OK, this is all rather complicated, but first of all let me cut and paste most of the announcement that came from USCIS on April 14th 2007:
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today conducted the computer-generated random selection processes on H-1B petitions...for the 65,000 cap.
The approximately 163,000 petitions received on the first five days of the eligible filing period for FY 2009 (April 1 through April 7, 2008) were labeled with unique numerical identifiers. Petitioners whose properly filed petitions have been selected for full adjudication should receive a receipt notice dated no later than June 2, 2008. USCIS will return unselected petitions with the fee(s) to petitioners or their authorized representatives. As previously announced, duplicate filings will be returned without the fee. The total adjudication process is expected to take approximately eight to ten weeks.
For cases selected through the random selection process and initially filed for premium processing, the 15-day premium processing period begins today (April 14), the day of the random selection process.
USCIS has “wait-listed” some H-1B petitions, meaning they may possibly replace petitions chosen to receive an FY-2009 cap number, but that subsequently are denied, withdrawn, or otherwise found ineligible. USCIS will retain these petitions until a decision is made whether they will replace a previously selected petition. USCIS will send a letter to the wait list petitioners to inform them of their status
USCIS expects that for each of these wait-listed petitions, it will either issue a receipt notice or return the petition with fees within six to eight weeks.
--
OK, so here's my take on the above:
First of all they gather all the files collected during the five day window. They number them 1 to 163,000 and then let a computer randomly select 65,000. These 65,000 are divided between fast-track who will be informed within 15 days of their final status (namely that their paperwork was filed correctly, that they have not been flagged as having any convictions or perversions, and that the US Government have granted them a visa), and those that were non-fast-tracked will be told their final status by 2nd June. But, I believe, all of these 65,000 will have been given (well, their sponsor will have received for them) a "receipt notice", which they can use to track the status of their case on the USCIS website.
A further number of files will be have been retained as reserves to replace any of the 65,000 that aren't finally taken, but may not be told for 6-8 weeks, with the remainder being returned to the sponsor.
So, either you get a case number, you get your file returned, or its retained for 6-8 weeks as a stand-by, but stand-by's will get told they are in the stand-by group.
I got a RECEIPT NOTICE.
My sponsor told me I could follow the progress of the file on the USCIS website.
I BELIEVE I HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN THE 2008 LOTTERY.
Farmacyst
Wednesday, 20 December 2006
Tuesday, 19 December 2006
The long hot summer....
Ok, where to begin with "what happened next" in this story? Well, let me try and remember because its been quite a while.
First of all I could see from the UCSIS website link that I had received the all important receipt number. That is what you want to get in the lottery as it means you have been successfully drawn from the big pile. It doesn't quite 100% mean you have been accepted, but it's about 99.999% good. The only way that you would fail from being fully accepted would be if they discover an error, omission or legal problem with your application. Since the lawyers are paid a goodly sum to get it right, you wouldn't expect an issue, but I guess with 165,000 applications there might be one or two that hit an issue - although perhaps they can still be corrected.
Once the authorities have confirmed the application is acceptable, they send the employer an email saying this, and the employer then sends a load of documents to the applicant which they have to look through VERY carefully. Lots of the forms need to be filled out ONLINE and printed off (they can't be printed off THEN filled out) and an interview at the stated US Consulate needs to be arranged for the passports to be stamped for the whole family.
Now, since my situation is a little different I can raise some other points of note - as always because I have had to work this stuff out the hard way.
I got the OK from the H1B lottery during April 2008. I had a contract for my business in England which had a 3-month exit clause, which meant if I worked the full 3 months (ie May, June and July) I would be able to pop over to America from 1st August to set up my residence over there prior to starting work from 1st October. However, the terms of the visa (work permit) are such that once the passports have been stamped YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER THE USA UNTIL 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THE WORK PERMIT. That meant that if I got my visa stamped I couldn't go to the States to set up my house until 1st October, when I assumed I was going to be starting work. Hmmmmm. However, I was allowed to go in the US under a normal "holiday" visa, if I hadn't had my interview with the Consulate, but then I would need to get back to England, get the passports stamped and then go back to America again. All seemed a bit too complicated.
So my wife and I had a little chat and we decided that the best plan of action was to see if I could close my current contract with just 2 months notice, and go to California for a long "holiday" from 1st July, then return to England end of August to say our goodbyes there, sit around for a month doing nothing there, and finally making the permanent move from the 21st September, 10 days prior to the start of the work permit, as was allowed.
I put the request in, and after much humming and hawwing from the other party in my contract I was allowed to close my contract a month early. Thus from July 3rd I have been in California getting things organised - which has been (of course) a lot more complicated than expected, and worthy of sharing in the next blog entry, so that you can appreciate the problems that may arise when you, hopefully, make your move to the USA.
Farmacyst
First of all I could see from the UCSIS website link that I had received the all important receipt number. That is what you want to get in the lottery as it means you have been successfully drawn from the big pile. It doesn't quite 100% mean you have been accepted, but it's about 99.999% good. The only way that you would fail from being fully accepted would be if they discover an error, omission or legal problem with your application. Since the lawyers are paid a goodly sum to get it right, you wouldn't expect an issue, but I guess with 165,000 applications there might be one or two that hit an issue - although perhaps they can still be corrected.
Once the authorities have confirmed the application is acceptable, they send the employer an email saying this, and the employer then sends a load of documents to the applicant which they have to look through VERY carefully. Lots of the forms need to be filled out ONLINE and printed off (they can't be printed off THEN filled out) and an interview at the stated US Consulate needs to be arranged for the passports to be stamped for the whole family.
Now, since my situation is a little different I can raise some other points of note - as always because I have had to work this stuff out the hard way.
I got the OK from the H1B lottery during April 2008. I had a contract for my business in England which had a 3-month exit clause, which meant if I worked the full 3 months (ie May, June and July) I would be able to pop over to America from 1st August to set up my residence over there prior to starting work from 1st October. However, the terms of the visa (work permit) are such that once the passports have been stamped YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ENTER THE USA UNTIL 10 DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF THE WORK PERMIT. That meant that if I got my visa stamped I couldn't go to the States to set up my house until 1st October, when I assumed I was going to be starting work. Hmmmmm. However, I was allowed to go in the US under a normal "holiday" visa, if I hadn't had my interview with the Consulate, but then I would need to get back to England, get the passports stamped and then go back to America again. All seemed a bit too complicated.
So my wife and I had a little chat and we decided that the best plan of action was to see if I could close my current contract with just 2 months notice, and go to California for a long "holiday" from 1st July, then return to England end of August to say our goodbyes there, sit around for a month doing nothing there, and finally making the permanent move from the 21st September, 10 days prior to the start of the work permit, as was allowed.
I put the request in, and after much humming and hawwing from the other party in my contract I was allowed to close my contract a month early. Thus from July 3rd I have been in California getting things organised - which has been (of course) a lot more complicated than expected, and worthy of sharing in the next blog entry, so that you can appreciate the problems that may arise when you, hopefully, make your move to the USA.
Farmacyst
Monday, 18 December 2006
How to move to America....
If you want to move your whole house, your wife, and your 3 children to America, and you want to make life easy, there is one simple answer - TAKE A LOT OF MONEY!
I imagine that many of you who follow me to America will be young, single and carefree, and will simply take one suitcase of possessions and a few hundred dollars in your pocket, you'll arrive on October 1st as the visa allows, and you'll stay in a cheap motel until you get your first pay slip. Well, that's probably what you may think will happen, but there are a variety of issues that will make life complicated even for people like you that don't have to organise the whole mess of problems that arise when you are shipping 62 boxes of goods, and need to arrange schooling for 3 kids, need a proper house to live in, or need stuff like cellphones, cable, landlines and insurance policies.
So whatever your personal situation is, and however easy you think it is going to be, read on and find out what problems will be about to make life much more complicated, and more importantly much more expensive, than you might otherwise have imagined.
In England I decided to sell my house in anticipation of moving to America (back when I thought the process was going to be an easy one) back in February 2007. So I had been in a rented house for well over a year by the time I actually found out for sure when I really would be making the move. The original lease was for a year, with a six-month opt-out, but after the first year the tenancy was held on a rolling one-month contract, so I knew leaving that property wasn't going to be an issue. Once I had received written confirmation that my work contract could be closed by June 30th 2008 I handed notice in on my tenancy and prepared to vacate the property. My wife investigated the many methods for shipping goods to the US and we picked one company that could move those items we deemed essential to take, but not essential enough to carry on the plane with us, which in the end proved to be 62 boxes of clothes, photos, paintings, books, and other accumulated crap. The rest of the house, namely the beds, cupboards, cutlery, crockery, sofas, TV's, video's, computers, cars, garden furniture, kids toys, goldfish, and EVERYTHING IN THE WHOLE DAMNED HOUSE either had to be sold, given away or trashed.
We put an advert out in a few places for a garage-sale, and hoped that we would recoup some money against the costs of shipping, and flying the family out to America. In the end I have to say we did exceedingly well, and sold a heck of a lot more stuff than I imagined we would, reaping enough money to cover the shipping costs for the 62 boxes of crap we apparently needed to take with us! The rest was either given to friends or family, to charity, or to the final people to turn up just before we got on the plane, who were the trash removal people, who took away a whole van load of stuff that we hadn't managed to get rid of.
And even though we felt we had left the property in the same manner in which we had found it, the bastards at the letting company still found enough excuses to keep our months security deposit, and even had the cheek to say we owed them more money on top of that!
Anyway, we then got in a pre-arranged very large taxi which took the 5 of us and 10 suitcases to spend one night in a hotel near Heathrow Airport, before getting on a plane to Los Angeles, California.
