State of Primary Licensure, FL or CA?

[monkieez]

Hi guys,

I am currently graduating a CA pharmacy school but will be moving to FL for residency. Does it matter which state I pick as my primary when registering for NAPLEX? I am planning to move back to CA after residency but need my FL license ASAP, so I was trying determine if one would be faster to sit for NAPLEX or if it mattered at all.

Also, I am trying to understand FL licensure requirements. From what I understand if I am a recent pharm school graduate, then I just need to show proof of graduation and NO need for intern hours verification?

Thanks!

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[caribepharma]

You should contact the FL BOP for accurate information, but from what I can discern, you would need to show you have a minimum of 1500 hours

When it comes to picking your primary state, that means you'll be required to adhere to their regulations when it comes to licensure and maintain that license CE requirements etc. If you only plan on being there for a year and moving back home, then it's probably not a wise choice to make FL your primary state.

 

[fenton2015]

Hi guys,

I am currently graduating a CA pharmacy school but will be moving to FL for residency. Does it matter which state I pick as my primary when registering for NAPLEX? I am planning to move back to CA after residency but need my FL license ASAP, so I was trying determine if one would be faster to sit for NAPLEX or if it mattered at all.

Also, I am trying to understand FL licensure requirements. From what I understand if I am a recent pharm school graduate, then I just need to show proof of graduation and NO need for intern hours verification?

Thanks!

Hello!

Just out of curiosity, did you end up making CA your primary state? Or did you take the NAPLEX for FL first?

I graduated from outside of CA, but want to make it my primary state. Because of the Live Scan requirement, I have to do the out-of state fingerprinting, which takes 6 weeks longer to process. My worry is that I'll receive the ATT too late since I'll potentially need to be licensed in Ohio before CA because that's where I might be working before moving to CA. Thank you!

 

[monkieez]

Hi Fenton,

I ended up making Florida my "Primary " state for NAPLEX purposes and picking California for "score transfer' (NOT license transfer). I applied to both boards of pharmacy at the same time, both through license by examination. So that means that I can now drop either license and neither are contingent/reciprocated from the other (so the above information is not correct). I had done the live scan before I left to Florida so I'm sure that helped speed up the process. Since I had all the requirements for both states I got the ATT from both states within a few weeks and scheduled to take the NAPLEX and the CPJE back to back since I wanted to get it all over with before I moved and there aren't many CPJE testing centers outside of California. Bonus of putting Florida as my primary is that I got my NAPLEX test results sooner than friends who took it before me; Florida shows you your score online where California board makes you wait for the mail. Since I didn't need my California license right away and even though I fulfilled all the requirements, I waited until December to pay them a check so that I could have a valid license when I started looking for jobs. This also means my license expires in December 2019 so I got a few extra months out of it.

Basically, if I was you, I would apply to NAPLEX as Ohio as your "primary" state but put that California will receive it to and try to go through those two states at the same time. Definitely try to also complete the California process now, it made it so much easier for me to do both. I believe you have like a year from when you pass the test to actually get your license before the test results expire. However, if for some reason Ohio board would take longer than California it might be worth it to make Ca your primary state but I doubt it. The primary state thing is only helpful to schedule the NAPLEX. Where are you looking to practice first? If you don't have anything lined up in Ohio and are serious about California it might be worth it to visit for a few days to speed up the process and do your livescan here (I don't know though if it's faster that way because I didn't look into it). I don't think many employers in California would hire you without a license.

Also, to be clear you just take the NAPLEX once and it counts for both states.

 

[fenton2015]

Hello @monkieez,

Thank you so much for your detailed response. That is very helpful to know what you ended up doing. I am looking to practice first in Ohio for 2-5 years, then move back to California (if all goes well with my career). I just know that I eventually want to practice in California because that is where I grew up and where a lot of my family is. I did consider looking at flights to go home for the LiveScan but right now they're about $500 RT... so I'm not sure if that is worth paying for. I have been completing all of the requirements for California right now though, just have to wait to receive the fingerprinting materials to do out of state.

So a second question I have is, if I make Ohio my primary state, and score transfer to California during the NAPLEX, do I still have 100 days from when California approved my application for examination to take the CPJE (so then I can just focus on taking the MPJE for Ohio)? What is your opinion on this?

Thank you again.

Hi Fenton,

I ended up making Florida my "Primary " state for NAPLEX purposes and picking California for "score transfer' (NOT license transfer). I applied to both boards of pharmacy at the same time, both through license by examination. So that means that I can now drop either license and neither are contingent/reciprocated from the other (so the above information is not correct). I had done the live scan before I left to Florida so I'm sure that helped speed up the process. Since I had all the requirements for both states I got the ATT from both states within a few weeks and scheduled to take the NAPLEX and the CPJE back to back since I wanted to get it all over with before I moved and there aren't many CPJE testing centers outside of California. Bonus of putting Florida as my primary is that I got my NAPLEX test results sooner than friends who took it before me; Florida shows you your score online where California board makes you wait for the mail. Since I didn't need my California license right away and even though I fulfilled all the requirements, I waited until December to pay them a check so that I could have a valid license when I started looking for jobs. This also means my license expires in December 2019 so I got a few extra months out of it.

Basically, if I was you, I would apply to NAPLEX as Ohio as your "primary" state but put that California will receive it to and try to go through those two states at the same time. Definitely try to also complete the California process now, it made it so much easier for me to do both. I believe you have like a year from when you pass the test to actually get your license before the test results expire. However, if for some reason Ohio board would take longer than California it might be worth it to make Ca your primary state but I doubt it. The primary state thing is only helpful to schedule the NAPLEX. Where are you looking to practice first? If you don't have anything lined up in Ohio and are serious about California it might be worth it to visit for a few days to speed up the process and do your livescan here (I don't know though if it's faster that way because I didn't look into it). I don't think many employers in California would hire you without a license.

Also, to be clear you just take the NAPLEX once and it counts for both states.

 

[monkieez]

I see, then if it's no rush it's probably not worth paying the money to get the Live Scan unless you had another reason to visit. I'm not sure about the time frame allowed from when your application gets approved until when you have to sit for the CPJE. I would contact the board to make sure so that you don't have your application expire. Since the CPJE is very clinical in nature and not a typical law exam, I feel like it helps to take it in close proximity with the NAPLEX since there is a lot of overlap. There is probably like less than a dozen true law questions. I ended up taking the Florida MPJE first to get it out of the way and just gave myself one week to study for it (took off time from studying from the NAPLEX and made me actually look forward to studying for the NAPLEX). I assume most state MPJEs are similar in that you are cramming/memorizing state and federal laws so in that way intense studying might be better than just spreading it out.

Point is contact the California board of pharmacy to make sure you have the right timeline for everything. The only thing that I can tell you is that once I passed both tests I had a year to actually pay them and get the license. But things can always change.