OK, so due to unaffordable tuition costs for international students in the US, I've decided to stay in Canada and go to pharmacy school here.
Is there anyway a Canadian licensed pharmacists can work in the US?
Problem is in Canada, I'll just be getting a bachelors in pharmacy degree but to work in the US requires the doctorate pharmD.
Anyone know how this works?
I've been looking everywhere on the net and it's been hard finding any information.
My "dream" has always been to work as a pharmacists in the US, so this would be my last shot at it.
To answer your question...
Pharmacists from Canada or Mexico
As of April 14, 2006, foreign-trained applicants (including US citizens who were not trained in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico) first must undergo an educational credential evaluation.
Contact the pharmacy board in the state in which you wish to be licensed or contact the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) for details and applications. Generally speaking, the steps are:
Apply for the educational credential evaluation, to determine if your training is equivalent to US training. Note: Applicants who were issued a pharmacy degree prior to January 1, 2003 must have completed a four-year pharmacy program (minimum) by the time of graduation, and applicants who were issued a pharmacy degree from January 1, 2003 onwards must have completed a five-year pharmacy program (minimum) by the time of graduation. Successful applicants will receive a Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination Committee (FPGEC) certificate.
After receiving the FPGEC certificate, request an application and study guide for the FPGEE (Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Exam). Since June 2003 the FPGEE has been administered in a paper-and-pencil format. The examination is administered twice a year, usually the last Saturday in June and the first Saturday in December, and is usually administered at three sites spread across the United States.
You will also have to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) and TSE (Test of Spoken English), or you will have to take the TOEFL iBT (Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test). The NABP has information on its site about these.
Take and pass the FPGEE and the TOEFL and TSE or the TOEFL iBT.
Receive an official FPGEE certificate as required by the NABP.
Send the originals of your FPGEE and English language testing certificate(s) to the state board. They will photocopy the certificates and return the originals to you.
A copy of the FPGEE certificate will be sent to the NABP for verification of authenticity.
Upon receipt of a positive verification of your FPGEE and English language testing certificate(s), you will be eligible to apply for internship, the NAPLEX and, if you're applying to one of the 44 states or the District of Columbia which require it, the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Exam (MPJE). (Reminder: the states/territories that do not use the MPJE have their own jurisprudence exams.)
You must obtain the required hours of internship and take and pass the NAPLEX and MPJE (or other jurisprudence exam, as noted in the point above) before you can earn your pharmacist license. The NABP says that, time permitting, both the NAPLEX and the MPJE may be taken on the same day.
NOTE: Internship or practice as a pharmacist outside of the United States will not necessarily be accepted towards a state's internship requirement. And any internship or professional practice performed before taking and passing the FPGEE and English language testing certificate(s) will not count towards some states' required hours of internship.
VISA Information: Under NAFTA, pharmacists who are citizens of Canada and Mexico are eligible for TN visas to work in the United States. Under NAFTA, Canadians receive TN-1 visas and Mexicans receive TN-2 visas. Canadians can apply for a TN-1 visa at Class A US Ports of Entry; Mexicans must apply for their TN-2 visa at a US Consulate.
No sponsorship is required for Canadians or Mexicans. However, you will still need to provide proof of an offer of employment from your employer in the US, and meet the minimum education, experience, and licensing requirements (as above).
Documents required for TN visa:
A document (e.g., signed contract, employment offer, etc.) showing your job title, summary of your job duties, starting date and expected length of temporary stay, arrangement for remuneration.
Recent résumé.
Evidence of the appropriate degree awarded (e.g., copy of a diploma, or official transcripts indicating the degree which has been awarded).
Evidence of Canadian (or Mexican) citizenship.
The duration of the TN visa is set for an initial period of one year. An unlimited number of one-year extensions may be subsequently obtained so long as you can show that the employment remains temporary, and that you continue to be qualified to work in your profession.
The VisaScreen requirement instituted in July 2004 for some healthcare professions does not pertain to pharmacists.
This information was ripped from
HERE
If you want to practice here - it is best to be trained here. The process to get in from the outside takes great time and effort...
