Thoughts on Having Multiple Board Certifications?

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BC_89

BC_89

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I'll be finishing up my PGY-1 in a couple of months with the original plan of sitting for the 2023 BCPS Fall Exam. However, during Phase 1 I ended up matching for a PGY-2 in Ambulatory Care within the VA, so my gears have shifted to focus on the BCACP when the time comes.

I was curious if others still carry multiple board certs while working in your current position. Do you feel it is worth keeping or obtaining (job screen-out or pay incentive)? I can easily see pros and cons of having multiple certs (other than gathering an alphabet soup of titles behind your name).

I am burnt out, and chances are if I do not sit for the BCPS right after finishing my PGY-1, I highly doubt I'll ever sit for it. Anyone regret letting a certification expire? I figure some positions are so different (ie ambulatory care) that perhaps there is not much of an incentive to keep multiple credentials (who knows, maybe I'm missing something).

Thoughts?
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BC_89 said:
I'll be finishing up my PGY-1 in a couple of months with the original plan of sitting for the 2023 BCPS Fall Exam. However, during Phase 1 I ended up matching for a PGY-2 in Ambulatory Care within the VA, so my gears have shifted to focus on the BCACP when the time comes.

I was curious if others still carry multiple board certs while working in your current position. Do you feel it is worth keeping or obtaining (job screen-out or pay incentive)? I can easily see pros and cons of having multiple certs (other than gathering an alphabet soup of titles behind your name).

I am burnt out, and chances are if I do not sit for the BCPS right after finishing my PGY-1, I highly doubt I'll ever sit for it. Anyone regret letting a certification expire? I figure some positions are so different (ie ambulatory care) that perhaps there is not much of an incentive to keep multiple credentials (who knows, maybe I'm missing something).

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Sign up for the BCPS, put in a little effort to study (or no effort whatsoever if you are already totally burnt out), take the exam, and see if you pass. I've been reading your posts for years and my instinct is that you'll pass. If you do fail, you only lose $600 and whatever life you sacrificed by studying. Results are confidential, so no one will know you failed unless you tell them. If you pass, you can wear that lapel pin they give you, display the wall certificate, add it to your resume, and sign your name with four more letters. Or treat it like a concealed weapon: keep it hidden from others and have a quiet confidence dealing with other BCPS pharmacists knowing that you're as strong or stronger than them. The benefits outweigh the costs.

Then in another year, do the same for BCACP. Two certifications are better than one. You benefit further by paying only one annual maintenance fee ($125 per year regardless of number of board certifications). You can then either actively do the CEs for the BCPS, or just put it on the back burner intending to let it expire at year seven.

I have two board certifications. They are both relevant to my current job. But they are fairly useless, since surprisingly few of my pharmacist colleagues have ever heard of them. My employer did provide me a one time reimbursement of the $600 fee for one certification, but there is no further pay incentive. They are on my resume, but other than that, I don't mention them. Rather than say I'm board certified, I'm more likely to say something like "after fifteen years, I've learned a thing or two about this field." The only tangible benefit I had was getting an interview with (by some measures) the best hospital in the United States, i.e. I wasn't automatically screened out by human resources. I haven't bothered doing CE credits, so I will need to either let them lapse, or take the recertification exam. I won't regret letting it expire because I know I did it once and could really do it again if I cared. I would need to take them off my resume, but at this point, I feel my relevant work history outweighs the board certifications.
 
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BC_89 said:
I'll be finishing up my PGY-1 in a couple of months with the original plan of sitting for the 2023 BCPS Fall Exam. However, during Phase 1 I ended up matching for a PGY-2 in Ambulatory Care within the VA, so my gears have shifted to focus on the BCACP when the time comes.

I was curious if others still carry multiple board certs while working in your current position. Do you feel it is worth keeping or obtaining (job screen-out or pay incentive)? I can easily see pros and cons of having multiple certs (other than gathering an alphabet soup of titles behind your name).

I am burnt out, and chances are if I do not sit for the BCPS right after finishing my PGY-1, I highly doubt I'll ever sit for it. Anyone regret letting a certification expire? I figure some positions are so different (ie ambulatory care) that perhaps there is not much of an incentive to keep multiple credentials (who knows, maybe I'm missing something).

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
It depends if you’re stamp collecting for a commission to reach higher field grade or join Civil Service. If you’re stamp collecting, do both and pass. For Civil Service, there’s strategic timing when to take one of your BPS exams.