In LA we had arranged to be met by a similarly large vehicle to take us all to our hotel in San Diego. Unfortunately the idiots at the taxi company hadn't believed me when I had said we would be bringing 10 suitcases, so it was a ridiculous journey on the freeway with luggage between seats, ontop of children, and even inbetween the two front seats, but atleast we made it there alive.
So we check in to our hotel, with our 10 suitcases, and get a good nights sleep, having been awake for the best part of 24 hours since there had been a couple of hours delay back at Heathrow which I had forgotten to mention.
I should add that I had booked this hotel for 7 nights, assuming that I could probably get myself a rented house in that time, but I was wrong, and at $369 a night I didn't want to spend too long in the hotel if I could help it!
The first thing I did was meet up with a couple of realtors to get a look around the area I was expecting to be living in. As it turned out the rental prices for the posh part of town were way above what I wanted to pay, so we looked a bit further out of town, and eventually WAY out of town, until I started seeing properties in my price range that matched what I was looking for in terms of quality and size of house.
Finally, after a week or so of looking at properties I put an offer in on one, we then haggled a little bit to-and-fro, and eventually agreed on monthly figure. However, since I had no Social Security Number (SSN), no credit rating and no previous rental history in the US, there was a big problem being allowed to rent. Luckily, and this is my personal bit of luck, the outgoing resident was the owner, who was very keen to move out, and he allowed us to sign the papers without the usual credit checks, which must be a big problem for most immigrants.
So we finally moved in after 3 weeks in the extortionately priced (but very lovely) hotel, and moved in to our beautiful rented house.
The next day the local gas/electricity company came round to turn off the power supply because I hadn't gotten around to organising the change-over - oops! The man kindly gave me 24 hours grace, and I rushed round to the San Diego Gas and Electricity company to get myself connected. Again, a lack of Social Security Number proved a problem, but they accepted a deposit and two forms of photo-ID (UK drivers license and UK Passport) and I was through another hoop.
Then I wanted to organise cell phones for my wife, myself and my eldest daughter. I went to AT&T and chose phones and all was going well until they wanted my bloody Social Security Number! The manager made a call to their connections department that said they could go ahead as long as I gave a $500 for EACH of the phone lines. Fine, whatever, I'm seeing the way this has to work now - no SSN = BIG DEPOSIT.
The same with Broadband, the same with Cable, the same for everything, except for a few things where even a deposit wasn't enough - either a SSN or nothing (hence we have cable and not DISH, since they won't talk to you without a SSN). Opening a bank account is also a big problem, and transferring money from your local currency in to Dollars may either prove very difficult or very costly. Banks wont allow you to use your US address unless you have an SSN, so they are required to send all statements and credit cards directly to your foreign address to begin with (strangely they can send check books to your local address, but they are a lot less useful than an ATM card). Again, once you get your SSN number they can get you to fill out a form and then they can use your US address.
The next thing my wife and did (and I recommend you do this quickly too) is book the written test with the Department of Motor Vehicles. I shan't bore you with the minutiae of how to book the test, and what it involves, but for California atleast I found the wonderful website excellent:
http://www.hep.man.ac.uk/u/christina/driving.html
Having passed the written test we were immediately issued temporary Californian drivers licenses, which came in very handy on many occasions for proof of address, and also meant I could buy a car if I wanted to (I don't think you cant buy one without it). As it happens I wanted to lease a car to begin with, but without a SSN it wasn't possible, and even with one it's probably difficult as foreigners will have no credit history - so I am sticking with the hire car for the time being and will lease one when I come back in October once I get my flipping SSN! When I do lease a car I am sure I will not get the best loan terms as without a credit history they score you at zero, so forget all the adverts you see on TV here for 0% finance.
I have now taken and passed my driving test! (August 13th 2008) Because my current sojourn in the US is based on a holiday visa which expires in under 60 days, I couldn't be issued with a proper driving license as it would already be about to expire. Apparently the duration of your driving license matches the term of your visa. So when I return in October I have to go back to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and fill out another form and then they will issue me with a year long license. After that I will have to renew it each year - it's free, but it's another aggravation. Of course once you obtain permanent residency then you will get a longer term license.
OK, that's enough for the minute. I've given you a good idea of some of the problems that will arise in respect of getting a house organized over here. I still need to add a lot about the issues arising with obtaining the Social Security Number and more importantly (well equally importantly) the full intern license, but I'll save that for the next entry.
The only other thing I wanted to add was that we also had to organise getting our three children enrolled in schools. Now our circumstances are (again) a bit different because we decided to put our kids in to private education. We visited two excellent schools, one near where we had first expected to reside and one nearer to where we had ended up living, had interviews at both, filled our the forms at both (for a big fee), were accepted by both, and then decided for a variety of reasons to go with the school nearer to where we lived. The process was quite onerous in terms of paperwork and expense, but both schools were extremely helpful and guided us through the process as best they could. I can't speak for how easy it might be to enrol children at a public school - but I imagine there is an equally painful amount of paperwork, and I bet you'll need to show them a Social Security Number!!
Farmacyst
I imagine that many of you who follow me to America will be young, single and carefree, and will simply take one suitcase of possessions and a few hundred dollars in your pocket, you'll arrive on October 1st as the visa allows, and you'll stay in a cheap motel until you get your first pay slip. Well, that's probably what you may think will happen, but there are a variety of issues that will make life complicated even for people like you that don't have to organise the whole mess of problems that arise when you are shipping 62 boxes of goods, and need to arrange schooling for 3 kids, need a proper house to live in, or need stuff like cellphones, cable, landlines and insurance policies.
So whatever your personal situation is, and however easy you think it is going to be, read on and find out what problems will be about to make life much more complicated, and more importantly much more expensive, than you might otherwise have imagined.
In England I decided to sell my house in anticipation of moving to America (back when I thought the process was going to be an easy one) back in February 2007. So I had been in a rented house for well over a year by the time I actually found out for sure when I really would be making the move. The original lease was for a year, with a six-month opt-out, but after the first year the tenancy was held on a rolling one-month contract, so I knew leaving that property wasn't going to be an issue. Once I had received written confirmation that my work contract could be closed by June 30th 2008 I handed notice in on my tenancy and prepared to vacate the property. My wife investigated the many methods for shipping goods to the US and we picked one company that could move those items we deemed essential to take, but not essential enough to carry on the plane with us, which in the end proved to be 62 boxes of clothes, photos, paintings, books, and other accumulated crap. The rest of the house, namely the beds, cupboards, cutlery, crockery, sofas, TV's, video's, computers, cars, garden furniture, kids toys, goldfish, and EVERYTHING IN THE WHOLE DAMNED HOUSE either had to be sold, given away or trashed.
We put an advert out in a few places for a garage-sale, and hoped that we would recoup some money against the costs of shipping, and flying the family out to America. In the end I have to say we did exceedingly well, and sold a heck of a lot more stuff than I imagined we would, reaping enough money to cover the shipping costs for the 62 boxes of crap we apparently needed to take with us! The rest was either given to friends or family, to charity, or to the final people to turn up just before we got on the plane, who were the trash removal people, who took away a whole van load of stuff that we hadn't managed to get rid of.
And even though we felt we had left the property in the same manner in which we had found it, the bastards at the letting company still found enough excuses to keep our months security deposit, and even had the cheek to say we owed them more money on top of that!
Anyway, we then got in a pre-arranged very large taxi which took the 5 of us and 10 suitcases to spend one night in a hotel near Heathrow Airport, before getting on a plane to Los Angeles, California.
In LA we had arranged to be met by a similarly large vehicle to take us all to our hotel in San Diego. Unfortunately the idiots at the taxi company hadn't believed me when I had said we would be bringing 10 suitcases, so it was a ridiculous journey on the freeway with luggage between seats, ontop of children, and even inbetween the two front seats, but atleast we made it there alive.
So we check in to our hotel, with our 10 suitcases, and get a good nights sleep, having been awake for the best part of 24 hours since there had been a couple of hours delay back at Heathrow which I had forgotten to mention.
I should add that I had booked this hotel for 7 nights, assuming that I could probably get myself a rented house in that time, but I was wrong, and at $369 a night I didn't want to spend too long in the hotel if I could help it!
The first thing I did was meet up with a couple of realtors to get a look around the area I was expecting to be living in. As it turned out the rental prices for the posh part of town were way above what I wanted to pay, so we looked a bit further out of town, and eventually WAY out of town, until I started seeing properties in my price range that matched what I was looking for in terms of quality and size of house.
Finally, after a week or so of looking at properties I put an offer in on one, we then haggled a little bit to-and-fro, and eventually agreed on monthly figure. However, since I had no Social Security Number (SSN), no credit rating and no previous rental history in the US, there was a big problem being allowed to rent. Luckily, and this is my personal bit of luck, the outgoing resident was the owner, who was very keen to move out, and he allowed us to sign the papers without the usual credit checks, which must be a big problem for most immigrants.
So we finally moved in after 3 weeks in the extortionately priced (but very lovely) hotel, and moved in to our beautiful rented house.
The next day the local gas/electricity company came round to turn off the power supply because I hadn't gotten around to organising the change-over - oops! The man kindly gave me 24 hours grace, and I rushed round to the San Diego Gas and Electricity company to get myself connected. Again, a lack of Social Security Number proved a problem, but they accepted a deposit and two forms of photo-ID (UK drivers license and UK Passport) and I was through another hoop.
Then I wanted to organise cell phones for my wife, myself and my eldest daughter. I went to AT&T and chose phones and all was going well until they wanted my bloody Social Security Number! The manager made a call to their connections department that said they could go ahead as long as I gave a $500 for EACH of the phone lines. Fine, whatever, I'm seeing the way this has to work now - no SSN = BIG DEPOSIT.
