I have seen it happen more than once, I remain doubtful that the purpose of FCVS is really being served...unfortunately, some states actually REQUIRE that you use it, but I wouldn't be suprised that if in the future you apply for another state's license, that FCVS botches things up and attempts to re-verify with your foreign medical school, residency, etc. that you did indeed obtain those credentials. They DO verify employment or anything else you've done since the original FCVS application was submitted, but in the stories I was told, they were reverifying education and residency as well, not just professional jobs.

Good luck, we're in this (sinking) ship with FCVS together!:laugh:
 
i've heard horror stories from friends waiting 8 months in TX after submitting everything.
this all sounds so ridiculous, it seems that it would be so much easier to unify all liscensing boards and have one national liscense that we can practice under. heaven forbid anything would be that easy, and i thought that i was done jumping thru hoops when i graduated medical school 🙁
 
can anyone comment on the medical license process for the state of tennessee?
 
"I am Hans" thanks a lot. I verified with PA state board over the phone as well as via email and you are correct, they don't need another verification from my school as long as my MT license is "ACTIVE" that's very good news.

but the bad news is if I say in my PA application form that FCVS is going to submit all the documents from ECFMG..etc...then to compile the FCVS packet they need medical education verification from my school ...so I informed FCVS they agreed to send all the documents with a WAIVER Letter means except medical school verification everything is compiled...something like that...
I hope that should take care the Pennsylvania state board...

thanks a lot..
 
When going through the licensure procedure, do they verify schools and degrees attended and received prior to medical school? What about during specific employer (hospital, private practive, etc.) background checks required before employment?
Or do they only verify medical school, PG trainging, criminal background, etc..
 
When going through the licensure procedure, do they verify schools and degrees attended and received prior to medical school? What about during specific employer (hospital, private practive, etc.) background checks required before employment?
Or do they only verify medical school, PG training, criminal background, etc..

They verify:

-medical school education
-postgraduate training
-relevant test scores (ie, did you pass USMLE)
-licensure
-any medical employment
-actions against your license
-criminal background check

Some states require an in-person interview; most require fingerprinting.
 
They verify:

-medical school education
-postgraduate training
-relevant test scores (ie, did you pass USMLE)
-licensure
-any medical employment
-actions against your license
-criminal background check

Some states require an in-person interview; most require fingerprinting.

Thanks. So basically, anything academic prior to med school will never get looked at again once you are accepted, verified, and matriculating at medical school...
 
Hi! This thread scared me. I'm an IMG just about to apply to ERAS for the residency...I am confused.....I honestly thought that all I had to do was get interviewed, matched, fix visa (which is quite daunting already)...Now I have to worry about licensure? Could anyone help me through just what is needed to begin residency? Some people are advising me to apply in Connecticut so I can take Step 3, but when I checked in the fsmb website, it said that 1 year of postgraduate training is necessary. I can relate to your pains now, because I honestly thought (hmm...favorite phrase of the moment) getting the residency slot was the tough part.
WHEN DOES IT END??? hahaha :"(
 
Hi! This thread scared me. I'm an IMG just about to apply to ERAS for the residency...I am confused.....I honestly thought that all I had to do was get interviewed, matched, fix visa (which is quite daunting already)...

Yes, for residency that is pretty much it. What we are talking about here are unrestricted medical licenses, the type you can get after 3 years of residency (as an IMG) and which you need to practice independently.

Now I have to worry about licensure? Could anyone help me through just what is needed to begin residency?

In some states, you need something called a 'postgraduate training permit' or 'limited license' or 'GME license' to do residency. Those are for the most part (exception california) pretty easy to get and your program will typically send you the application forms once you match.

Some people are advising me to apply in Connecticut so I can take Step 3,

When you register for step3, just indicate that you will apply for licensure in CT. You don't actually have to apply, but it allows you to take step3 without a prior year of residency (so does MD and FL and some others).
 
Thanks--I really appreciate that! So basically, the hospital should take care of the intern license. Whew...
I thought once we get in US residency, we are more or less equal to the AMGs. I guess not. Hahaha : ) Oh well, the price we pay...
I'm just getting rest after the USMLE 1, CK, CS bit and I really looked forward to the respite before struggling again for interview season. Now I must deliberate if that Step 3 is really worth taking now.
Thanks again and goodluck to you. If anything, your stories do serve as "inspiration" to the next generation IMG who also dream...Hahaha : ) May it all be worth it!
 
