Medical license before fellowship

[SilverCat]

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Hi,

I have a question that's been keeping me up at night. I matched to medical fellowship starting July1, however delayed application for medical license (complete now, but pending). Am I not going to be able to start fellowship? I emailed program but haven't heard back yet, and given that I've delayed paperwork for this fellowship before, am worried they're going to kick me out before I start. Any advice, or am I seriously screwed?

 

[hallowmann]

You'll be fine. They will likely wait for you because it's more work to find someone else at this point. You probably aren't the only one they've dealt with this with.

That said, why did you delay the paperwork? Was this something you had control over? If so, I would try to be more organized with it, in the future delays like that could lose you a job or result in major financial or licensing penalties.

Also, worst case scenario, you don't do the fellowship. You still have the residency you finished to get BC.

 

[Raryn]

Depending on the fellowship, they may be able to just start you on a research month or something. Otherwise, you might just have a delayed start - and a delayed graduation.

They can ask for your match to be waived and fire you, but it's probably more trouble than it's worth.

 

[SilverCat]

Wow. Even if everything is sent in by this week, I imagine it will take months to license.

i haven't heard back from the program (now more than three days). I'm just irresponsible, and terrible with getting paperwork done, which is the issue.

Let's say they request a waiver and fire me before fellowship. Would I have a black mark on my application for fellowship, and forget about applying again?

 

[SilverCat]

I think given the fact that they haven't replied and I've delayed other paperwork, they may just go ahead and waiver me out. I honestly didn't realize the length of time required to get the license, and thought two months before would be OK.
Is there a way to look for clinical/research positions now?

 

[SilverCat]

Is it also possible to apply for an in-training permit before license is approved?

 

[rokshana]

Wow. Even if everything is sent in by this week, I imagine it will take months to license.

i haven't heard back from the program (now more than three days). I'm just irresponsible, and terrible with getting paperwork done, which is the issue.

Let's say they request a waiver and fire me before fellowship. Would I have a black mark on my application for fellowship, and forget about applying again?

You mean to say when you call the program, no one answers their phone? For 3 days?
Do you need an unrestricted license for the fellowship? You made mention of a training license...wouldn’t the program have just gotten that for you?

 

[SilverCat]

I emailed the attending managing our o boarding. Honestly, I've gotten tons of paperwork for on boarding which seemed much more urgent (multiple emails to complete), whereas the license didn't seem as urgent an issue. Which was my mistake

 

[rokshana]

I emailed the attending managing our o boarding. Honestly, I've gotten tons of paperwork for on boarding which seemed much more urgent (multiple emails to complete), whereas the license didn't seem as urgent an issue. Which was my mistake

Seriously dude...CALL the program coordinator ASAP on Monday...you lose this fellowship because you didn’t keep up with your paperwork, no one will have any sympathy because you did this to yourself.

what attending managed on boarding???

 

[anna01106]

I really don't think this will be an issue, especially if it's submitted and pending. I applied for a full license the May prior to starting fellowship in July and didn't get my license until September. I agree with others to notify your program director ASAP for transparency and to prevent potential headaches later down the road.

 

[j4pac]

Seriously dude...CALL the program coordinator ASAP on Monday...you lose this fellowship because you didn’t keep up with your paperwork, no one will have any sympathy because you did this to yourself.

what attending managed on boarding???

Agreed on calling the PC ASAP. Sometimes people make mistakes...we're all busy. It happens...especially if you're ignorant to the turn around time on licensing (it does seem to be way longer than it needs to be).

 

[deleted50541]

I emailed the attending managing our o boarding. Honestly, I've gotten tons of paperwork for on boarding which seemed much more urgent (multiple emails to complete), whereas the license didn't seem as urgent an issue. Which was my mistake

It's unfortunate you had to learn your lesson this way, but medical licensing is a pain in the a**. Plan on at least 2-3 months of processing time the next go around. Some states are definitely quicker and more responsive than others too.

You can try reaching out to the medical board directly too, but they may not be very sympathetic to your plight.

 

[Redpancreas]

Damn...for fellowships there are attendings managing on-boarding in lieu of program coordinators? I can't imagine that. I'm watching this out of curiosity. I know some future fellows now who are studying for Step 3 so I', guessing it's not but perhaps some programs can require it. In terms of the training license, I know the training license is a shorter process than a full license having submitted both applications simultaneously prior to residency (weird case., mine is). Anyways, wishing you the best.

 

[deleted50541]

Damn...for fellowships there are attendings managing on-boarding in lieu of program coordinators? I can't imagine that. I'm watching this out of curiosity. I know some future fellows now who are studying for Step 3 so I', guessing it's not but perhaps some programs can require it.

Yeah, that sounds a bit ridiculous, but better than nothing. My fellowship coordinator was totally worthless and I had to pry the information out of her and the GME office to get my paperwork done. Thankfully, one of the former residents from my residency program was already a fellow there in another sub-specialty and helped me greatly with what I needed to do.

 

[Raryn]

My wife and I are moving to a different state in a few months. We knew licensure was slow, so we both submitted in March. She submitted a couple days before me.

My license was issued Friday. Her application hasn’t even been processed yet. When we call and ask why, they said that the analyst assigned to her case is behind, and they don’t know how much longer it may be.

Mind you, we submitted in March. It’s a crapshoot.

 

[rokshana]

My wife and I are moving to a different state in a few months. We knew licensure was slow, so we both submitted in March. She submitted a couple days before me.

My license was issued Friday. Her application hasn’t even been processed yet. When we call and ask why, they said that the analyst assigned to her case is behind, and they don’t know how much longer it may be.

Mind you, we submitted in March. It’s a crapshoot.

And hers should have been easier since she has only 1 place to verify…

 

[Raryn]

And hers should have been easier since she has only 1 place to verify…

Yup. She has never had a permanent license before and it's her first job out of residency, so hers should be absolutely straightforward. And yet they haven't even started. Gotta love governmental bureaucracies.