The same with Broadband, the same with Cable, the same for everything, except for a few things where even a deposit wasn't enough - either a SSN or nothing (hence we have cable and not DISH, since they won't talk to you without a SSN). Opening a bank account is also a big problem, and transferring money from your local currency in to Dollars may either prove very difficult or very costly. Banks wont allow you to use your US address unless you have an SSN, so they are required to send all statements and credit cards directly to your foreign address to begin with (strangely they can send check books to your local address, but they are a lot less useful than an ATM card). Again, once you get your SSN number they can get you to fill out a form and then they can use your US address.
The next thing my wife and did (and I recommend you do this quickly too) is book the written test with the Department of Motor Vehicles. I shan't bore you with the minutiae of how to book the test, and what it involves, but for California atleast I found the wonderful website excellent:
http://www.hep.man.ac.uk/u/christina/driving.html
Having passed the written test we were immediately issued temporary Californian drivers licenses, which came in very handy on many occasions for proof of address, and also meant I could buy a car if I wanted to (I don't think you cant buy one without it). As it happens I wanted to lease a car to begin with, but without a SSN it wasn't possible, and even with one it's probably difficult as foreigners will have no credit history - so I am sticking with the hire car for the time being and will lease one when I come back in October once I get my flipping SSN! When I do lease a car I am sure I will not get the best loan terms as without a credit history they score you at zero, so forget all the adverts you see on TV here for 0% finance.
I have now taken and passed my driving test! (August 13th 2008) Because my current sojourn in the US is based on a holiday visa which expires in under 60 days, I couldn't be issued with a proper driving license as it would already be about to expire. Apparently the duration of your driving license matches the term of your visa. So when I return in October I have to go back to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and fill out another form and then they will issue me with a year long license. After that I will have to renew it each year - it's free, but it's another aggravation. Of course once you obtain permanent residency then you will get a longer term license.
OK, that's enough for the minute. I've given you a good idea of some of the problems that will arise in respect of getting a house organized over here. I still need to add a lot about the issues arising with obtaining the Social Security Number and more importantly (well equally importantly) the full intern license, but I'll save that for the next entry.
The only other thing I wanted to add was that we also had to organise getting our three children enrolled in schools. Now our circumstances are (again) a bit different because we decided to put our kids in to private education. We visited two excellent schools, one near where we had first expected to reside and one nearer to where we had ended up living, had interviews at both, filled our the forms at both (for a big fee), were accepted by both, and then decided for a variety of reasons to go with the school nearer to where we lived. The process was quite onerous in terms of paperwork and expense, but both schools were extremely helpful and guided us through the process as best they could. I can't speak for how easy it might be to enrol children at a public school - but I imagine there is an equally painful amount of paperwork, and I bet you'll need to show them a Social Security Number!!
Farmacyst
Sunday, 17 December 2006
Timelines and predictions...
This entry is going to tell you about the problems around getting a Social Security Number, a "FULL" intern license, and the timeline for actually starting work and getting paid. I am writing this on August 4th 2008, prior to these events actually happening to me, but can at this point explain what I think will be the timeline of events given what I currently know. When I actually apply for real I shall probably give you a whole different set of stories but even what I know now is worth telling.
After you are told that your visa/work-permit starts on October 1st, you may think that your employer is expecting you to turn up for work on that date in a shirt and suit, ready for enrollment in to the company and a lecture on health and safety in the workplace and a work schedule for the month ahead. They wont, and you shouldn't expect that to happen either.
When you filled out the forms for the H1B visa application I would imagine most, if not all employers, would have required you to have obtained a valid deficiency letter for the state that you will be working in. The purpose of the deficiency letter is to show your employer that the state board of pharmacy have accepted all your documentation for becoming a graduate intern, but have not yet received the all important Social Security Number (SSN) which cannot be applied for until after 1st October.
In the pile of information that comes from your employer with the visa paperwork are forms that enable you to apply for an internship prior to receiving the SSN, however not all boards will accept this letter (from the US Government), and California's pharmacy board is one of those that wont. They demand to see the actual SSN or they wont issue an intern license. So for me atleast, I have to wait until the 1st of October before I can apply to immigration for my SSN, which I am told should take about 2 weeks to receive. Once I have that, THEN I can apply to the Californian Pharmacy Board for my full intern license. I am told that the normal turnaround time to receive that is 3-6 weeks! So I can expect a minimum delay of 5 weeks, and a maximum of around 8 weeks, from the 1st of October, to actually receiving my intern license - and without my intern license there is no way my future employer is going to let me start working. So, that means if I am lucky I might start work around the first week of November, and if I am unlucky I might not start working until the first week of December. That means, at least in theory, that I might not receive any wages until the last day of December, and even that might not be a full months check.
So you should arrive in the United States on October 1st expecting to not receive any income until the last day of December - 3 full months!
One final note before I sign off until the fall when I actually report on how the process has gone for me, is that different states have different lengths of internship. Many are like California (as far as I am aware at least) 2080 (***see note below***) hours long, which means doing a 40-hour week and taking no holiday is exactly 52 weeks long, before you are able to sit the NAPLEX and State Law Exams. Then you have to wait until they post their results to you, wait until you can apply to the state board for a full licensure, and wait until that has been approved. So it may easily take well over 13 months from starting work before you get fully qualified and start earning a proper income. So if you badly budget your internship, and think you might delve in to your savings to see you through until you qualify, keep in mind that from October 1st of one year, it may easily take you until the February 16 months later before you finally make it.
At this point in time, I would predict that I become a fully registered R.Ph. in January 2010, and it'll be interesting to see how right or wrong my prediction will prove to be.
Next update wont be until October, so enjoy the rest of the summer!
Farmacyst
(****WRONG!!!! As has been pointed out to me by numerous kind readers, the California pharmacy board require proof of 1500 hours before being allowed to sit the Naplex. So that's 1500/40 = 37.5 weeks, plus any days off or holidays, so realistically around, say, 39 or 40 weeks. Then its around 3 weeks to get the first exam (as far as I am aware at this point) and perhaps another 3 weeks for the second exam, and then another 3 weeks to get the results - so if you pass everything first time round (and currently I am hearing a lot of people are FAILING the law exam) then thats 48 weeks from start date. Since I started mid November I now amend my prediction to (if I pass both exams first time) mid October 2009*****)
After you are told that your visa/work-permit starts on October 1st, you may think that your employer is expecting you to turn up for work on that date in a shirt and suit, ready for enrollment in to the company and a lecture on health and safety in the workplace and a work schedule for the month ahead. They wont, and you shouldn't expect that to happen either.
When you filled out the forms for the H1B visa application I would imagine most, if not all employers, would have required you to have obtained a valid deficiency letter for the state that you will be working in. The purpose of the deficiency letter is to show your employer that the state board of pharmacy have accepted all your documentation for becoming a graduate intern, but have not yet received the all important Social Security Number (SSN) which cannot be applied for until after 1st October.
In the pile of information that comes from your employer with the visa paperwork are forms that enable you to apply for an internship prior to receiving the SSN, however not all boards will accept this letter (from the US Government), and California's pharmacy board is one of those that wont. They demand to see the actual SSN or they wont issue an intern license. So for me atleast, I have to wait until the 1st of October before I can apply to immigration for my SSN, which I am told should take about 2 weeks to receive. Once I have that, THEN I can apply to the Californian Pharmacy Board for my full intern license. I am told that the normal turnaround time to receive that is 3-6 weeks! So I can expect a minimum delay of 5 weeks, and a maximum of around 8 weeks, from the 1st of October, to actually receiving my intern license - and without my intern license there is no way my future employer is going to let me start working. So, that means if I am lucky I might start work around the first week of November, and if I am unlucky I might not start working until the first week of December. That means, at least in theory, that I might not receive any wages until the last day of December, and even that might not be a full months check.
So you should arrive in the United States on October 1st expecting to not receive any income until the last day of December - 3 full months!
One final note before I sign off until the fall when I actually report on how the process has gone for me, is that different states have different lengths of internship. Many are like California (as far as I am aware at least) 2080 (***see note below***) hours long, which means doing a 40-hour week and taking no holiday is exactly 52 weeks long, before you are able to sit the NAPLEX and State Law Exams. Then you have to wait until they post their results to you, wait until you can apply to the state board for a full licensure, and wait until that has been approved. So it may easily take well over 13 months from starting work before you get fully qualified and start earning a proper income. So if you badly budget your internship, and think you might delve in to your savings to see you through until you qualify, keep in mind that from October 1st of one year, it may easily take you until the February 16 months later before you finally make it.
At this point in time, I would predict that I become a fully registered R.Ph. in January 2010, and it'll be interesting to see how right or wrong my prediction will prove to be.
Next update wont be until October, so enjoy the rest of the summer!
Farmacyst
(****WRONG!!!! As has been pointed out to me by numerous kind readers, the California pharmacy board require proof of 1500 hours before being allowed to sit the Naplex. So that's 1500/40 = 37.5 weeks, plus any days off or holidays, so realistically around, say, 39 or 40 weeks. Then its around 3 weeks to get the first exam (as far as I am aware at this point) and perhaps another 3 weeks for the second exam, and then another 3 weeks to get the results - so if you pass everything first time round (and currently I am hearing a lot of people are FAILING the law exam) then thats 48 weeks from start date. Since I started mid November I now amend my prediction to (if I pass both exams first time) mid October 2009*****)
Saturday, 16 December 2006
Getting closer by the day now.....to STARTING work!
Please note, any comments I receive that have the posters email in I will delete for their own benefit.
October 15th 2008
I am now sitting at my computer in America and have loads of things to write, even though very little has actually happened. However, I shall start by going back to getting my visa at the US embassy, and in the next blog write what has happened since I have been state-side.