You’ll find out soon enough that clinical practice is so routinized that you would have to be a profound screwup and intentionally subvert systems in the VA to do catastrophic damage in Am Care.
 
I didn't do a residency or get any board certifications. I have coworkers who did all that stuff. We have the same job and get paid the same...
 
My 2 cents - I am seriously considering letting my BCPS expire based on:

1) Where I am currently in my career and not being involved in direct patient care in a secure, decent paying position.

2) Cost of continued certification in terms of $ and time.

3) Zero pay incentive to carry certification.

4) CEUs (vice re-testing) that seem more like “stump the chump” than confirming understanding of subject matter .

r/
 
CNJ_Anon said:
You benefit further by paying only one annual maintenance fee ($125 per year regardless of number of board certifications). You can then either actively do the CEs for the BCPS, or just put it on the back burner intending to let it expire at year seven.

The only tangible benefit I had was getting an interview with (by some measures) the best hospital in the United States, i.e. I wasn't automatically screened out by human resources.
Click to expand...
I was curious if the annual maintenance fee was individualized or not (I haven't heard anything different from BPS site or ASHP resources, so it's nice to get that insight that nothing has changed in that regard). I'm also glad you brought up the "HR screen out" as that is something I am currently thinking about when all of this is said and done. I appreciate the insight -

lord999 said:
It depends if you’re stamp collecting for a commission to reach higher field grade or join Civil Service. If you’re stamp collecting, do both and pass. For Civil Service, there’s strategic timing when to take one of your BPS exams.

You’ll find out soon enough that clinical practice is so routinized that you would have to be a profound screwup and intentionally subvert systems in the VA to do catastrophic damage in Am Care.
Click to expand...
If I were to stay within the VA and start as a GS-13 amb care trained pharmacist, Is there any benefit in holding both certs in terms of negotiating on paper what step I would come in as? I've heard different sites negotiate this depending on what certs I would hold upon on-boarding through HR. I've even heard certain sites (purely by what I was told during job interviews within the VA) will cover annual maintenance fees depending on what job title I would be hired in on (general inpatient = cover BCPS, amb care = cover BCACP). Sounds like both would be covered regardless since only one fee would be applied to how ever many certs I would have.

Rockinacoustic said:
Will your PGY-2 program pay for the exam?
Click to expand...
My PGY-2 will pay for the BCACP exam (with the intent I get hired on within their VISN network).
 
But more letters behind your name is kewl.......
 
BC_89 said:
I was curious if the annual maintenance fee was individualized or not (I haven't heard anything different from BPS site or ASHP resources, so it's nice to get that insight that nothing has changed in that regard). I'm also glad you brought up the "HR screen out" as that is something I am currently thinking about when all of this is said and done. I appreciate the insight -


If I were to stay within the VA and start as a GS-13 amb care trained pharmacist, Is there any benefit in holding both certs in terms of negotiating on paper what step I would come in as? I've heard different sites negotiate this depending on what certs I would hold upon on-boarding through HR. I've even heard certain sites (purely by what I was told during job interviews within the VA) will cover annual maintenance fees depending on what job title I would be hired in on (general inpatient = cover BCPS, amb care = cover BCACP). Sounds like both would be covered regardless since only one fee would be applied to how ever many certs I would have.


My PGY-2 will pay for the BCACP exam (with the intent I get hired on within their VISN network).
Click to expand...
Yes, there is an advantage in grade and step negotiation and there is one if you take it afterwards. One of them will count toward a 13 rather than a 12 and the other is good for two steps. Note that 13 is considered terminal grade for clinical pharmacy, advancing to 14 is always supervisory, VISN, or VHACO related.

(Edit)

Unless you are in VISN 17. The HR there overgrades their pharmacists instead of actually paying them correctly. Pharmacy has pushed back several times, but VISN HR management is extraordinarily bad.
 
Last edited:
I got my BCPS after PGY1 and held it till it expired. For a while I had both that and BCPPS, but I let the BCPS expire instead of renewing it. I think there can be a place for getting two certifications. I plan on getting BCEMP later this year since my job covers both areas. I think having my BCPS helped me land an adult EM job for a while even though my training was in pediatrics.

You can always let it expire if it holds no benefit for you.
 
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I appreciate everyone's insight!

It makes me feel a bit better that many of you answered some of my pros and cons and how it would apply to specific positions (some worth it, some a waste of time). It seems right now it may not be a bad idea to at least make my attempt to sit for the BCPS and let it expire down the road.

