Which state medical board processes medical licenses the fastest? (PA, MI ??)

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chairman

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I am in a Foreign IMG and in a bit of a bind. I am graduating PGY3 this June and then will start a fellowship the next month in July. I had not applied for a 'full unrestricted med license' as I only needed a training license for my fellowship. However I will (hope to) be writing the my Board exam this October and the Board requires a full unrestricted license to write the exam. My question is which state board has the fastest processing time? I am an IMG and getting anything from my medical school is a royal pain in the rear.

Does FCVS make do with ECFMG's primary source verification? I was ECFMG certified in 2011 and ECFMG already did the painstaking and time consuming medical credentials verification with my med school back in 2011.

Has anyone applied recently for an unrestricted medical license from Pennsylvania as an IMG? I am trying to determine how long it will take. I was looking at the the PA medical board's website and they state that they will accept ECFMG's medical degree verification if ECFMG has done so during the time of obtaining ECFMG certification. ECFMG will then send this verification via ECFMG's CVS service. If the Pennsylvania Med Board accepts that verification from ECFMG that would be great as it would avoid me the hassle of dealing with my med school for now. Has anyone been through this process with the Pennsylvania license or have a recommendation for which state in the US I can obtain a medical license ASAP?
Thanks
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Doesn't make sense that you have to have a state license before you take a national board exam. Does not jive. It also doesn't make sense to just randomly pick a state to get a license it because you are taking a board exam. Generally you get a license where you plan to practice.

You are asking about PA or MI. Is that where your fellowship is? I am assuming you have finished step III and are sitting for the board certifying exam before your fellowship? I would think that you would need to apply for a license in the state your fellowship is in since that is where you will be practicing. You can't just randomly pick a state to get a license in then work in some other state.
 
cabinbuilder said:
Doesn't make sense that you have to have a state license before you take a national board exam. Does not jive. It also doesn't make sense to just randomly pick a state to get a license it because you are taking a board exam. Generally you get a license where you plan to practice.
You are asking about PA or MI. Is that where your fellowship is? I am assuming you have finished step III and are sitting for the board certifying exam before your fellowship? I would think that you would need to apply for a license in the state your fellowship is in since that is where you will be practicing. You can't just randomly pick a state to get a license in then work in some other state.
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I am done with all steps and graduating from a Peds residency in 2 months and will be starting my fellowship in July. I will be writing the board exam in October (while I am in the fellowship). Unfortunately with the Pediatrics Boards you do need a Full State Medical License to write the board exam. Here's an excerpt fro their website :

Can I apply for the exam before I get my license?
You may apply for the exam before getting your medical license. However, you are not permitted to take the exam unless the ABP receives a copy of your valid (current), unrestricted license by the deadline that applies to your registration status. Temporary or training licenses are not acceptable.

Thus there is no way around it. Every candidate for the exam needs to get a license. My colleagues have all done so. I was distracted with other work stuff and so I am starting my process pretty late and so need to process it ASAP. It can also be from any state and that is why I am looking for the state with the quickest processing time.
I am not going to be doing my fellowship in either Pennsylvania or Michigan. When I did a web search of their board requirements, it seems they have shorter processing times. I just want to get folks opinions on this - thanks.
 
gutonc said:
Postpone your exam.
Click to expand...
No, I really need/want to write it this year - I have been preparing hard for the exam.
This is general peds and since I will be sub-specializing from July on-wards my general peds knowledge will be diminishing :D
 
chairman said:
I am done with all steps and graduating from a Peds residency in 2 months and will be starting my fellowship in July. I will be writing the board exam in October (while I am in the fellowship). Unfortunately with the Pediatrics Boards you do need a Full State Medical License to write the board exam. Here's an excerpt fro their website :

Can I apply for the exam before I get my license?
You may apply for the exam before getting your medical license. However, you are not permitted to take the exam unless the ABP receives a copy of your valid (current), unrestricted license by the deadline that applies to your registration status. Temporary or training licenses are not acceptable.

Thus there is no way around it. Every candidate for the exam needs to get a license. My colleagues have all done so. I was distracted with other work stuff and so I am starting my process pretty late and so need to process it ASAP. It can also be from any state and that is why I am looking for the state with the quickest processing time.
I am not going to be doing my fellowship in either Pennsylvania or Michigan. When I did a web search of their board requirements, it seems they have shorter processing times. I just want to get folks opinions on this - thanks.
Click to expand...

Trust me as someone who has done the paperwork for 7 state licenses, you really should get the license for the state where you plan to be working because you are going to have to have one for that state anyway.. You are only prolonging the inevitable.
 
