illinois medical license

[Doctor Christmas]

https://www.idfpr.com/DPR/2018bdSchedule.pdf


Are these the dates the committee meets? Only once a month?

Dude relax. Your app does not have to go in front of the committee unless there are red flags. Otherwise it will get approved by one of your friendly gov employees in IL. I got my license in a month where they did not even meet for some reason.

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[JustCallMeMD]

What did they not receive out of curiosity? I would totally agree with you re: NY! My full license there took like 11 days after they got my documentation! It was ridiculously fast.

So 9 weeks later I thankfully have my license. Be prepared to have various documentations resent several times on your behalf. Documentation seems to be often unaccounted for by whoever processes the apps. For me, it took over 2 months but I'm hoping it's shorter for others.

 

[JustCallMeMD]

Has anything updated on the check status of application via idfpr website? Or does it just say pending for everything?

- calling them may prod things along. The application status is not usually accurate/timely it seems. Good luck I hope your app is processed soon.

 

[rolen05]

Approved! Took 10 weeks. Was asked to resubmit a form around 5 weeks, and based on my subsequent calls that put me at the back of the line for all new and partially completed applications to be reviewed again. The people I spoke to on the phone were always helpful and polite.

 

[rolen05]

My full license also took about 4 weeks to get after the submission of the last document. No idea why verification takes longer than actual licensure.

Raryn, did you have luck with your verification? Going to start that soon.

 

[Raryn]

Raryn, did you have luck with your verification? Going to start that soon.

After additional complaints and calling different numbers, I eventually got through to someone who was able to expedite it. Otherwise I think I'd still be waiting.

 

[DarkHorizon]

Do they seriously require pre med transcripts or is it a joke? It can’t be serious, is it?

 

[Doctor Christmas]

From undergrad yes

 

[Impromptu]

Illinois was my first full license. Once I had all of the paperwork submitted, it only took them a few weeks to receive the license. The harder part was that for my state controlled substance number they wanted an Illinois address. I used the hospital's address, which was a mistake, because the hospital would not keep track of things like that. To get the hospital privileges approved, I drove up to Springfield, spoke with the people in the office (who were very friendly and helpful), and they gave me a physical copy of my documents, which I then sent onto the hospital. I still think my original copy is floating around somewhere in the hospital's ether.

My Utah license did not take too long, once I had all of the information together, just a few weeks

My most recent license in Washington state took a while. In this case both FSMB and waiting for Illinois to send verification were the holdups. Once they had all the information, they approved it a few days later.

Hospital credentialing is far worse than obtaining a license. My experience with credentialing is that Illinois and Washington are about the same in terms of difficulty. Once you gather all of the information and submit it, the longest wait is for your peer references and previous hospitals to send their reports.

 

[WingedOx]

My renewal last year was quick and painless.

So remember when I said this? Well yeah.

At least 3 people at my work have had issues with their controlled subs permit during the last renewal period. From the looks of it, there was hiccup with their online payment processing (all 15 dollars of it) and a bunch of people never got their controlled substance permits last time around. If you renewed, check your status on the ILPMP website because you might have a nice surprise.

 

[Raryn]

So remember when I said this? Well yeah.

At least 3 people at my work have had issues with their controlled subs permit during the last renewal period. From the looks of it, there was hiccup with their online payment processing (all 15 dollars of it) and a bunch of people never got their controlled substance permits last time around. If you renewed, check your status on the ILPMP website because you might have a nice surprise.

I know a resident->fellow that tried to convert their training into a permanent license recently. It took over four months. In the meantime, the training license expired, so he had to pay to renew the training license while they were processing the application for the permanent one.

 

[filhodeinferno]

Illinois was my first full license. Once I had all of the paperwork submitted, it only took them a few weeks to receive the license. The harder part was that for my state controlled substance number they wanted an Illinois address. I used the hospital's address, which was a mistake, because the hospital would not keep track of things like that. To get the hospital privileges approved, I drove up to Springfield, spoke with the people in the office (who were very friendly and helpful), and they gave me a physical copy of my documents, which I then sent onto the hospital. I still think my original copy is floating around somewhere in the hospital's ether.

My Utah license did not take too long, once I had all of the information together, just a few weeks

My most recent license in Washington state took a while. In this case both FSMB and waiting for Illinois to send verification were the holdups. Once they had all the information, they approved it a few days later.