I suppose I would rather have it now and let it expire later, than knowing if I don't take it now, knowledge-atrophy would kick in and I'd struggle with my studies to obtain it later on (In case for any weird reason It'd be beneficial for screen-out or hiring purposes over the next 7 years).
 
BC_89 said:
I'll be finishing up my PGY-1 in a couple of months with the original plan of sitting for the 2023 BCPS Fall Exam. However, during Phase 1 I ended up matching for a PGY-2 in Ambulatory Care within the VA, so my gears have shifted to focus on the BCACP when the time comes.

I was curious if others still carry multiple board certs while working in your current position. Do you feel it is worth keeping or obtaining (job screen-out or pay incentive)? I can easily see pros and cons of having multiple certs (other than gathering an alphabet soup of titles behind your name).

I am burnt out, and chances are if I do not sit for the BCPS right after finishing my PGY-1, I highly doubt I'll ever sit for it. Anyone regret letting a certification expire? I figure some positions are so different (ie ambulatory care) that perhaps there is not much of an incentive to keep multiple credentials (who knows, maybe I'm missing something).

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Take as many as you’d like. Your coworkers will hate you for it.
They will volunteer their opinion on why it’s a waste of time and money. They will tally up how much it will cost you.
Always thank them for their insight. Take the exams, pass them and say nothing. Just add them to your signature.
 
pharmd2025 said:
Take as many as you’d like. Your coworkers will hate you for it.
They will volunteer their opinion on why it’s a waste of time and money. They will tally up how much it will cost you.
Always thank them for their insight. Take the exams, pass them and say nothing. Just add them to your signature.
Click to expand...
This is incorrect at least for the Portland, OR and Minneapolis markets. There's wariness from management on grossly overqualified or too diverse credentials. If you get credentials widely apart (say an MS and BCNP combo and later a BCACP), be prepared to explain why the paperchase.


For the uniform and Civil Service, certain credentials force you into certain tracks. There is a sense of timing when and where you get them. For uniform, if they start with a clinical, I tell them to get their next credential through ILE or War College depending on terminal placement desire. Anyone going for flag rank isn't supposed to get more than one clinical credential, else you get tracked to a terminal O5/O6, but Carlisle or SES JHU/Georgetown/Harvard is a must for any serious nomination pursuit. I almost always recommend a stint as an Action Officer at the O4/O5 to get the work experience necessary for higher authority. And FACHE is desirable but not essential for the uniformed.


For VA, LDA and FACHE are required for any major position besides PBM. Additional clinical credentials only give you lateral options and the terminal is a 13 station or 14 VISN (rare but competitive). If you want a desirable 15 or SES, you get FACHE.

Get the credentials you need for the position you are and the position you want, but not indiscriminately. Do not get credentials for the sake of it, it is considered derogatory or tracks you and limits career options prematurely.
 
lord999 said:
This is incorrect at least for the Portland, OR and Minneapolis markets. There's wariness from management on grossly overqualified or too diverse credentials. If you get credentials widely apart (say an MS and BCNP combo and later a BCACP), be prepared to explain why the paperchase.


For the uniform and Civil Service, certain credentials force you into certain tracks. There is a sense of timing when and where you get them. For uniform, if they start with a clinical, I tell them to get their next credential through ILE or War College depending on terminal placement desire. Anyone going for flag rank isn't supposed to get more than one clinical credential, else you get tracked to a terminal O5/O6, but Carlisle or SES JHU/Georgetown/Harvard is a must for any serious nomination pursuit. I almost always recommend a stint as an Action Officer at the O4/O5 to get the work experience necessary for higher authority. And FACHE is desirable but not essential for the uniformed.


For VA, LDA and FACHE are required for any major position besides PBM. Additional clinical credentials only give you lateral options and the terminal is a 13 station or 14 VISN (rare but competitive). If you want a desirable 15 or SES, you get FACHE.

Get the credentials you need for the position you are and the position you want, but not indiscriminately. Do not get credentials for the sake of it, it is considered derogatory or tracks you and limits career options prematurely.
Click to expand...

Bad news for the Fort Worth pharmacist who has 8 board certifications. Seriously! 8 of them!
 
lord999 said:
This is incorrect at least for the Portland, OR and Minneapolis markets. There's wariness from management on grossly overqualified or too diverse credentials. If you get credentials widely apart (say an MS and BCNP combo and later a BCACP), be prepared to explain why the paperchase.