When I got my letter confirming I was selected in the H1B visa lottery it said I needed to go to my US consulate and have my passport stamped with the work visa (all my family had to have their passports stamped, but only adults over 18 needed to be present at the consulate thankfully). There were two basic forms that needed to be filled out ONLINE and PRINTED OFF and taken with you to the consulate. One was for the family, and one for each individual. These are fairly lengthy forms and you need to be careful you don't die from boredom filling them out. However, you must do it, and you really really must take them with you. When my wife and I arrived at the US consulate in London there was a queue (sorry a "line") outside, of people having their paperwork checked before they were allowed in. Eventually it came to our turn and apparently, having been so careful and diligent in filling out and printing off the forms, I had somehow not done it correctly. Apparently the form you need for the family has to be printed off for each individual, but I swear it didn't make that clear. I can't give you a link to the actual forms because they are kept between a locked door on the consulates website, but if you want to look at the scary page before you enter, then I've added that HERE!!
So, we get told by the girl manning the desk BEFORE you get in to the embassy that we need to fill out another batch of forms before we will be allowed in, and that there is a pharmacy around the corner that has internet access available. So we walk to the pharmacy which has 3 computers, all with shmucks like us that have filled out their forms incorrectly. The fee was reasonable, but enough to make the pharmacy owner a millionaire judging by the number of shmucks that then followed in after us. It took about 40 minutes to fill out the forms and print them all off, but which time instead of being early to our appointment we were on time. However, that was totally irrelevant once you get inside the embassy as time becomes a fixed constant in the universe. Oh, and at the embassy you are NOT allowed anything electronic. People were throwing iPods and cell phones and all sorts in the trash cans 9must be a few rich hobo's around that part of London), but we happened to have parked in a car park which keeps your keys or we might have been in the same predicament. And I was told later that the pharmacy will look after your electrical goods for 10 pounds an hour. But basically just don't take ANYTHING electronic - you will have to lose it otherwise.
Then we go through passport control, customs, luggage check and immigration (only joking) and enter the consulate. We then go to another desk where another woman checks all our paperwork is correct, and she then gives us a numbered ticket. After about 20 minutes our number comes up and we go to one of the glass-protected screens (like in a bank) where a man checks all our papers again, fills out a form, stamps some papers, and gives us a new form and another ticket.
Then time stops, and we sit, unable to leave, unable to phone the outside world, unable to do anything except buy drinks and snacks at the kiosk at the back of the room and hope our number comes up sometime before we die.
After 3 and a half hours our number comes up.
We go to another woman, this time at a glass-screened kiosk around the corner, and she again checks the paperwork. She then casually asks a few questions, and then, apparently not liking one of my answers says she just wants to check something. Fifteen bloody minutes later she comes back and says, "it's OK, your visas have been authorised". Phew, because I've sold my house, given my job up, and enrolled the kids in US schools, so I'm sort of glad you've granted the visa's!
They keep our passports and we pay for the pleasure of them sending them back to us, which only takes about a week or so, depending on how much you want to pay to get them back.
One WHOLE day spent at the consulate - don't expect anything less. At least not in London, which was BLOODY BUSY.
OK, so we're good to go, yes. But there's a load more paperwork to get sorted once you arrive in the US.
Farmacyst
October 15th 2008
I am now sitting at my computer in America and have loads of things to write, even though very little has actually happened. However, I shall start by going back to getting my visa at the US embassy, and in the next blog write what has happened since I have been state-side.
When I got my letter confirming I was selected in the H1B visa lottery it said I needed to go to my US consulate and have my passport stamped with the work visa (all my family had to have their passports stamped, but only adults over 18 needed to be present at the consulate thankfully). There were two basic forms that needed to be filled out ONLINE and PRINTED OFF and taken with you to the consulate. One was for the family, and one for each individual. These are fairly lengthy forms and you need to be careful you don't die from boredom filling them out. However, you must do it, and you really really must take them with you. When my wife and I arrived at the US consulate in London there was a queue (sorry a "line") outside, of people having their paperwork checked before they were allowed in. Eventually it came to our turn and apparently, having been so careful and diligent in filling out and printing off the forms, I had somehow not done it correctly. Apparently the form you need for the family has to be printed off for each individual, but I swear it didn't make that clear. I can't give you a link to the actual forms because they are kept between a locked door on the consulates website, but if you want to look at the scary page before you enter, then I've added that HERE!!
So, we get told by the girl manning the desk BEFORE you get in to the embassy that we need to fill out another batch of forms before we will be allowed in, and that there is a pharmacy around the corner that has internet access available. So we walk to the pharmacy which has 3 computers, all with shmucks like us that have filled out their forms incorrectly. The fee was reasonable, but enough to make the pharmacy owner a millionaire judging by the number of shmucks that then followed in after us. It took about 40 minutes to fill out the forms and print them all off, but which time instead of being early to our appointment we were on time. However, that was totally irrelevant once you get inside the embassy as time becomes a fixed constant in the universe. Oh, and at the embassy you are NOT allowed anything electronic. People were throwing iPods and cell phones and all sorts in the trash cans 9must be a few rich hobo's around that part of London), but we happened to have parked in a car park which keeps your keys or we might have been in the same predicament. And I was told later that the pharmacy will look after your electrical goods for 10 pounds an hour. But basically just don't take ANYTHING electronic - you will have to lose it otherwise.
Then we go through passport control, customs, luggage check and immigration (only joking) and enter the consulate. We then go to another desk where another woman checks all our paperwork is correct, and she then gives us a numbered ticket. After about 20 minutes our number comes up and we go to one of the glass-protected screens (like in a bank) where a man checks all our papers again, fills out a form, stamps some papers, and gives us a new form and another ticket.
Then time stops, and we sit, unable to leave, unable to phone the outside world, unable to do anything except buy drinks and snacks at the kiosk at the back of the room and hope our number comes up sometime before we die.
After 3 and a half hours our number comes up.
We go to another woman, this time at a glass-screened kiosk around the corner, and she again checks the paperwork. She then casually asks a few questions, and then, apparently not liking one of my answers says she just wants to check something. Fifteen bloody minutes later she comes back and says, "it's OK, your visas have been authorised". Phew, because I've sold my house, given my job up, and enrolled the kids in US schools, so I'm sort of glad you've granted the visa's!
They keep our passports and we pay for the pleasure of them sending them back to us, which only takes about a week or so, depending on how much you want to pay to get them back.
One WHOLE day spent at the consulate - don't expect anything less. At least not in London, which was BLOODY BUSY.
OK, so we're good to go, yes. But there's a load more paperwork to get sorted once you arrive in the US.
Farmacyst
Friday, 15 December 2006
And finally, I start my internship!
I entered the US of A under my work-permit visa on September 22nd 2008 and on September 23rd I walked in to my nearest Social Security office (contrary to my employers suggestion that I wait until 1st October) and applied for a Social Security Number (SSN) - the all important number I needed to apply to the California Board of Pharmacy for a full intern license, without which I couldn't start work.
It took about a week to get a confirmation letter saying they confirmed that I had applied, and another 2 weeks to actually receive the card containing my number.
I then wrote to the Board of Pharmacy informing them of my SSN and about 2 weeks later they wrote back saying they needed an actual copy of the card! I immediately emailed it to them and got an automated email back which said that the board were concentrating on processing pharmacist registrations, and would not be dealing with intern queries until October 20th. I then posted them a hard copy just to be sure, and just after the 20th I sent them another email with the card as a Jpeg attachment.
By this time my employer had been in touch with me, and had sent word that there would be a 4-day induction training session held at one of their main offices, from October 27, with overnight accommodation and various gas, food and other expenses provided.
By the time of the induction I had still not yet received my intern license, but neither had most of the other H1B interns either. (The others on the course were Americans who hadn't worked for this company before, and were there to learn the companies computer system).
The 4-days was a nice opportunity to meet and chat with other H1B's from around the world, and find out how they had got to this point, with this company, at this time. Everyone had similar stories with minor variations, but the surprise to my mind was that most of the other foreigners (though not all) were quite mature (late 30's to late 40's), married, and had children. I had expected most to be single and about 25, but there you go, you learn something new every day
After my training (which I would get paid for a few weeks later), I went home and once more emailed, and once more wrote to the Board of Pharmacy. Finally, on November 12th I went online (as I had been taught to do at the training) and could find my name listed on the boards search for interns.
I immediately phoned the store I had been allocated to train at, and agreed to start the very next day!
So that's about it for this update, and in the next one I will report on how it feels to actually work in a US dispensary.
Farmacyst.
Now please go down and slightly to the right and click on
It took about a week to get a confirmation letter saying they confirmed that I had applied, and another 2 weeks to actually receive the card containing my number.
I then wrote to the Board of Pharmacy informing them of my SSN and about 2 weeks later they wrote back saying they needed an actual copy of the card! I immediately emailed it to them and got an automated email back which said that the board were concentrating on processing pharmacist registrations, and would not be dealing with intern queries until October 20th. I then posted them a hard copy just to be sure, and just after the 20th I sent them another email with the card as a Jpeg attachment.
By this time my employer had been in touch with me, and had sent word that there would be a 4-day induction training session held at one of their main offices, from October 27, with overnight accommodation and various gas, food and other expenses provided.
By the time of the induction I had still not yet received my intern license, but neither had most of the other H1B interns either. (The others on the course were Americans who hadn't worked for this company before, and were there to learn the companies computer system).
The 4-days was a nice opportunity to meet and chat with other H1B's from around the world, and find out how they had got to this point, with this company, at this time. Everyone had similar stories with minor variations, but the surprise to my mind was that most of the other foreigners (though not all) were quite mature (late 30's to late 40's), married, and had children. I had expected most to be single and about 25, but there you go, you learn something new every day
After my training (which I would get paid for a few weeks later), I went home and once more emailed, and once more wrote to the Board of Pharmacy. Finally, on November 12th I went online (as I had been taught to do at the training) and could find my name listed on the boards search for interns.