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cabinbuilder said:
Trust me as someone who has done the paperwork for 7 state licenses, you really should get the license for the state where you plan to be working. You are only prolonging the inevitable.
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That's true, I understand what you are saying but I will only need that in about 3 years when I am done with my fellowship. I have started the FCVS process for that.
This license is for my immediate need which is to write the pediatrics board exam and I need to get it the license by September to be able to write the exam in October.
 
chairman said:
That's true, I understand what you are saying but I will only need that in about 3 years when I am done with my fellowship. I have started the FCVS process for that.
This license is for my immediate need which is to write the pediatrics board exam and I need to get it the license by September to be able to write the exam in October.
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Hmm. I don't see how you expect to work during a 3 year fellowship and see patients without a license in the state where you are working? If you need a license by September it's a moot point (unless it's Alaska or Texas) because generally the longest time frame is 6 months max.
 
I think it's super strange to be this far into training and not have applied for a permanent license. I am at the end of intern year and just submitted everything for mine...it's a beast and won't get any easier the further you are away from graduatuon. I'm a US grad so know nothing about ECFMG but there were questions on my FCVS about that topic so I would think it would guide you through. Just work on the permanent license you need now--the first one is the hardest. None of them are fast--I submitted all of my docs to SC 3 weeks ago and expect it to take until July at the earliest. If your fellowship is in PA, do PA and worry about MI later (or vice versa).
I'm surprised your residency program didn't help with this stuff--it's expensive and time-consuming. I don't think my program is unusual that it requires a permanent license before one can be promoted from PGY2 to PGY3.
 
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chairman said:
I am done with all steps and graduating from a Peds residency in 2 months and will be starting my fellowship in July. I will be writing the board exam in October (while I am in the fellowship). Unfortunately with the Pediatrics Boards you do need a Full State Medical License to write the board exam. Here's an excerpt fro their website :

Can I apply for the exam before I get my license?
You may apply for the exam before getting your medical license. However, you are not permitted to take the exam unless the ABP receives a copy of your valid (current), unrestricted license by the deadline that applies to your registration status. Temporary or training licenses are not acceptable.

Thus there is no way around it. Every candidate for the exam needs to get a license. My colleagues have all done so. I was distracted with other work stuff and so I am starting my process pretty late and so need to process it ASAP. It can also be from any state and that is why I am looking for the state with the quickest processing time.
I am not going to be doing my fellowship in either Pennsylvania or Michigan. When I did a web search of their board requirements, it seems they have shorter processing times. I just want to get folks opinions on this - thanks.
Click to expand...

Where is your fellowship? Why not apply for a license in that state?
 
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cabinbuilder said:
Doesn't make sense that you have to have a state license before you take a national board exam. Does not jive. It also doesn't make sense to just randomly pick a state to get a license it because you are taking a board exam. Generally you get a license where you plan to practice.

You are asking about PA or MI. Is that where your fellowship is? I am assuming you have finished step III and are sitting for the board certifying exam before your fellowship? I would think that you would need to apply for a license in the state your fellowship is in since that is where you will be practicing. You can't just randomly pick a state to get a license in then work in some other state.
Click to expand...
peds i know requires it...i'm sure there are others (just because IM doesn't , doesn't mean that the concept is somehow fishy.

and yeah...you can...have you ever applied for a license?
 
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primadonna22274 said:
I think it's super strange to be this far into training and not have applied for a permanent license. I am at the end of intern year and just submitted everything for mine...it's a beast and won't get any easier the further you are away from graduatuon. I'm a US grad so know nothing about ECFMG but there were questions on my FCVS about that topic so I would think it would guide you through. Just work on the permanent license you need now--the first one is the hardest. None of them are fast--I submitted all of my docs to SC 3 weeks ago and expect it to take until July at the earliest. If your fellowship is in PA, do PA and worry about MI later (or vice versa).
I'm surprised your residency program didn't help with this stuff--it's expensive and time-consuming. I don't think my program is unusual that it requires a permanent license before one can be promoted from PGY2 to PGY3.
Click to expand...
its different for I/FMGs...many states don't allow for FMGs to apply until at least 2 and even 3 years of PGY training are done...its not unusual AT ALL...there are states that (in fact most of them) only require a training license and the only reason a resident would get a full license is to moonlight out of their own hospital...and many fellowship programs only require a training licenses as well.
 
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rokshana said:
peds i know requires it...i'm sure there are others (just because IM doesn't , doesn't mean that the concept is somehow fishy.

and yeah...you can...have you ever applied for a license?
Click to expand...

so to actually answer your question...PA is probably the fastest and the cheapest (80 bucks for anywhere from 1-2 years, depends on whether you are applying in an odd or even year) and can take anywhere from 3-5 weeks to get (they do say however after April it can take considerably longer due to all the higher volume). VA is another one to consider...its about 300 for 3 years and takes about 2-4 weeks.