Thanks--So basically, the hospital should take care of the intern license. Whew...

well not really the hospital will take care. In our case in Pennsylvania its something called Graduate Medical Training license and what our hospital did was just given the bunch of documents that we need to fill and apply to "State Medical Board" and they sent the "Medical Verification documents" to our medical school in India. Then the problem started our medical school in India is in a rural place and the staff doesn't have any knowledge about ECFMG/USMLE/ any other information reg. US Medical Licensure. PA State Medical board has certain stanards on verifying the curriculum of our medical school. Our medical school has their own standards on verifying my medical school diploma. so there were back and fore mails (regular postage mail, since the school doesn't have any email communication)...between my school and state board...BTW my school not many people are moved to USA/UK where they need medical verification part after we left the school but in many schools in India they have pretty much easy transition on sending the paperwork on time...so it all depends on your school in your country....it took me more than 5 months so have to loose 6 months in the residency. something called "Off Cycle"...but basically I lost 1 year...they say 6 months but I say 1 year because of Board Exams at the end, and have missed fellowship opportunities because I can't finish my residency by that time when they need...and lots of good opportunities in employement..etc....

anyway my point is if u gone thru the Medical verification part with the state that u do residency then "Unrestricted" license becomes very easy...otherwise if u move to another state...again u have to go thru the same struggle...
 
anyway my point is if u gone thru the Medical verification part with the state that u do residency then "Unrestricted" license becomes very easy...otherwise if u move to another state...again u have to go thru the same struggle...

Which is the point of using FCVS...and many states require it.
 
Which is the point of using FCVS...and many states require it.

FCVS...personally I don't suggest going thru FCVS...unless if the state says "You must go thru FCVS"...I am still waiting for medical school verification for NJ state for the past 5 months...and they said second reminder to my school sent few weeks back and waiting for 90 days to complete and if they don't receive any response then again third and final reminder will be send after 90days and wait for another 90 days...so we are talking about atleast 5-6 months from now...that's why I gave up and start looking jobs in my state where I finished my residency. I already received the PA unrestricted license in less than 15 days....Even for Pennsylvania thru FCVS it took 3-4 months ....I think its good to check with the state board before we apply to FCVS...how easy/difficult the paper work is....how many states license we may need in the whole life ...may be 2 or 3...
 
NJ is a 'special' case, a state license notoriously difficult to get, even if your credentials are impeccable. Mob connections or close ties to the democratic party help to move anything along in NJ, I would think that that applies to medical licenses as well.
 
FCVS...personally I don't suggest going thru FCVS...unless if the state says "You must go thru FCVS"...I am still waiting for medical school verification for NJ state for the past 5 months...and they said second reminder to my school sent few weeks back and waiting for 90 days to complete and if they don't receive any response then again third and final reminder will be send after 90days and wait for another 90 days...so we are talking about atleast 5-6 months from now...that's why I gave up and start looking jobs in my state where I finished my residency. I already received the PA unrestricted license in less than 15 days....Even for Pennsylvania thru FCVS it took 3-4 months ....I think its good to check with the state board before we apply to FCVS...how easy/difficult the paper work is....how many states license we may need in the whole life ...may be 2 or 3...

Believe me, you are preaching to the choir here with FCVS. But my response was about the need to reverify every time you get a new state license. With FCVS, while painful, it needs to be done only once.

As f_w notes, NJ is a particularly painful state to get a license in...PA was MUCH easier. However, the problem as you describe above, lies with FCVS and their "process" for getting verification. If you do not stay on top of them every step of the way, it will take months. It took them 6 months to get me verified...things sent to wrong addresses, wrong departments, etc. not notifying us when they didn't receive all the documents...I could go on and on.

If you have waited 5 months for medical school verification...I suggest the following:

1) check and see WHERE they actually sent the request. Their computer has addresses for the NJ schools which may not correspond to the correct address for your school. This was my problem...when they typed in UMDNJ, it didn't seem to matter to them which campus, which department, etc. my fellowship was at...they never bothered to double check it with the address listed on my application

2) contact your medical school to see if they received the verification request

3) if they did not, request said document from FCVS (or ask your file representative...everyone is assigned one person to work on their file, to CC you on everything sent out) - they can send it to you as an email attachment...and send it yourself to your medical school.

4) do not wait a month, or 90 days or whatever, to get a response from your medical school.

Anyway, you get the point. Certainly FCVS was probably not a good idea for me, since I am seeking license in a state that doesn't require it...but I am hoping that in the future, it will prove helpful and I certainly don't recommend you rely on them without double checking everything they do. They were actually quite nice to me despite my constant calling and emailing.
 
Certainly FCVS was probably not a good idea for me, since I am seeking license in a state that doesn't require it...but I am hoping that in the future, it will prove helpful and I certainly don't recommend you rely on them without double checking everything they do. They were actually quite nice to me despite my constant calling and emailing.