I immediately phoned the store I had been allocated to train at, and agreed to start the very next day!
So that's about it for this update, and in the next one I will report on how it feels to actually work in a US dispensary.
Farmacyst.
Now please go down and slightly to the right and click on
OLDER POSTS
to continueThursday, 14 December 2006
So whats it like to work in a US pharmacy?
I've just finished my first month of work and what have I discovered that's worth sharing with you? Well, not that much really. The bottom line is that the core function of pharmacy is in essence still the same, namely prescriptions come in, a pharmacist gives a cognitive perusal over the possible clinical correctness of the medication and checks that the drug, label and name, etc are correct, and the medication is handed out to the patient with the option of a consultation should it be wanted. I imagine this process is more-or-less the same worldwide.
However, there are vast, enormous, gigantic differences when it comes to the specifics. Firstly, their are various differences with the systems with respect to the physical processes. I can only compare between the US and the UK, but in the UK the process is simple - one person takes the prescription in, hands it to the pharmacist or dispenser, the pharmacist signs it off, and someone hands it out. There is usually only one computer in each UK pharmacy. In the majority of US pharmacies they divide the system in to four processes. An "in window" takes the Rx in, they process it and the Rx is filed and the rest of the system runs on the electronic Rx. The virtual Rx then goes to the "filling window" where another tech, clerk, intern or pharmacist produces a label, scans a bar code on the side of a bottle of tablets, and puts the label on the bottle. The meds are then passed to the "Quality Assurance" window, which is always run by a pharmacist, who signs it off and bags it, and finally, when the patient collects it, the drugs are given out at the "out window". This process has a certain logic to it, and doesn't take long to get used to, but it is very very different to how things are generally carried out in the UK!
Also, the US uses almost 100% of its drugs from bulk packs, where in the UK almost 100% is now supplied from 28-day calendar packs.
And of course the National Health Service in the UK has no equal in America, where either cash is king or insurance companies are involved. This adds a whole layer of difficulty to the procedure whereby at the in-window the patient hangs around whilst the clerk enters their details and applies electronically to their insurer for authorization of payment. Once that is confirmed then the patient can go, knowing they are OK to collect their medication with either an agreed co-pay (small cost towards the drugs) or no-payment if their insurance is that comprehensive, or a large sum of money if they have crappy or no insurance. Clearly very different from how things are done in the UK.
Amongst the other things I have now learnt, and worth mentioning are:
1. Payment is weekly! And by cheque (sorry, by check!). You can set up a direct bank payment (they call that auto-debit), but initially you work one week in arrears and get a check the next Friday - very nice.
2. In California at least, you do have to do a certain amount of hours in a hospital setting. I shall have to work out exactly how to organize that later, but I should be able to volunteer myself in a local hospital pharmacy for a few weekends, and get the required hours done.
3. If you have money, bring it. If you have family, leave them at home! Life is super-expensive here, and it is easy to blow a fortune in no time. Be warned!
4. There is no formal, organized assistance to pass the two remaining exams, viz the NABPLEX and the State Law Exam. You will have to work on that yourself (other companies may help their interns, nut my one doesn't!). So talk to the pharmacists and find out what you need to start studying, and get down to it.
5. For me, the company health insurance kicks in after 6 months. Given the price of drugs, if you are on any kind of medication - BRING 6 MONTHS OF IT WITH YOU!
6. About 50% of the drugs have different names here, and another 25% I've never heard of or come across before. So for all good being a pharmacist in the UK for the last 16 years has given me, I am only familiar with about 25% of the dispensary now! I have a lot of work to do! I have got three books to learn from, and aim to do just a little bit of studying every couple of days, as I have 9 months to learn it all in - and I can't afford to get it wrong. So for once in my life I actually have to put some effort in to this. I will give more details about my studying later.
OK, that's about it for now. There's probably a load of stuff I've forgotten so I may add another entry to put it all in, or may just sneakily edit this entry later, but for now, I am just thankful that I have made it this far, and am loving the feeling of working in an American dispensary, as I have aimed for this for such a long time.
Good luck to all of you, it can be done!
Farmacyst
However, there are vast, enormous, gigantic differences when it comes to the specifics. Firstly, their are various differences with the systems with respect to the physical processes. I can only compare between the US and the UK, but in the UK the process is simple - one person takes the prescription in, hands it to the pharmacist or dispenser, the pharmacist signs it off, and someone hands it out. There is usually only one computer in each UK pharmacy. In the majority of US pharmacies they divide the system in to four processes. An "in window" takes the Rx in, they process it and the Rx is filed and the rest of the system runs on the electronic Rx. The virtual Rx then goes to the "filling window" where another tech, clerk, intern or pharmacist produces a label, scans a bar code on the side of a bottle of tablets, and puts the label on the bottle. The meds are then passed to the "Quality Assurance" window, which is always run by a pharmacist, who signs it off and bags it, and finally, when the patient collects it, the drugs are given out at the "out window". This process has a certain logic to it, and doesn't take long to get used to, but it is very very different to how things are generally carried out in the UK!
Also, the US uses almost 100% of its drugs from bulk packs, where in the UK almost 100% is now supplied from 28-day calendar packs.
And of course the National Health Service in the UK has no equal in America, where either cash is king or insurance companies are involved. This adds a whole layer of difficulty to the procedure whereby at the in-window the patient hangs around whilst the clerk enters their details and applies electronically to their insurer for authorization of payment. Once that is confirmed then the patient can go, knowing they are OK to collect their medication with either an agreed co-pay (small cost towards the drugs) or no-payment if their insurance is that comprehensive, or a large sum of money if they have crappy or no insurance. Clearly very different from how things are done in the UK.
Amongst the other things I have now learnt, and worth mentioning are:
1. Payment is weekly! And by cheque (sorry, by check!). You can set up a direct bank payment (they call that auto-debit), but initially you work one week in arrears and get a check the next Friday - very nice.
2. In California at least, you do have to do a certain amount of hours in a hospital setting. I shall have to work out exactly how to organize that later, but I should be able to volunteer myself in a local hospital pharmacy for a few weekends, and get the required hours done.
3. If you have money, bring it. If you have family, leave them at home! Life is super-expensive here, and it is easy to blow a fortune in no time. Be warned!
4. There is no formal, organized assistance to pass the two remaining exams, viz the NABPLEX and the State Law Exam. You will have to work on that yourself (other companies may help their interns, nut my one doesn't!). So talk to the pharmacists and find out what you need to start studying, and get down to it.
5. For me, the company health insurance kicks in after 6 months. Given the price of drugs, if you are on any kind of medication - BRING 6 MONTHS OF IT WITH YOU!
6. About 50% of the drugs have different names here, and another 25% I've never heard of or come across before. So for all good being a pharmacist in the UK for the last 16 years has given me, I am only familiar with about 25% of the dispensary now! I have a lot of work to do! I have got three books to learn from, and aim to do just a little bit of studying every couple of days, as I have 9 months to learn it all in - and I can't afford to get it wrong. So for once in my life I actually have to put some effort in to this. I will give more details about my studying later.
OK, that's about it for now. There's probably a load of stuff I've forgotten so I may add another entry to put it all in, or may just sneakily edit this entry later, but for now, I am just thankful that I have made it this far, and am loving the feeling of working in an American dispensary, as I have aimed for this for such a long time.
Good luck to all of you, it can be done!
Farmacyst
Wednesday, 13 December 2006
Pharmacy Boards and Income Tax
A couple of points to make in this posting. Firstly I want to give a list of some of the pharmacy boards since I happened to have found a whole list of them and I might as well add it as a resource for you in case of need, so here it is:
STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY WEBSITE
California http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/
Connecticut http://www.ct.gov/dcp/cwp/view.asp?a=1620&Q=273844&PM=1
Delaware http://www.dpr.delaware.gov/boards/pharmacy/index.shtml
Iowa http://www.state.ia.us/ibpe/
Idaho http://bop.accessidaho.org/
Illinois http://www.idfpr.com/DPR/default.asp
Indiana http://www.in.gov/pla/pharmacy.htm
Kentucky http://pharmacy.ky.gov/
Massachusetts http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2subtopic&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Provider&L2=Certification%2c+Licensure%2c+and+Registration&L3=Occupational+and+Professional&L4=Pharmacy&sid=Eeohhs2
Maryland http://www.mdbop.org/
Maine http://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/pharmacy/index.htm
Minnesota http://www.phcybrd.state.mn.us/mn_home.htm
Missouri http://www.pr.mo.gov/pharmacists.asp
Montana http://mt.gov/dli/bsd/license/bsd_boards/pha_board/board_page.asp
New Hampshire http://www.nh.gov/pharmacy/
New Jersey http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/medical/pharmacy.htm
Nevada http://bop.nv.gov/
Ohio http://pharmacy.ohio.gov/
Oregon http://www.oregon.gov/Pharmacy/index.shtml
Pennsylvania http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/cwp/view.asp?
Rhode Island http://www.health.ri.gov/hsr/professions/pharmacy.php
Utah http://www.dopl.utah.gov/
Vermont http://vtprofessionals.org/opr1/pharmacists/
Virginia http://www.dhp.state.va.us/pharmacy/default.htm
Washington https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/hps4/Pharmacy/default.htm
Wisconsin http://drl.wi.gov/boards/phm/index.htm
Wyoming http://pharmacyboard.state.wy.us/
And the second point I want to talk about is my current understanding of US taxation! After January the TV adverts become filled with two companies that offer to help you with your taxes - one is from www.hrblock.com and the other is from www.turbotax.com - now both of these have good points and bad points, some of which may be more pertinent to your individual needs, but they seem to be the two BIG companies, although of course you can use anyone, and there are plenty of small local accountants that will help you for a fairly small fee too. However, I want to add my personal opinion because there are a couple of issues that might be of interest to others. Firstly the company I work for has some kind of direct downloadable link to Turbotax, so that my yearly earnings can be collected directly - but I can't do this with HRBlock. Secondly, again as far as i currently understand it, the form that I need to use this year - called a 1040NREZ isn't available through Turbotax, but is available with HRBlock! Apparently this form is necessary for the first five years (barring exceptions) for foreign nationals, so I am therefore obligated to get this form, and therefore obligated to use (if I want to) HRBlock to help do my tax return. I am still investigating this, so I may add more later if I have any new information, but this is the way I see it currently. Finally, although it may be obvious to me, I should add that the tax year runs January 1st through December 31st, and that the tax return needs to be filed before March 31st (as far as I know).