Ohio, MA, NJ, NY take a looong time...MA takes on average 4 months, NJ 4-6 months, and Ohio 4-6 months (though if you do the fingerprinting IN Ohio it can shorten that time, but not by much. MA and NJ are EXpensive so if you aren't going to practice there, it is a lot to put out.
FSVC seems to make the process longer...
Those are the states that I'm familiar with (amazing what locums can teach you).
 
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rokshana said:
and yeah...you can...have you ever applied for a license?
Click to expand...

what the heck? I have 7 licenses. (I do locums too)

Alaska - 10 months
Texas- 10 months, need DPS first, need to take Judicial exam first
Oregon 6-8 months, need fingerprints, online pharmacy exam
Nevada 4-6 months, pharmacy license required
Wyoming- 5 weeks, pharmacy license required
Montana- 4-8 weeks
Colorado-3 months
 
My program no longer takes IMGs so I guess we don't run into this. Bring on the moonlighting!
 
rokshana said:
so to actually answer your question...PA is probably the fastest and the cheapest (80 bucks for anywhere from 1-2 years, depends on whether you are applying in an odd or even year) and can take anywhere from 3-5 weeks to get (they do say however after April it can take considerably longer due to all the higher volume). VA is another one to consider...its about 300 for 3 years and takes about 2-4 weeks.

Ohio, MA, NJ, NY take a looong time...MA takes on average 4 months, NJ 4-6 months, and Ohio 4-6 months (though if you do the fingerprinting IN Ohio it can shorten that time, but not by much. MA and NJ are EXpensive so if you aren't going to practice there, it is a lot to put out.
FSVC seems to make the process longer...
Those are the states that I'm familiar with (amazing what locums can teach you).
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the tips and understanding my situation. I will heed your advice and apply in PA and possibly VA because I am getting nervous about the time frame and want to be able to meet the boards requirement to have the license by September.

You are spot on. I only required a training license for my residency and so have been on the training license ever since PGY1. I did not require a full license unless I was planning to work outside my program setting (moonlighting) which I did not. It is the same situation with my fellowship, they only require a training license for my 3 years of fellowship training. My original plan was to only apply for a state license in my last year of fellowship when I knew in which state i would be eventually working in. However American Board of Pediatrics requires a board exam candidate to be fully licensed as a criteria to write the exam and hence my apprehension to get this done. When I was getting ECFMG certification/medical credential verification done my school delayed in their response causing me to miss the first match year. I am trying to avoid a similar situation with this process
 
ThoracicGuy said:
Where is your fellowship? Why not apply for a license in that state?
Click to expand...
I have but it could take a long time and so I need to get licensed in any state to be able to write my board exam in the first week of September.
 
Given that speed is important here, I suggest not using FCVS. Set it up now for later applications, if you're so inclined.

I have a number of state licenses, and I've found Pennsylvania to be relatively timely and responsive. Although that was done with a pre-existing FCVS account.

There are a few states known to be difficult (e.g. Texas and California). Avoid those, find an inexpensive state that is relatively IMG friendly, go for it, and hope for the best. Sending everything with some sort of tracking number will probably help.
 
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cabinbuilder said:
what the heck? I have 7 licenses. (I do locums too)

Alaska - 10 months
Texas- 10 months, need DPS first, need to take Judicial exam first
Oregon 6-8 months, need fingerprints, online pharmacy exam
Nevada 4-6 months, pharmacy license required
Wyoming- 5 weeks, pharmacy license required
Montana- 4-8 weeks
Colorado-3 months
Click to expand...
then why wold you say you can't randomly pick a state to apply for a license? of course you can...my locums company had me apply to a bunch of states...doesn't mean i ended up working in all of them.
 
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colbgw02 said:
Given that speed is important here, I suggest not using FCVS. Set it up now for later applications, if you're so inclined.
I have a number of state licenses, and I've found Pennsylvania to be relatively timely and responsive. Although that was done with a pre-existing FCVS account.
There are a few states known to be difficult (e.g. Texas and California). Avoid those, find an inexpensive state that is relatively IMG friendly, go for it, and hope for the best. Sending everything with some sort of tracking number will probably help.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip about dealing directly with the state board rather than processing thru FCVS. I will definitely do so for PA (and possible MI or VA if I apply in those states too) and leave the 'slow cooking' FCVS process to be used for my state application where my fellowship is in.
 
rokshana said:
then why wold you say you can't randomly pick a state to apply for a license? of course you can...my locums company had me apply to a bunch of states...doesn't mean i ended up working in all of them.
Click to expand...
You are missing my point and twisting words. Just seems silly to go through all the hassle for any random state license to take one exam when the OP will have to turn around and get a license for the state the fellowship is in. You know as well as I do that just because the turn around time is short doesn't mean the paperwork to get it done is easy.
 
No, but one is in the control of the OP and the other is not. The assumption is that even the most onerous paperwork with an advantageous turnaround time is preferable to the simple application with a prolonged processing period.
 