Hospital credentialing is far worse than obtaining a license. My experience with credentialing is that Illinois and Washington are about the same in terms of difficulty. Once you gather all of the information and submit it, the longest wait is for your peer references and previous hospitals to send their reports.

This has been my experience as well. Got my IL license a reasonable 4-5 weeks after submitting the application. The trouble has been getting my CS license. Driving me nuts, and probably going to keep me from getting credentialed on time. Submitted the thing on 8/15 via mail, they didn't "upload" the app until 9/5. Called today, and they are processing apps from 8/9. When I called 2 weeks ago they were processing apps from 8/6. God, at this rate I'll have my CS license sometime during the summer of next year. IL sucks compared to the other states I've licensed in.

Sorry to bump an old thread, just needed somewhere to vent....

**late edit** also realized that this thread is in general residency issues. Mine isn't an educational license, so I guess my venting doesn't fit here. Sorry about that....carry on.

 

[imymemine]

I found this thread helpful, so here's a recent data point.

I'm in my last year of residency and applied for IL license by endorsement (I already have license in a different state) in Jan 2020. It took me awhile to get all the necessary documents including fingerprint form but once I uploaded everything it was only two weeks before my license was approved. I have a feeling it might have been approved in one week had I uploaded everything from the beginning (my other state's license verification was the straggler - I originally sent it by mail but when the IL board said this was "deficient" aka it they hadn't processed their mail yet I just uploaded a copy I had mailed to myself and a few days later I got approved). So I think the key to fast turnaround is to upload everything on their website - do not rely on mail as IL licensing board presumably takes forever to file their received mail. I uploaded everything I could (I think everything except USMLE scores) and it worked out well for me.

Also, as an out of stater the fingerprint verification instructions are hard to understand. I went to my local police department in a different state, had them use FBI fingerprint card and fill out my OOS-FP form. I then mailed the card and OOS-FP to iTouch Biometrics in IL ($70 fee), they uploaded the card the same day they received it and emailed me the TCN number. My TCN number did not start with "FRM" as the IL license app directions said it should, but I submitted the TCN I got from iTouch anyway and it worked just fine.

 

[Piebaldi]

I found this thread helpful, so here's a recent data point.

I'm in my last year of residency and applied for IL license by endorsement (I already have license in a different state) in Jan 2020. It took me awhile to get all the necessary documents including fingerprint form but once I uploaded everything it was only two weeks before my license was approved. I have a feeling it might have been approved in one week had I uploaded everything from the beginning (my other state's license verification was the straggler - I originally sent it by mail but when the IL board said this was "deficient" aka it they hadn't processed their mail yet I just uploaded a copy I had mailed to myself and a few days later I got approved). So I think the key to fast turnaround is to upload everything on their website - do not rely on mail as IL licensing board presumably takes forever to file their received mail. I uploaded everything I could (I think everything except USMLE scores) and it worked out well for me.

Also, as an out of stater the fingerprint verification instructions are hard to understand. I went to my local police department in a different state, had them use FBI fingerprint card and fill out my OOS-FP form. I then mailed the card and OOS-FP to iTouch Biometrics in IL ($70 fee), they uploaded the card the same day they received it and emailed me the TCN number. My TCN number did not start with "FRM" as the IL license app directions said it should, but I submitted the TCN I got from iTouch anyway and it worked just fine.

Oh interesting that now they are doing the licenses by endorsement. I wasn't sure whether that was worthwhile or not. Also to note, before (when I applied aroudn 2017), everything was done by paper form which was a pain I think now they have gone all digital and you can upload stuff. I would agree that it does take them a while to upload things - once they actually receive stuff, it's pretty easy and quick to get the license.

 

[guzl]

I’ve just received my license and it expires the day before I start my fellowship since it’s a renewal year and I’m now finding out that I will have to pay over $200 to renew it before I have even used it. Is this how it actually works?

 

[rokshana]

I’ve just received my license and it expires the day before I start my fellowship since it’s a renewal year and I’m now finding out that I will have to pay over $200 to renew it before I have even used it. Is this how it actually works?

Same thing happened with the NC license i just got since my birth month is May...so annoying.

 

[Ready_2_Run]

Would it be ok to scan and upload a copy of the ECFMG certificate/diploma, and the transcripts as well? Im just worried about the "official" part if I scan it. This is BS though man undergrad transcripts for what lmao

 

[Splenda88]

Why is this process so complicated? My GME program did not even submit my med school diploma, and I was still able to get my restricted license.

