Lessons · Pharmacy · moving to another state, and the state that will not
Moving state, and the state that does not allow it
A pharmacist already licensed in one state applies to another through a licence transfer programme run by the national body, starting from the same profile. It is an application against the receiving state's requirements, which commonly include its own law examination. At least one large state does not permit transfer at all: a pharmacist moving there applies as a new candidate and sits that state's own jurisprudence paper.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a licensed pharmacist. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
This is the version of the reciprocity misunderstanding that costs the most, because here it is not merely that a licence does not travel. In some places the road does not exist. A pharmacist who accepts a post on the assumption that a transfer is a formality can arrive facing an examination she has not studied for, in a state where she has already signed a lease. Even where transfer does work, the law paper is frequently required again, because the law is what changed.
How to think about it
Before accepting anything, establish three things about the receiving state: does it accept transfers at all, does it require its law examination from transferring pharmacists, and what will it want verified. Then work out how long the slowest of those takes. Is a transfer even available where I am going? Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different year.
Worked example
Transfer runs through the national profileThe same account you created as a student.
It is an application, not a transfer of the documentThe receiving state issues its own licence.
The law examination is often required againBecause the law is exactly what is different.
Some states do not take partThere the road is a fresh application and that state's own law paper.
Your turn
Name the examination a receiving state most often requires again.
A transferring pharmacist often sits the examination again
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Hearing that a transfer programme exists and reading it as portability. It is a route to an application, it is not offered everywhere, and the paper it most often leaves in place is the one about the state you are moving to. Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different year.