Perhaps I lucked out with them, then - while they took a long time (around 12 weeks) to process all of my data and get my packet together, only once did they email me asking for more paperwork - turns out I'd forgotten to mail them my passport!
 
Perhaps I lucked out with them, then - while they took a long time (around 12 weeks) to process all of my data and get my packet together, only once did they email me asking for more paperwork - turns out I'd forgotten to mail them my passport!

I could have only wished for 12 weeks...took them 6 months to do mine! If only they had emailed me when paperwork was missing. The trouble was that the paperwork wasn't missing on my end, but from the verifying institutions...but their policy of waiting weeks before rerequesting it, adds unnecessary time onto the process.

Glad to hear you had a better experience. 😀
 
I feel for you Chiki. Hayayayay! 6 months! It's funny how medicine works us like horses during the time that we are working (i.e. internship/residency) and then drops us off completely while we are waiting for paperwork...I went through the same thing in my home country...Sad, I'm going to do it all over again...So when is the earliet time you can apply for licensure? As soon as you finish residency? Maybe it's the demented idea of work hard, rest hard...And it's not just time but money. It costs so muuuuuch to practice here in the US, noh? Oh well, as my mom tells me,
it's an i-n-v-e-s-t-m-e-n-t.
 
So when is the earliet time you can apply for licensure? As soon as you finish residency? .

You can apply for unrestricted licensure any time after you complete USMLE Step 3, so can be done during residency. However, if you take a job out of the state where you did residency, you must start the process over again - many of us were not sure where we were going to be working after residency and could not apply for a license any earlier; hence the problems we are having above.
 
btw. you can obtain an unrestricted license once you have step3 and you have fulfilled the minimum amount of residency training required by that state. For US grads, usually one year. For foreign grads, 2-3 years.
 
va is veteran's hosp coolbabe76.

Yes thats ok once u have a license but what if u are about to graduate and no license in sight with student loan companies breathing down your neck? how dismal can it get...........?
cough cough....unfortunately that is what is happening to me. Yes, I did answer yes to some questions, but still.

I'm in TX and turned in everything by April 28 or earlier. Basically the board kept stringing me along, making it look like an outside reviewer was reviewing my file. This took several months. They still were telling me I could start on time, though. Finally, the board decided I had to pay out the a$$ to get my head examined by a forensic psychologist. This cost almost 4 grand. The expensive report was given to the board mid-July. The cutoff for the Aug. board meeting was July 31st. I should make it, right? Nope. The board lies to people calling on my behalf. They said they didn't have everything. I even had TX State Reps calling and the Dean of my school, but no use.

My PGY1 program said they would wait on me til Sept. The board refused to see me in August and is making me wait til October. Texas has told my lawyer that they may have the audacity to bump me out of my October slot-- since I lost my spot thanks to them!!!

*edit* I actually lost my advanced position too, and now I'm having to reapply all over again.

Now I am trying to find a job. This is awful. I am losing a year of my life thanks to an arrest that did not even result in a final conviction. My word to everyone, if you don't want to risk losing a competitive slot, don't rank TX places first. Our board needs reforming BIG TIME.
 
I see...thanks for the help! I can't blame you though for not applying early because I think that will most likely be happening to me too. I also don't want to repeat the process again and again. It is also expensive. Besides, how do you really know where you will end up in? This is especially tough for the IMG who really is giving the USA a first shot.
RadsResident, I am so sorry that happened to you. I would also be very very very irritated as hell. But these are things you had no way of knowing or anticipating; the moments when you just have to keep faith that this is somehow a blessing in disguise. That's how I keep myself sane...couldn't even get a visa to take the CS at first! Cried a lot, bitched a lot, then moved on and eventually got it. I'm thinking maybe there just is a higher wisdom I can't fathom as to why things happened the way they did. Maybe wishful thinking, but helps me keep sane. Good luck to all of us!
 
Have question on Texas Unrestricted License:
one of the requirement says "Three attempts per step." is this true?? If someone passed the stepII more than 3 times they are not eligible to apply???

second one is "You are required to pass the Texas Medical Jurisprudence examination (JP)."...how difficult is this and why do they need??

looks like the one of the stupid requirements have seen for TMB...
 
Have question on Texas Unrestricted License:
one of the requirement says "Three attempts per step." is this true?? If someone passed the stepII more than 3 times they are not eligible to apply???

Do you think they are kidding?

Requirement: three attempts per step. Can't be much clearer.

Many states have a limit on how many attempts.

As for the Jurisprudence exam - as someone told me, "the only thing worse than that exam is taking it twice".
 
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