Good luck to you all, and as always please contact me if you know any differently to what I have stated above.
Farmacyst
STATE BOARD OF PHARMACY WEBSITE
California http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/
Connecticut http://www.ct.gov/dcp/cwp/view.asp?a=1620&Q=273844&PM=1
Delaware http://www.dpr.delaware.gov/boards/pharmacy/index.shtml
Iowa http://www.state.ia.us/ibpe/
Idaho http://bop.accessidaho.org/
Illinois http://www.idfpr.com/DPR/default.asp
Indiana http://www.in.gov/pla/pharmacy.htm
Kentucky http://pharmacy.ky.gov/
Massachusetts http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2subtopic&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Provider&L2=Certification%2c+Licensure%2c+and+Registration&L3=Occupational+and+Professional&L4=Pharmacy&sid=Eeohhs2
Maryland http://www.mdbop.org/
Maine http://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/pharmacy/index.htm
Minnesota http://www.phcybrd.state.mn.us/mn_home.htm
Missouri http://www.pr.mo.gov/pharmacists.asp
Montana http://mt.gov/dli/bsd/license/bsd_boards/pha_board/board_page.asp
New Hampshire http://www.nh.gov/pharmacy/
New Jersey http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/medical/pharmacy.htm
Nevada http://bop.nv.gov/
Ohio http://pharmacy.ohio.gov/
Oregon http://www.oregon.gov/Pharmacy/index.shtml
Pennsylvania http://www.dos.state.pa.us/bpoa/cwp/view.asp?
Rhode Island http://www.health.ri.gov/hsr/professions/pharmacy.php
Utah http://www.dopl.utah.gov/
Vermont http://vtprofessionals.org/opr1/pharmacists/
Virginia http://www.dhp.state.va.us/pharmacy/default.htm
Washington https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/hps4/Pharmacy/default.htm
Wisconsin http://drl.wi.gov/boards/phm/index.htm
Wyoming http://pharmacyboard.state.wy.us/
And the second point I want to talk about is my current understanding of US taxation! After January the TV adverts become filled with two companies that offer to help you with your taxes - one is from www.hrblock.com and the other is from www.turbotax.com - now both of these have good points and bad points, some of which may be more pertinent to your individual needs, but they seem to be the two BIG companies, although of course you can use anyone, and there are plenty of small local accountants that will help you for a fairly small fee too. However, I want to add my personal opinion because there are a couple of issues that might be of interest to others. Firstly the company I work for has some kind of direct downloadable link to Turbotax, so that my yearly earnings can be collected directly - but I can't do this with HRBlock. Secondly, again as far as i currently understand it, the form that I need to use this year - called a 1040NREZ isn't available through Turbotax, but is available with HRBlock! Apparently this form is necessary for the first five years (barring exceptions) for foreign nationals, so I am therefore obligated to get this form, and therefore obligated to use (if I want to) HRBlock to help do my tax return. I am still investigating this, so I may add more later if I have any new information, but this is the way I see it currently. Finally, although it may be obvious to me, I should add that the tax year runs January 1st through December 31st, and that the tax return needs to be filed before March 31st (as far as I know).
Good luck to you all, and as always please contact me if you know any differently to what I have stated above.
Farmacyst
Tuesday, 12 December 2006
Time to start revising...
Hi once more to you all. I am now about 8 months into my internship and am starting to get ready to sit the Naplex and CPJE. The main topics for today's post are:
1. Getting some hospital hours (California requirement, or States?)
2. Visa renewel
3. Applying to sit the Naplex - things that need to be done ahead of time.
4. Naplex/CPJE books/resources/online info etc etc etc
1. If you aren't doing your internship in California I really don't know what additional requirements your state board of pharmacy will require of you over and above completion of your hours, but in California the one issue that has gradually become a real nightmare for me has been the need to complete "some" hours in a hospital pharmacy. I think it may have been possible to use any previously gained hours done in my home country to cover this requirement, but unfortunately I have never worked any hours in a hospital at all, so I couldn't get around the problem that way. Also, although I didn't ask them for any assistance in this matter, my employer hasn't at any point offered to try and help me with this issue, and in the end I have hopefully found my way around this problem without their help - but I am sort of surprised they haven't at least asked me if I needed some support (frankly, and they are an excellent employer to be fair to them, they haven't asked me ANYTHING!)
So for me, I pulled a few strings and managed to make contact with the pharmacy manager of a hospital pharmacy who would normally never speak to someone like me, but did it as a favor for my friend who works in the hospital in another department. She interviewed me for the position of a "hospital volunteer" and is happy enough for me to sit in a corner somewhere for a few days to get the hours I need completed. I don't expect to learn much whilst I am there, and I don't want to get in anyone's way as she is doing me a BIG favor, but the procedure these days to be allowed to even do a few days as a volunteer requires me to go through the formal application process, be security checked, attend a day-long induction, and finally be allowed to step foot in the building. This process would normally take weeks, and may still take weeks, but they are trying to rush things through for me - but my advice to any of you out there is look in to this EARLY in your year, if you do need to do it, and don't leave it to the last minute as it may not be possible to make it happen as fast as you might like.
Hopefully all will go smoothly, and I will get my hours completed in the hospital before I have completed my normal hours, so that i will be able to apply to sit the naplex as soon as possible.
One very interesting thing I learnt whilst I was chatting with the chief pharmacist was that she would never ever consider employing a pharmacist in her department that hadn't done a D.Pharm and then done a one year residency. This residency is much like a doctors residency, is a very concentrated year of learning, at a very VERY low rate of pay, but it shows absolute commitment to the desire to be a hospital pharmacist, and assures any potential employer that this person knows their stuff really well. So if you think you want to end up one day as a hospital pharmacist I suggest you find out more about this residency option.
2. Visa renewel
OK, I had an email from my employer asking me if I had taken any action to have my visa extended, as it was due to expire on September 30th 2009 and if I hadn't had it extended prior to that date they would no longer be able to employ me. Nice! So I contacted the company lawyers that deal with my visa and they said they would put in the request to extend the visa for my whole family but that it could (in theory) take up to 90 days to get processed - so the timing was just on the edge. Thankfully my company had given me the red-flag in good time, but for all of you out there that are trying to think of how to get everything right first time, add "visa renewel" to your list, atleast 90 days prior to expiry, which will be about 9 months after you first landed in America on your visa.
3. Applying to sit the Naplex - things that need to be done ahead of time.
I downloaded the application forms to sit the naplex here:
http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/forms/rph_app_pkt2.pdf
I had been advised to get the papers ready early as there was one important requirement that needed to be done (or could be done) well in advance of actually applying. I was also told to check that the name on my US Drivers License matched EXACTLY the name on my UK PASSPORT as well as on my US SOCIAL SECURITY CARD - if it didn't, if for example I hadn't used my middle name on any of the cards, or has used the middle initial but not the entire name, then I simply wouldn't be allowed to sit the exam. Thankfully (without having known this) they were all exactly the same - but remember this when you apply for your US SNN and US DRIVERS LICENSE - make sure they match the name in your foreign passport or you are going to get in to some real problems later trying to sit the naplex.
So the thing that needs organizing early is yet another finger-print analysis. Of course everyone will have completed this process once, prior to being granted an intern license, and this time it will be a lot easier since everyone will already be living in California, and you can just walk in to your local UPS Store to get them done (you should also get your 2"x2" US Passport size photo taken there, although it would be cheaper at Costco if you are penny-pinching). So download the form from the website above, print it out, fill out the "request for live scan service" form and go to your local UPS and get that done nice and early too, so you don't have to worry about that later either.
4. Naplex/CPJE books/resources/online info etc etc etc
I really really really want to fill this section with a thorough review of all the books and resources that anyone could ever want to use to sit the Naplex/CPJE, however, I can't do this alone as I have only used 4 books, and that's not really a very comprehensive list. So what I would ask is that any one who reads this post and has atleast one book that they've got in front of them and are using it for either the Naplex or CPJE (or other state board law exam for that matter) to please send me an email to my SCURTISCO at AOL dot COM email address and add a few words as to whether they think it is any good or not. I will start with my list of four books and hopefully this will grow to a comprehensive list I can put up on a dedicated posting at a later date:
A) APhA - an awesome review book, covers everything, very big, easy read, lots of questions and answers. As far as I am concerned this is THE book.
B) Pharmacy and Federal Drug Law Review - David Kosegarten & Dougas Pisano - I haven't read this properly yet, but it looks good, and is FULL of questions and answer and covers the law section too.
C) A Guide To California Community Pharmacy Law - Fred Weissman - I should have kept details of how to buy this as it isn't that easy to get hold of, and although pretty heavy going it is considered THE BOOK to pass the law questions on the CPJE - also it is worth reading prior to becoming a pharmacist so you feel competent on how to practice in the real world when some of those difficult decisions in life actually come up - like partialing a C2 or using split NDC's or borrowing from another pharmacy or changing the quantity or recording an error and so on. No excuse really, we all need to read this book whether before the CPJE or after.
