thaliagoo said:
Hi- I have a few quick questions that I hope someone here would know.
1- If I decide to go to a pharmacy school in Maryland, will I be able to obtain a residency (after pharm school) in another state? I assume that I would be certified as a Maryland pharmacist, would other states be willing to hire me (if I get certified for the other state as well)? Is this a common situation or is the state where a person goes to school also pretty much a same state where she/he ends up working?
2- Also, if I go to school in MD, will I only be certified in MD or can I opt to take a test for another state?
I am trying to decide between USC and U Maryland and I think that I would want to work in California as a pharmacists. However, I like U MD for a number of reasons, and am trying to decide if it's a good choice for me. Thanks in advance!
Need to clarify some terms initially...after passing graduating from pharmacy school and passing the boards you are "licensed" as a pharmacist. "Certification" is a different process usually involving a specified recognition w/i your practice, but typically not required to practice. The "license" is the mandatory part to be a registered pharmacist.
Residency training...Regardless of where you go to school you can compete for any residencies throughout the nation. On the ASHP website (
www.ashp.org) they go over in depth the whole residency selection process. But to answer your question you can compete for any residency you desire straight out of school (unless you want to do specialty (PGY-2) as they typically require completion of a pharmacy practice (i.e. post-graduate year 1 (PGY 1)). ACCP (
www.accp.com) and ASHP have residency search engines that you can view based on those programs offered in each state or via specialty/focus of the program.
Licensure...After graduating you can decide to obtain licensure in whatever state you desire. The only catch is to be in contact with the state board of pharmacy so you can see how many "intern hours" they require for licensure (see
www.nabp.net to obtain listings for all of the state boards). "Intern hours" are hours typically gained via working as a pharmacy tech (i.e. pd work) outside of the externship program provided by your school (i.e. P4 rotations). Intern hrs vary and may also require you to register as an intern w/ the state board of pharmacy. I don't think MD BOP requires you to register yet but I'd check. Regardless of where you complete intern hrs after completing requirements they have to be submitted to the board for approval (a mere formality) and can then be submitted to other states (assuming amount of approved hrs meet their requirments). You can do as many intern hours as you want, but they only accumulate based on a 40yr work week (i.e. you can't get credit for working 60hrs/wk only 40hr (maybe up to 50hrs in some states?)
Getting jobs in other states...If you work in the federal sector (i.e. FDA, VA, Armed Forces hospitals) all you need is a pharmacy license in any state as the facility is federal ground. Otherwise you need to be licensed in the state of practice for all private sector jobs. Easiest way to do this is to have an idea of how many places you may want to be licensed in prior to taking board (i.e. NAPLEX and MPJE) and fill out score transfer so your scores are transfered after taking exam. This is quicker and cheaper then reciprocating your license as reciprocating requires more fees and you have to practice for at least 1 yr in a state or original licensure prior to reciprocating. Check w/ CA Board of Pharmacy as I think CA is still the only state that you can't reciprocate to (there pharmacy license is different from NAPLEX, Boards in CA are more clinical oriented). I am not sure about score transfer. Also all states don't use the MPJE either.
When getting a job the typical requirement is that you are either licensed in the state where the job is located or you are eligible to obtain a license (i.e. you can take the test). Depending on the job they typically give 90 days to become licensed and/or reciprocate license (new grads are often given a little more time). FYI when you reciprocate or score transfer you just have to take the law portion of the exam within that state as pharmacy laws vary from state to state (assuming they take MPJE, otherwise you would need to take the other law exam for that state).
