I'm going to be an intern in July and have applied for a temporary license and I have to say this has been an extremely unpleasant experience. I'm a basic traditional med student and have a perfect record but they have been so picky over the tiniest things and so difficult for the last three months. When I call the office they have so extremely rude. I know some state medical licesing boards are more stringent than others but have other people had this same kind of experiences or is it just me.
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Medical Licensing Boards
Started by medmed100
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In general, medical boards can be quite picky and slow. It gets worse as you have more of a paper trail and multiple licenses under your belt. If you submit something that has an error or an oversight, it will delay you for weeks and weeks since the bureaucracy has to correct/update your file.
And the employees are employed by the state, so their helpfulness and friendliness can vary wildly. There are several states that I have heard ridiculous stories from my colleagues about being hung up on, told off, put on hold indefinitely, etc.
Hang in there....everybody goes through it.
And the employees are employed by the state, so their helpfulness and friendliness can vary wildly. There are several states that I have heard ridiculous stories from my colleagues about being hung up on, told off, put on hold indefinitely, etc.
Hang in there....everybody goes through it.
These are contradictions. If they are asking for "A, B, C, D", and you are trying to give them "A, B, E, F", and are trying to convince them that C and D equal E and F, well, that's not a "perfect record". If they are asking for "A, B, C, D" and you are only giving them "A, B, C", and that they do not need "D", what's that?
They have done this many times before. This is your first. Many other people have gotten through the exact same thing as you. Although possible, it is highly unlikely that the issue lies on the side of the medical board. The balance of your post belies "a perfect record".
Yes, it is typical for some states to be very slow. The employees will generally not be fired for being slow and rude, and some will place no particular priority on getting things done in a timely manner. Just be patient and you will get your license. Not sure why Apollyon thinks there must be something wrong with the OP's records/transcripts. The medical boards in some states are really slow and hard to deal with - New York, California and Texas are three that I've heard about. It really depend on which state you are trying to get a license in.
Reread that which I bolded. I am not sure "there must be something wrong", but the OP puts contradiction in his post. The OP didn't mention only or even specifically being slow - s/he said that they "have been so picky over the tiniest things". Well, what are "tiny things"? If there's one thing you should have learned on SDN, it is that many people don't have perspective, and the things they believe are "tiny" are not - like being called into the office for "a chat", and then finding one's self fired.
What about other people applying in the same state? If they've gotten their training licenses, then where lies the issue?
It is an incredibly frustrating process. After you submit all your paperwork most the work is out of your hands and your relying on other people to submit transcripts, proof of graduation, and other various forms to the medical board. And then it has to processed, reviewed, blah blah blah. And let's face it most of these people that work at these things don't get paid based on how fast they work. They work their 9-5 hours at their own leisurely pace and don't really care how important you obtaining your license is in a timely manner.
My advice to anybody applying for a state medical license: 1)Apply as soon as possible. 2)Don't use FCVS if you don't have to 3)Don't just assume everything will be taken care of. Keep close tabs on your application.
My advice to anybody applying for a state medical license: 1)Apply as soon as possible. 2)Don't use FCVS if you don't have to 3)Don't just assume everything will be taken care of. Keep close tabs on your application.
I'm lucky in that a temporary license in my state is very easy to get. You submit a form, send a picture and the program gives them documentation of your training. Now if you have to answer yes to stuff on the form (gaps in training, drugs/etoh issues, legal issues), you have to submit a comment about that, and it might take longer. But for a traditional student with no gaps or issues, it's pretty easy.
Now this is not what I've heard about getting a full license. We've been told to start that process 6 months early because of all the hassle.
Now this is not what I've heard about getting a full license. We've been told to start that process 6 months early because of all the hassle.
QFT. For my limited/training license, I put my name and SSN on a form, checked the "no" boxes, signed it and sent it back to my program with a photograph. The rest was done by someone else and when I showed up for orientation, I got a copy of the license. If you're having trouble getting a training license, you need to have the program coordinator get on top of that ASAFP.
My full license was more complicated (Board scores, diplomas, transcripts, training certificate, background check and fingerprinting, several large checks, etc.) but was still relatively straightforward. But yes, you do need to give them lots of time and keep a close eye.
At least for the hospitals i'm applying for privileges, it's been so much worse than getting my permanent medical license (which was no walk in the park either.)
It only gets worse. Hang in there. You've just go to start this stuff insanely early and realize that the person on the other end of the phone is just not as motivated as you are to get this done.
It only gets worse. Hang in there. You've just go to start this stuff insanely early and realize that the person on the other end of the phone is just not as motivated as you are to get this done.
My California license took a long time to get, but there was no specific issues with being picky about anything. I submitted all the paperwork they required, spoke with my program and my school to ensure they would send the paperwork required of them, then all was well and it was just a matter of waiting while they got around to processing it. I think one form maybe didn't make it to the right person (I vaguely remember having to talk to my program about sending something again). Other than that it was just the fact that they are ridiculously understaffed (even more so with the furlough days they were doing at that time) for how much work they had. The only reason I got it the day I needed it was because they put all the applications for residents about to start third year (when it is a requirement) in a separate pile for processing. I found out about that when I called to check the status of my application. They were pleasant on the phone and made sure my application had been routed correctly.