Planning to apply for a permanent license in FL, should I use FCVS even it will cost me an extra $375?

 

[Piebaldi]

Why is this process so complicated? My GME program did not even submit my med school diploma, and I was still able to get my restricted license.

Planning to apply for a permanent license in FL, should I use FCVS even it will cost me an extra $375?

Are you a foreign grad? If not why would you pay an extra $375 to get your FL license? FL is an online app - pretty straight forward. No need to fork over more $$$ - FL license is pricey like $750 if you apply for it after graduation, I'd recommend if you can to apply for it while in training - whether residency or fellowship, much cheaper.

 

[Splenda88]

Are you a foreign grad? If not why would you pay an extra $375 to get your FL license? FL is an online app - pretty straight forward. No need to fork over more $$$ - FL license is pricey like $750 if you apply for it after graduation, I'd recommend if you can to apply for it while in training - whether residency or fellowship, much cheaper.

I am a US grad... Thanks.

 

[Piebaldi]

I am a US grad... Thanks.

Ok then if US grad there is absolutely no reason you should ever use FVCS - unless you are in a state that requires it - that is a racket.

 

[Reperfused]

Hello everyone, I have a question about temporary Illinois medical license (the one that is required for residency training).
I apologize for asking in this thread but I really didn’t know where else to ask because I wanted some guidance from people who have already been through this.

I am a residency applicant this year. I had an interview from an Illinois program that I’m planning to rank #1. However, I’m a little anxious in doing so because of my unique situation. I’m an IMG. My medical school did not do psychiatry rotation independently and it was only done as part of medicine core rotation. Therefore, I have no psychiatry weeks mentioned on my transcript at all. I do, however, have a letter from my medical school stating that psychiatry rotation was included in the medicine rotation. Do you think this would be enough to fulfill their weird requirement of having atleast 2 weeks of separate psychiatry rotation and another 2 weeks combined with another specialty?

The other problem I have is that I’m more than 5 years out of graduation. Ofcourse I have done Observerships and externships during this time. But I was going through the licensure requirements and they want us to show activity for the last 5 years either as practicing medicine or be enrolled in an educational program. My activities do not come in either category. I guess the other option would be to go for 150 CME credit. Ok I might be able to do this one if it comes to it either through medscape or uptodate.

Anyway, I always knew that getting Illinois license was difficult but I kinda lost my mind today after reading everything in detail. I really want to match at the Illinois program but not at the cost of being unable to start residency on time. I don’t want even a single day’s delay. Btw, I don’t need visa.

Can anyone here please provide some insight about the whole situation? What has been recently happening about Illinois medical licenses? Are things happening fast/on time or are there still delays? Anyone who faced a similar situation in getting a temporary license?

Last but not the least, I need some advice about ranking as well. I do have a few other interviews in states that don’t have difficult license requirements. None of them make a clear #1 for me though. Should I still go ahead and rank them higher than the Illinois program just to avoid all the post-match license issues? If I do this then the whole license thing will be the only reason I’m doing so. Because every other factor for me points towards the Illinois program being #1 in my ROL. My question is, is that one reason big enough to not rank that program high?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance to anyone who gives any suggestion at all regarding this matter.

 

[shaggybill]

Hello everyone, I have a question about temporary Illinois medical license (the one that is required for residency training).
I apologize for asking in this thread but I really didn’t know where else to ask because I wanted some guidance from people who have already been through this.

I am a residency applicant this year. I had an interview from an Illinois program that I’m planning to rank #1. However, I’m a little anxious in doing so because of my unique situation. I’m an IMG. My medical school did not do psychiatry rotation independently and it was only done as part of medicine core rotation. Therefore, I have no psychiatry weeks mentioned on my transcript at all. I do, however, have a letter from my medical school stating that psychiatry rotation was included in the medicine rotation. Do you think this would be enough to fulfill their weird requirement of having atleast 2 weeks of separate psychiatry rotation and another 2 weeks combined with another specialty?

The other problem I have is that I’m more than 5 years out of graduation. Ofcourse I have done Observerships and externships during this time. But I was going through the licensure requirements and they want us to show activity for the last 5 years either as practicing medicine or be enrolled in an educational program. My activities do not come in either category. I guess the other option would be to go for 150 CME credit. Ok I might be able to do this one if it comes to it either through medscape or uptodate.