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cabinbuilder said:
You are missing my point and twisting words. Just seems silly to go through all the hassle for any random state license to take one exam when the OP will have to turn around and get a license for the state the fellowship is in. You know as well as I do that just because the turn around time is short doesn't mean the paperwork to get it done is easy.
Click to expand...
No it is not. I do not need a full license for the state I am going to do my fellowship in. I only need a training license for the complete duration of the fellowship - the fellowship program has also clearly confirmed it. The only reason I am getting this full-license now is for the board exam and that's why my quest is to find that state with the shortest processing time. The paper work requirement does differ from state to state but for the most part has some commonality I agree.
 
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cabinbuilder said:
You are missing my point and twisting words. Just seems silly to go through all the hassle for any random state license to take one exam when the OP will have to turn around and get a license for the state the fellowship is in. You know as well as I do that just because the turn around time is short doesn't mean the paperwork to get it done is easy.
Click to expand...

no i think you are missing the OPs point...the point of the license is not to practice medicine..he will be able to move on to his fellowship on july 1st without any problem since his program will just get a training license for him..in fact he could very well jeopardize his ability to start if he were indeed to apply for a full unrestricted license in the state he is too do his fellowship at this point..many boards will not allow for the application for both a training and unrestricted license at the same time and if he were to wait for the full license, it may not process in time.

he needs an unrestricted license to sit for his peds boards..for that ANY state license will do...so the fastest and ideally cheapest license is the better option at this late date...and it makes sense to go ahead and take the core specialty board now since he is fresh out of residency...the longer you wait , the more difficult it will be to do later as he specializes.

OP spend the 80 bucks, do the paperwork, and get a license...if you never practicc in Pa, well big deal.
 
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chairman said:
No it is not. I do not need a full license for the state I am going to do my fellowship in. I only need a training license for the complete duration of the fellowship - the fellowship program has also clearly confirmed it. The only reason I am getting this full-license now is for the board exam and that's why my quest is to find that state with the shortest processing time. The paper work requirement does differ from state to state but for the most part has some commonality I agree.
Click to expand...
i do not understand how this concept is so hard to grasp...
 
You may want to check deadlines for your test; I believe some boards may require you to have a permanent license at the time you sign up for the test, rather than at the time of the test.
 
I would actually CALL the peds board and ask if you need the license to sit for the test. I know (firsthand) of at least one other board website that lists this as a requirement to apply for the test, but after calling them we found out it was only a requirement to receive a certificate (you can still sit for and pass the board, just not receive your certificate without an unrestricted license).
 
Look for the states with low population density with horrible weather where physicians are not likely to practice by choice and call someone at the board there to explain your situation and maybe you can get some sort of expediting done. Mostly rural midwestern states are often faster than ones on the coasts, but I can't give you any better info than that.

Mail every document related to this by 2-3 day mail with a tracking number.

I got taught the "fill your bucket" concept many years ago and it definitely applies here. After you've narrowed the states down to a few, put their requirements and timelines all in front of you and make a master list of everything required. Get every single one of those items together ASAP, no matter what it costs, especially if anything needs to be notarized. Fill that bucket.

Send the application with all supporting documents and the check addressed to exactly whom is specified on the app by overnight mail and also get a tracking number to go by.

If you're just doing this for your own convenience, [/thread]

Above all, GET STARTED TODAY!
 
colbgw02 said:
Dude, the thread is over 3 weeks old. Pretty sure that "get started today" isn't super helpful at this point.
Click to expand...
Thank you gracious attending posting your support for myself giving a wayward physician some strong advice and for posting some of your own as was the focus of this thread.

Do you even lift?
 
Thanks all for various inputs.
@Smurfette Yes confirmed, deadline is Oct 1, 2015.
@Samoa Thanks for the tip. I'll keep IN as a plan B if PA turns out to be slow in processing (so far I am yet to even get an application acknowledgement # from them but this is their busiest period).
@TDAlmighty It is a requirement. It appears clearly on my application profile in the ABP as the only outstanding document i need to submit.
@JGimpel Thanks, I am keeping the USPS very happy utilizing priority mail for everything :)
 
I finally received my medical license from the Pennsylvania State Medical Board ...... it took me about 3 months from start of the process to finish. It was a slow start (as this is their busiest period) but when they finally got around to my file it was processed within 30 days. I liked the fact that they actually returned my phone calls when I called to get status updates and they did not have the information right away. I did not use FCVS and dealt directly with the board and luckily the board accepts ECFMG's credential verification which saved me some time.
Thanks to all for the advise and tips .... especially @rokshana @colbgw02 @JGimpel

Next I am tackling FCVS .. it has been 3 months with them and they are still at the early stages of painstakingly verifying all my medical education .... sigh
 
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