***UPDATED ENTRY***
You can buy Weissman book as follows:
Phone the USC Bookstore on: 323-442-2674 (Says freephone customer service # 800-571-5086)
Book is called: "A guide to California pharmacy Law" by Fred Weissman
ISBN #: 978-1-4243-3390-5
Cost to me was $46 + tax + shipping = $57.26
D) Finally, I purchased a little pocket book called "Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia" available here:
- its more or less the equivalent to the BNF we used in the UK, and it is my intention to try my best to have read through it once before I sit the exam so i have at least once heard/read of every drug that exists in the US.
E) Oh, and you should read at least 2 years worth of "Pharmacist Letters" - I'll try and remember to add a link to that shortly too.
Thanks to all of my loyal readers. I guess the next entry will be the big one, about the actual Naplex itself!
Farmacyst
1. Getting some hospital hours (California requirement, or States?)
2. Visa renewel
3. Applying to sit the Naplex - things that need to be done ahead of time.
4. Naplex/CPJE books/resources/online info etc etc etc
1. If you aren't doing your internship in California I really don't know what additional requirements your state board of pharmacy will require of you over and above completion of your hours, but in California the one issue that has gradually become a real nightmare for me has been the need to complete "some" hours in a hospital pharmacy. I think it may have been possible to use any previously gained hours done in my home country to cover this requirement, but unfortunately I have never worked any hours in a hospital at all, so I couldn't get around the problem that way. Also, although I didn't ask them for any assistance in this matter, my employer hasn't at any point offered to try and help me with this issue, and in the end I have hopefully found my way around this problem without their help - but I am sort of surprised they haven't at least asked me if I needed some support (frankly, and they are an excellent employer to be fair to them, they haven't asked me ANYTHING!)
So for me, I pulled a few strings and managed to make contact with the pharmacy manager of a hospital pharmacy who would normally never speak to someone like me, but did it as a favor for my friend who works in the hospital in another department. She interviewed me for the position of a "hospital volunteer" and is happy enough for me to sit in a corner somewhere for a few days to get the hours I need completed. I don't expect to learn much whilst I am there, and I don't want to get in anyone's way as she is doing me a BIG favor, but the procedure these days to be allowed to even do a few days as a volunteer requires me to go through the formal application process, be security checked, attend a day-long induction, and finally be allowed to step foot in the building. This process would normally take weeks, and may still take weeks, but they are trying to rush things through for me - but my advice to any of you out there is look in to this EARLY in your year, if you do need to do it, and don't leave it to the last minute as it may not be possible to make it happen as fast as you might like.
Hopefully all will go smoothly, and I will get my hours completed in the hospital before I have completed my normal hours, so that i will be able to apply to sit the naplex as soon as possible.
One very interesting thing I learnt whilst I was chatting with the chief pharmacist was that she would never ever consider employing a pharmacist in her department that hadn't done a D.Pharm and then done a one year residency. This residency is much like a doctors residency, is a very concentrated year of learning, at a very VERY low rate of pay, but it shows absolute commitment to the desire to be a hospital pharmacist, and assures any potential employer that this person knows their stuff really well. So if you think you want to end up one day as a hospital pharmacist I suggest you find out more about this residency option.
2. Visa renewel
OK, I had an email from my employer asking me if I had taken any action to have my visa extended, as it was due to expire on September 30th 2009 and if I hadn't had it extended prior to that date they would no longer be able to employ me. Nice! So I contacted the company lawyers that deal with my visa and they said they would put in the request to extend the visa for my whole family but that it could (in theory) take up to 90 days to get processed - so the timing was just on the edge. Thankfully my company had given me the red-flag in good time, but for all of you out there that are trying to think of how to get everything right first time, add "visa renewel" to your list, atleast 90 days prior to expiry, which will be about 9 months after you first landed in America on your visa.
3. Applying to sit the Naplex - things that need to be done ahead of time.
I downloaded the application forms to sit the naplex here:
http://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/forms/rph_app_pkt2.pdf
I had been advised to get the papers ready early as there was one important requirement that needed to be done (or could be done) well in advance of actually applying. I was also told to check that the name on my US Drivers License matched EXACTLY the name on my UK PASSPORT as well as on my US SOCIAL SECURITY CARD - if it didn't, if for example I hadn't used my middle name on any of the cards, or has used the middle initial but not the entire name, then I simply wouldn't be allowed to sit the exam. Thankfully (without having known this) they were all exactly the same - but remember this when you apply for your US SNN and US DRIVERS LICENSE - make sure they match the name in your foreign passport or you are going to get in to some real problems later trying to sit the naplex.
So the thing that needs organizing early is yet another finger-print analysis. Of course everyone will have completed this process once, prior to being granted an intern license, and this time it will be a lot easier since everyone will already be living in California, and you can just walk in to your local UPS Store to get them done (you should also get your 2"x2" US Passport size photo taken there, although it would be cheaper at Costco if you are penny-pinching). So download the form from the website above, print it out, fill out the "request for live scan service" form and go to your local UPS and get that done nice and early too, so you don't have to worry about that later either.
4. Naplex/CPJE books/resources/online info etc etc etc
I really really really want to fill this section with a thorough review of all the books and resources that anyone could ever want to use to sit the Naplex/CPJE, however, I can't do this alone as I have only used 4 books, and that's not really a very comprehensive list. So what I would ask is that any one who reads this post and has atleast one book that they've got in front of them and are using it for either the Naplex or CPJE (or other state board law exam for that matter) to please send me an email to my SCURTISCO at AOL dot COM email address and add a few words as to whether they think it is any good or not. I will start with my list of four books and hopefully this will grow to a comprehensive list I can put up on a dedicated posting at a later date:
A) APhA - an awesome review book, covers everything, very big, easy read, lots of questions and answers. As far as I am concerned this is THE book.
B) Pharmacy and Federal Drug Law Review - David Kosegarten & Dougas Pisano - I haven't read this properly yet, but it looks good, and is FULL of questions and answer and covers the law section too.
C) A Guide To California Community Pharmacy Law - Fred Weissman - I should have kept details of how to buy this as it isn't that easy to get hold of, and although pretty heavy going it is considered THE BOOK to pass the law questions on the CPJE - also it is worth reading prior to becoming a pharmacist so you feel competent on how to practice in the real world when some of those difficult decisions in life actually come up - like partialing a C2 or using split NDC's or borrowing from another pharmacy or changing the quantity or recording an error and so on. No excuse really, we all need to read this book whether before the CPJE or after.
***UPDATED ENTRY***
You can buy Weissman book as follows:
Phone the USC Bookstore on: 323-442-2674 (Says freephone customer service # 800-571-5086)
Book is called: "A guide to California pharmacy Law" by Fred Weissman
ISBN #: 978-1-4243-3390-5
Cost to me was $46 + tax + shipping = $57.26
D) Finally, I purchased a little pocket book called "Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia" available here:
- its more or less the equivalent to the BNF we used in the UK, and it is my intention to try my best to have read through it once before I sit the exam so i have at least once heard/read of every drug that exists in the US.
E) Oh, and you should read at least 2 years worth of "Pharmacist Letters" - I'll try and remember to add a link to that shortly too.
Thanks to all of my loyal readers. I guess the next entry will be the big one, about the actual Naplex itself!
Farmacyst
Monday, 11 December 2006
Nearly there...
August 23rd 2009
A couple of new issues have come up since my last entry worthy of a mention before I finally get to take the Naplex and California Law exam (CPJE) - so I thought I'd add them now in case I forget later.
Let me start with the process I had to go through to get my hospital intern hours done. Firstly, as I have already mentioned, I had to pull a few strings to get to meet with the pharmacy manager. When I met her she was extremely helpful, partly I guess as a favor to our mutual friend, but also perhaps because she was also a foreign graduate and remembered having to get her hours done too. So don't think you can just walk in to your nearest hospital and present yourself for internship hours. Find a connection quickly, at the start of your internship, and start the ball rolling.
Having got my foot in the door I then had to come back on another day and meet the HR department. This was also an extremely helpful person, who understood my needs and appreciated I just needed to do a few days in the hospital. I still had to go through all the protocols the hospital had in place, but I got the impression that for most people who wanted to volunteer, the minimum return on their workload was a lot more than the few days I was going to be there for. So although there is no minimum set hours for working in a hospital, you might find the hospital will want you to do a reasonable amount.
The lady in HR took me through a work-book that described all the hospitals departments, functions, alarm codes, expectations on its volunteers and so on and so forth. It took perhaps an hour and she said she would send another load of paperwork for me to fill out later for when I came back just before I started work.
I then filled out some forms about my medical history and having been offered the opportunity to bring in papers to show I had various innoculations or have blood taken, I opted to have the blood tests anyway. So I then went to the nurse who takes blood and after that I then went back upstairs and went to another nurse who jabbed me in the arm for a TB test. I was then told I had to come back later in the week to have that skin test looked at, come back early next week for a second skin-prick, and then come back again at the end of the next week to have the second skin prick looked at. Since this particular hospital was no where near where I lived, nor in the direction of where I worked, we worked out there was another hospital that was vaguely in the direction of where I worked where a nurse there could look at the result of this skin-test, and then administer and look at the results of next weeks test, and send all the paperwork back to hospital number one, which is what then happened.
Finally, after all the blood tests and skin test results came back, HR told me I was ready to return the new pile of papers that they had sent through the post, and could then start my hospital hours. So I read through the pile of papers - each section had a test at the end to make sure you had read it - and finally presented myself back at HR ready to roll. We went through my responses, signed some more forms, went over to another department to have my photo taken and ID badge made, and then finally walked in to the pharmacy.