Anyway, I always knew that getting Illinois license was difficult but I kinda lost my mind today after reading everything in detail. I really want to match at the Illinois program but not at the cost of being unable to start residency on time. I don’t want even a single day’s delay. Btw, I don’t need visa.

Can anyone here please provide some insight about the whole situation? What has been recently happening about Illinois medical licenses? Are things happening fast/on time or are there still delays? Anyone who faced a similar situation in getting a temporary license?

Last but not the least, I need some advice about ranking as well. I do have a few other interviews in states that don’t have difficult license requirements. None of them make a clear #1 for me though. Should I still go ahead and rank them higher than the Illinois program just to avoid all the post-match license issues? If I do this then the whole license thing will be the only reason I’m doing so. Because every other factor for me points towards the Illinois program being #1 in my ROL. My question is, is that one reason big enough to not rank that program high?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance to anyone who gives any suggestion at all regarding this matter.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd match before getting too involved in the licensing thing. If I'm not mistaken, residency programs will take care of the licensing issue for you before you start. At least mine did. Maybe it's different in your unique situation, but I cant imagine being denied a training license for someone who has matched. Once you are in, talk to your program about it.

 

[Reperfused]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd match before getting too involved in the licensing thing. If I'm not mistaken, residency programs will take care of the licensing issue for you before you start. At least mine did. Maybe it's different in your unique situation, but I cant imagine being denied a training license for someone who has matched. Once you are in, talk to your program about it.

Thanks for your reply and a positive outlook to the situation.
I do understand that in most instances residency programs take care of licensing issues. However, Illinois is one state I have heard horror stories about in the past including delay in temporary licenses of matched applicants. This led to them being unable to start residency on time. Ofcourse programs do help and even wait for their candidates for a few months. But I feel if this happens to me I would be completely devastated. Even if I do get the license eventually, the wait of a few weeks or months will probably drive me crazy. I have been through a lot of struggles in this journey and finally now that I have reached this point I just want to match and start residency smoothly asap. Therefore, I want make a very informed decision when it comes to making my ROL. My confusion is between ranking the IL program on number 1 vs. ranking it on let’s say #5 or #6 with my higher programs being in states that have no weird license requirements. My other programs are not less or more in terms of standard. They’re all pretty much at the same level. It’s just that for me personally Illinois was the most desirable state.

 

[Splenda88]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd match before getting too involved in the licensing thing. If I'm not mistaken, residency programs will take care of the licensing issue for you before you start. At least mine did. Maybe it's different in your unique situation, but I cant imagine being denied a training license for someone who has matched. Once you are in, talk to your program about it.

Yeah.. My program handled my licensing application when I matched. But I did not have any issue at all...

 

[Reperfused]

Yeah.. My program handled my licensing application when I matched. But I did not have any issue at all...

May I ask, was this provided that you didn’t have any deficiencies in your application that could trigger a question at the medical board’s end?

 

[Splenda88]

May I ask, was this provided that you didn’t have any deficiencies in your application that could trigger a question at the medical board’s end?

I did not have any deficiency. I am an AMG and did not fail any classes and graduate in 4 years. Like the poster above said, if you match, the program will do everything so you can have your license in order to start on time.

 

[shaggybill]

Thanks for your reply and a positive outlook to the situation.
I do understand that in most instances residency programs take care of licensing issues. However, Illinois is one state I have heard horror stories about in the past including delay in temporary licenses of matched applicants. This led to them being unable to start residency on time. Ofcourse programs do help and even wait for their candidates for a few months. But I feel if this happens to me I would be completely devastated. Even if I do get the license eventually, the wait of a few weeks or months will probably drive me crazy. I have been through a lot of struggles in this journey and finally now that I have reached this point I just want to match and start residency smoothly asap. Therefore, I want make a very informed decision when it comes to making my ROL. My confusion is between ranking the IL program on number 1 vs. ranking it on let’s say #5 or #6 with my higher programs being in states that have no weird license requirements. My other programs are not less or more in terms of standard. They’re all pretty much at the same level. It’s just that for me personally Illinois was the most desirable state.