For the uniform and Civil Service, certain credentials force you into certain tracks. There is a sense of timing when and where you get them. For uniform, if they start with a clinical, I tell them to get their next credential through ILE or War College depending on terminal placement desire. Anyone going for flag rank isn't supposed to get more than one clinical credential, else you get tracked to a terminal O5/O6, but Carlisle or SES JHU/Georgetown/Harvard is a must for any serious nomination pursuit. I almost always recommend a stint as an Action Officer at the O4/O5 to get the work experience necessary for higher authority. And FACHE is desirable but not essential for the uniformed.


For VA, LDA and FACHE are required for any major position besides PBM. Additional clinical credentials only give you lateral options and the terminal is a 13 station or 14 VISN (rare but competitive). If you want a desirable 15 or SES, you get FACHE.

Get the credentials you need for the position you are and the position you want, but not indiscriminately. Do not get credentials for the sake of it, it is considered derogatory or tracks you and limits career options prematurely.
Click to expand...

OP, again…

Take as many as you’d like. Your coworkers will hate you for it.
They will volunteer their opinion on why it’s a waste of time and money. They will tally up how much it will cost you.
Always thank them for their insight. Take the exams, pass them and say nothing. Just add them to your signature.
 
pharmd2025 said:
OP, again…

Take as many as you’d like. Your coworkers will hate you for it.
They will volunteer their opinion on why it’s a waste of time and money. They will tally up how much it will cost you.
Always thank them for their insight. Take the exams, pass them and say nothing. Just add them to your signature.
Click to expand...

Take note y'all, the all-knowing future pharmd of 2025 has graciously given us a career advice 😉
 
pharmd2025 said:
OP, again…

Take as many as you’d like. Your coworkers will hate you for it.
They will volunteer their opinion on why it’s a waste of time and money. They will tally up how much it will cost you.
Always thank them for their insight. Take the exams, pass them and say nothing. Just add them to your signature.
Click to expand...
I don't know why coworkers would bother to hate you at all for seeking board certs. Either they have them as well, or they just think its a waste. Hate seems a bit strong. Either way, going for my 2nd (3rd if you count the BCPS that I let lapse) this fall.
 
KidPharmD said:
I don't know why coworkers would bother to hate you at all for seeking board certs. Either they have them as well, or they just think its a waste. Hate seems a bit strong. Either way, going for my 2nd (3rd if you count the BCPS that I let lapse) this fall.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. I suspect it is hyperbole or possibly a persecution complex. Disagreeing with someone isn’t hate. If anything the coworkers in question probably pity them for all the wasted time money and energy, if they have an opinion at all.
 
OP, again…

Take as many as you’d like. Your coworkers will hate you for it.
They will volunteer their opinion on why it’s a waste of time and money. They will tally up how much it will cost you.
Always thank them for their insight. Take the exams, pass them and say nothing. Just add them to your signature.
 
A bit late but BCACP > BCPS since that's what you'll ultimately be doing
 
Well, as an update -

I signed up and just received my appointment confirmation to sit for the BCPS exam in September. I'm already a month into my PGY-2 so I'll "lightly" go over biostatistics and do quick refreshers on other topics (an hour or two on the weekends, maybe 45 minutes on weekdays). If I pass, I pass. If I fail, I'll put it behind me and focus on the BCACP when the time comes.

I figured getting the certification would at least assist in being somewhat competitive when trying to get a job placement once the PGY-2 program is over (HR screen-out). Since my main goal would be to stay within the VA system, I figured getting a possible step negotiation when coming in as a GS-13 might be within reach. Other than that, not much of an incentive to keep the BCPS letters beyond its expiration date (assuming I were to pass).

For the record, I don't foresee co-workers hating me for applying (especially with my listed reasons). Then again, no one should be chasing letters just to have a longer signature on a business card...
 
One of the clinical pharmacists I work with has BCPS, BCCCP and BCNSP. He doesnt do the required CE's and just retakes the exams after 7 years or whatever time frame it is until expiration.
 
I think BCSCP doesnt require a residency. Just a couple years in a hospital or infusion center environment.
 
GrandTheftAutumn said:
Take note y'all, the all-knowing future pharmd of 2025 has graciously given us a career advice 😉
Click to expand...
Nah... I have 2 board certifications and working on a 3rd. Chose PharmD2025 as the username because 2022, 2023 and 2024 might have been taken. Doesn't matter.

It's funny. You always see the same 6 members answering questions.
 
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