Transferability of Canadian PharmD to the USA

[CanadianPharmD]

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Hi Everyone,

I am in pharmacy school at the University of Toronto, about to enter my final year. I have the option of obtaining a PharmD here, or I can obtain my Bachelors of Pharmacy, and continue to pursue a post-baccalaureate PharmD in a different program in the US.

My situation is that I hope to practice in the US, and I understand that I will have to go through a process of passing foreign equivalency exams if I were to get licensed in Canada. However, I am also under the impression that the University of Toronto, while having a great program in its own rights, is technically not accredited in the US (because it is in Canada). Would this be a problem when applying for jobs (i.e. I found that a lot of jobs require that the applicant obtained his/her pharmacy education in an ACPE accredited pharmacy school)? Additionally, if I get my BPharm and my license to practice in Canada, and then enroll in the PharmD in the US, do I still need to transfer my license or would I just obtain my license after completing the postbac program? Any insights are greatly appreciated!

 

[iamaninja]

Hi Everyone,

I am in pharmacy school at the University of Toronto, about to enter my final year. I have the option of obtaining a PharmD here, or I can obtain my Bachelors of Pharmacy, and continue to pursue a post-baccalaureate PharmD in a different program in the US.

My situation is that I hope to practice in the US, and I understand that I will have to go through a process of passing foreign equivalency exams if I were to get licensed in Canada. However, I am also under the impression that the University of Toronto, while having a great program in its own rights, is technically not accredited in the US (because it is in Canada). Would this be a problem when applying for jobs (i.e. I found that a lot of jobs require that the applicant obtained his/her pharmacy education in an ACPE accredited pharmacy school)? Additionally, if I get my BPharm and my license to practice in Canada, and then enroll in the PharmD in the US, do I still need to transfer my license or would I just obtain my license after completing the postbac program? Any insights are greatly appreciated!

I would definitely get my PharmD as the job market gets more and more tough having the PharmD matters, and going forward that is only going to get more evident. Graduating from a non ACPE school and being a Canadian in general is going to make it much more difficult for you to get a job in the United States. Yes lots of jobs require you graduate from an ACPE school but I graduated from a school in the states and many companies will not hire Canadians right now. CVS stopped offering visas to Canadians within the last year, and Walgreens said they do not encourage hiring Visa applicants unless the area is in great need, even though for Canadians its not really a sponsorship and takes nothing from them other than a detailed offer of employment. Bottom line is the job market in the US for pharmacists is really bad right now, and its going to get worse most likely before it gets better, and that has been bad news for Canadians trying to practice in the US compared to the past where most employers did'nt care as long as you were qualified for the job. So as a Canadian I would strongly suggest you don't plan completely around practicing in the US, and keep in mind that jobs may not be there. I've lost 3 jobs that i probably would have landed if I was a US citizen, and I'm licensed and educated in the US with a PharmD.

 

[CanadianPharmD]

Thank you very much for your reply Ninja.

Actually let me backtrack a bit; I guess my screen name is a misnomer - I am actually not Canadian, but a Permanent Resident of the US, who decided to go to Canada for my undergraduate education, and eventually ended up in pharmacy school at the U of Toronto (actually in Canada on visa). I would like to go back to the US as I have family there and I am more or less by myself up here. Would the companies look at Permanent Residents the same way as they look at citizens (i.e. no visas, etc) In any case, I guess the issue of a non-ACPE pharmacy school still stands...

 

[Carboxide]

Thank you very much for your reply Ninja.

Actually let me backtrack a bit; I guess my screen name is a misnomer - I am actually not Canadian, but a Permanent Resident of the US, who decided to go to Canada for my undergraduate education, and eventually ended up in pharmacy school at the U of Toronto (actually in Canada on visa). I would like to go back to the US as I have family there and I am more or less by myself up here. Would the companies look at Permanent Residents the same way as they look at citizens (i.e. no visas, etc) In any case, I guess the issue of a non-ACPE pharmacy school still stands...

Yes. If you have your permanent residency, in most cases it will be equivalent to citizenship for hiring purposes. (This is only not true for some government jobs - certain ones REQUIRE citizenship, either naturalized or born.)

 

[iamaninja]

Thank you very much for your reply Ninja.

Actually let me backtrack a bit; I guess my screen name is a misnomer - I am actually not Canadian, but a Permanent Resident of the US, who decided to go to Canada for my undergraduate education, and eventually ended up in pharmacy school at the U of Toronto (actually in Canada on visa). I would like to go back to the US as I have family there and I am more or less by myself up here. Would the companies look at Permanent Residents the same way as they look at citizens (i.e. no visas, etc) In any case, I guess the issue of a non-ACPE pharmacy school still stands...

Yes as the poster above me said permanent resident will be fine for all jobs in the US except for federal jobs like the VA I believe. If its not that much of a hassle I would try and get my PharmD finished in the US, and as far as I know wherever that PharmD is issued will cover you for the degree, although I'm not sure about individual states licensing requirements for intern hours.

 

[CanadianPharmD]

Thank you very much for your insights!