You are in a very unique situation and in less-than-ideal circumstances. To be honest, I would rank programs by where you will least likely run into problems. You can weigh in other factors, of course, but you really need to be on the path of least resistance. I don't know if licensing in Illinois will be an issue or not, especially if other people in your situation have had problems, but it would definitely be tragic if you matched there and were for some reason not able to get a license and the program had to let you go due to that. Because of your situation, your chances of matching are already lower than normal, and those chances go down exponentially every year. With all of the uncertainty in Illinois, if accurate, I personally would not rank them number 1. Go with a state where licensing won't/shouldn't be an issue. Sucks to live somewhere you don't want to, but it may come down to choosing between that and not getting into residency.

 

[Reperfused]

You are in a very unique situation and in less-than-ideal circumstances. To be honest, I would rank programs by where you will least likely run into problems. You can weigh in other factors, of course, but you really need to be on the path of least resistance. I don't know if licensing in Illinois will be an issue or not, especially if other people in your situation have had problems, but it would definitely be tragic if you matched there and were for some reason not able to get a license and the program had to let you go due to that. Because of your situation, your chances of matching are already lower than normal, and those chances go down exponentially every year. With all of the uncertainty in Illinois, if accurate, I personally would not rank them number 1. Go with a state where licensing won't/shouldn't be an issue. Sucks to live somewhere you don't want to, but it may come down to choosing between that and not getting into residency.

Thanks for putting the perspective into words so clearly. You are right. I have made up my mind to rank programs by where I’m least likely to run into problems. Keeping my location desires aside, at the end of the day I just want to match and be able to start residency on day 1.

 

[<L>]

Thanks for putting the perspective into words so clearly. You are right. I have made up my mind to rank programs by where I’m least likely to run into problems. Keeping my location desires aside, at the end of the day I just want to match and be able to start residency on day 1.

I wouldn't stress too much about the bolded, tbh. Late starts happen. My program had a couple residents with visa issues one year and they didn't get going until August. No big deal except for the chiefs having to fix the call schedule last minute.

 

[LadyRads]

Hello everyone, I have a question about temporary Illinois medical license (the one that is required for residency training).
I apologize for asking in this thread but I really didn’t know where else to ask because I wanted some guidance from people who have already been through this.

I am a residency applicant this year. I had an interview from an Illinois program that I’m planning to rank #1. However, I’m a little anxious in doing so because of my unique situation. I’m an IMG. My medical school did not do psychiatry rotation independently and it was only done as part of medicine core rotation. Therefore, I have no psychiatry weeks mentioned on my transcript at all. I do, however, have a letter from my medical school stating that psychiatry rotation was included in the medicine rotation. Do you think this would be enough to fulfill their weird requirement of having atleast 2 weeks of separate psychiatry rotation and another 2 weeks combined with another specialty?

The other problem I have is that I’m more than 5 years out of graduation. Ofcourse I have done Observerships and externships during this time. But I was going through the licensure requirements and they want us to show activity for the last 5 years either as practicing medicine or be enrolled in an educational program. My activities do not come in either category. I guess the other option would be to go for 150 CME credit. Ok I might be able to do this one if it comes to it either through medscape or uptodate.

Anyway, I always knew that getting Illinois license was difficult but I kinda lost my mind today after reading everything in detail. I really want to match at the Illinois program but not at the cost of being unable to start residency on time. I don’t want even a single day’s delay. Btw, I don’t need visa.

Can anyone here please provide some insight about the whole situation? What has been recently happening about Illinois medical licenses? Are things happening fast/on time or are there still delays? Anyone who faced a similar situation in getting a temporary license?

Last but not the least, I need some advice about ranking as well. I do have a few other interviews in states that don’t have difficult license requirements. None of them make a clear #1 for me though. Should I still go ahead and rank them higher than the Illinois program just to avoid all the post-match license issues? If I do this then the whole license thing will be the only reason I’m doing so. Because every other factor for me points towards the Illinois program being #1 in my ROL. My question is, is that one reason big enough to not rank that program high?

Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance to anyone who gives any suggestion at all regarding this matter.

All states have some weird requirements. In the timeline of activities, you just have to list what you have been doing. For most states, even if you have been studying for an exam, that would qualify and cover a gap.
I expect the letter you have from your school for that psychiatry rotation should help with that requirement.
If you like the Illinois program significantly more than the others, I would suggest taking the chance. I would if I were in your shoes. This licensing and credentialing paperwork nonsense is gonna be with you for life. Don't stress too much!