I have to congratulate everyone in the hospital pharmacy where I worked. They all found the time to answer my questions and allowed me to shadow them and look over their shoulders whatever they were doing. I dressed up in disposables and worked in the laminar flow room to count cytotoxis, I went up to the wards and saw how the Dr's and nurses sent rx's down to the pharmacy and how they dispensed some items directly from the wards, I watched the techs process the rx's in the pharmacy and how the pharmacists checked them and communicated queries with the wards, I watched DVD's on preparing aseptic pharmaceuticals and chatted with the pharmacy clinicians about what formula's they used and prepared stock sheets and loads of other things that were all invaluable lessons which I would never have learnt had I not been surrounded by such helpful people.
So, apart from the fact that the experience was a positive one, and possibly even helpful towards passing my forthcoming exams, the point I wanted to make to you is that you shouldn't leave this to the last minute. It can easily take MONTHS to go through the requirements to be allowed in to the pharmacy even if you have someone happy to take you on. So start the process as soon as you can, as you wouldn't want this holding up your ability to apply to sit the exams once you've completed your intern hours.
So on a similar note I need to correct one comment I made in a previous blog regarding the requirement to do hospital hours. When you apply to sit the exams there are 3 parts to think about. The Naplex application is done online via the NABP wesbite, with a cost of $465. The CPJE exam is $185 and done as part of the overall application to the California Board of Pharmacy (CBP) and the third part is to once again have your fingerprint analysis done and sent to the California Board of Pharmacy.
I went to the local UPS with the triplicate form I had downloaded from the CBP and paid them $71 for the analysis, including FBI and DOJ (Department of Justice) background checks. (You will need a 2x2 passport photo which is cheap to do at Costco or Walgreens, but can be done at CVS or some UPS stores, amongst other places). Because I have a slightly odd finger one or two of my prints didn't go through so well, so the girl I spoke with said if it didn't work I could come back and have it done again for free. I asked her how long it would take to come back if it didn't work and she gave me a vague answer of between three days and three months. I took this to mean she didn't really know, but my point to you readers is that this can be done at any time (as far as I know) before applying to the board ot the NABP, so you might as well do this early as well so that if any problems do arise you can hear about it in good time.
The next thing I did was fill out all the paperwork for the CBP. This has 7 elements to it, not all of which are necessary depending on whether you are a foreign grad, a pharmacist registered in another state wishing to transfer, or a home grown graduate. But from our point of view, the issue I want to raise, and make a correction from my past comment, is that for one part, regarding pharmacy intern hours, there is another form that needs to be printed off from the CBP website and SIGNED BY EACH PRECEPTOR IN ALL PLACEMENTS WHERE THE INTERN HAS WORKED. So this meant that I had to get the pharmacy manager in the hospital that I did my hours their to sign this form for me as well as my own preceptor in my pharmacy, and send them both off together with the fee and all the other paperwork as required.
So don't think you can get away with doing no hospital hours - you will, and you will have to get the pharmacist their to sign the affidavit stating how many hours you completed there too.
And then finally, I also went online to the NABP website and paid my application fees to them too.
And that's it now. I just sit back and wait to be deemed eligible, and then I should get some paperwork from the PSI (Psychological Services, Inc) to sit the CPJE and get an "Authorization to test" or ATT back from the NABP to sit the Naplex. And that's about it, bar one more fee to the PSI to pay, I hope I will get my package from the PSI any day now, and my ATT from the NABP too, and then I can schedule my tests and let you all know how it goes, or let you know what went wrong, or what I forgot to do, or anything else that crops up to delay the process.
The only thing I have got checked out is that my name on my UK Passport matches my name on my Social Security Card and that they both match the name on my pharmacy intern license, my California drivers license and my birth certificate, as I have heard from a couple of people how any combination of these things that aren't identical can prove to be big problems trying to sit the tests.
Also I heard from one person how she got into enormous problems trying to get her result as she moved house between sitting the exams and waiting for the results. So although I do actually want to move soon, I am not about to start messing about with addresses until I have all of this behind me. And if that isn't a good enough reason, then I also don't want to move whilst my application to extend my visa is in progress either, as the immigration need to be told of any address change, and doing that mid-application is probably too complex a procedure for them to handle! So I'm staying where I am until I'm through all of this.
And that's all I want to say on this entry for now. For those of you about to head to America to begin your internships at the end of September, may I remind to read my section on Moving to America - there's a lot of very useful stuff there I had to learn the hard way. BUy a car whilst you have funds, take your driving test quickly, make sure you use your full name on that and your application for your SSN and they should both match your intern application name or in a years time you will have a real headache applying to sit for the final two exams.
Be well, be healthy, and be assured it can be done!
Farmacyst.
A couple of new issues have come up since my last entry worthy of a mention before I finally get to take the Naplex and California Law exam (CPJE) - so I thought I'd add them now in case I forget later.
Let me start with the process I had to go through to get my hospital intern hours done. Firstly, as I have already mentioned, I had to pull a few strings to get to meet with the pharmacy manager. When I met her she was extremely helpful, partly I guess as a favor to our mutual friend, but also perhaps because she was also a foreign graduate and remembered having to get her hours done too. So don't think you can just walk in to your nearest hospital and present yourself for internship hours. Find a connection quickly, at the start of your internship, and start the ball rolling.
Having got my foot in the door I then had to come back on another day and meet the HR department. This was also an extremely helpful person, who understood my needs and appreciated I just needed to do a few days in the hospital. I still had to go through all the protocols the hospital had in place, but I got the impression that for most people who wanted to volunteer, the minimum return on their workload was a lot more than the few days I was going to be there for. So although there is no minimum set hours for working in a hospital, you might find the hospital will want you to do a reasonable amount.
The lady in HR took me through a work-book that described all the hospitals departments, functions, alarm codes, expectations on its volunteers and so on and so forth. It took perhaps an hour and she said she would send another load of paperwork for me to fill out later for when I came back just before I started work.
I then filled out some forms about my medical history and having been offered the opportunity to bring in papers to show I had various innoculations or have blood taken, I opted to have the blood tests anyway. So I then went to the nurse who takes blood and after that I then went back upstairs and went to another nurse who jabbed me in the arm for a TB test. I was then told I had to come back later in the week to have that skin test looked at, come back early next week for a second skin-prick, and then come back again at the end of the next week to have the second skin prick looked at. Since this particular hospital was no where near where I lived, nor in the direction of where I worked, we worked out there was another hospital that was vaguely in the direction of where I worked where a nurse there could look at the result of this skin-test, and then administer and look at the results of next weeks test, and send all the paperwork back to hospital number one, which is what then happened.
Finally, after all the blood tests and skin test results came back, HR told me I was ready to return the new pile of papers that they had sent through the post, and could then start my hospital hours. So I read through the pile of papers - each section had a test at the end to make sure you had read it - and finally presented myself back at HR ready to roll. We went through my responses, signed some more forms, went over to another department to have my photo taken and ID badge made, and then finally walked in to the pharmacy.
I have to congratulate everyone in the hospital pharmacy where I worked. They all found the time to answer my questions and allowed me to shadow them and look over their shoulders whatever they were doing. I dressed up in disposables and worked in the laminar flow room to count cytotoxis, I went up to the wards and saw how the Dr's and nurses sent rx's down to the pharmacy and how they dispensed some items directly from the wards, I watched the techs process the rx's in the pharmacy and how the pharmacists checked them and communicated queries with the wards, I watched DVD's on preparing aseptic pharmaceuticals and chatted with the pharmacy clinicians about what formula's they used and prepared stock sheets and loads of other things that were all invaluable lessons which I would never have learnt had I not been surrounded by such helpful people.
So, apart from the fact that the experience was a positive one, and possibly even helpful towards passing my forthcoming exams, the point I wanted to make to you is that you shouldn't leave this to the last minute. It can easily take MONTHS to go through the requirements to be allowed in to the pharmacy even if you have someone happy to take you on. So start the process as soon as you can, as you wouldn't want this holding up your ability to apply to sit the exams once you've completed your intern hours.
So on a similar note I need to correct one comment I made in a previous blog regarding the requirement to do hospital hours. When you apply to sit the exams there are 3 parts to think about. The Naplex application is done online via the NABP wesbite, with a cost of $465. The CPJE exam is $185 and done as part of the overall application to the California Board of Pharmacy (CBP) and the third part is to once again have your fingerprint analysis done and sent to the California Board of Pharmacy.
I went to the local UPS with the triplicate form I had downloaded from the CBP and paid them $71 for the analysis, including FBI and DOJ (Department of Justice) background checks. (You will need a 2x2 passport photo which is cheap to do at Costco or Walgreens, but can be done at CVS or some UPS stores, amongst other places). Because I have a slightly odd finger one or two of my prints didn't go through so well, so the girl I spoke with said if it didn't work I could come back and have it done again for free. I asked her how long it would take to come back if it didn't work and she gave me a vague answer of between three days and three months. I took this to mean she didn't really know, but my point to you readers is that this can be done at any time (as far as I know) before applying to the board ot the NABP, so you might as well do this early as well so that if any problems do arise you can hear about it in good time.
The next thing I did was fill out all the paperwork for the CBP. This has 7 elements to it, not all of which are necessary depending on whether you are a foreign grad, a pharmacist registered in another state wishing to transfer, or a home grown graduate. But from our point of view, the issue I want to raise, and make a correction from my past comment, is that for one part, regarding pharmacy intern hours, there is another form that needs to be printed off from the CBP website and SIGNED BY EACH PRECEPTOR IN ALL PLACEMENTS WHERE THE INTERN HAS WORKED. So this meant that I had to get the pharmacy manager in the hospital that I did my hours their to sign this form for me as well as my own preceptor in my pharmacy, and send them both off together with the fee and all the other paperwork as required.
So don't think you can get away with doing no hospital hours - you will, and you will have to get the pharmacist their to sign the affidavit stating how many hours you completed there too.
And then finally, I also went online to the NABP website and paid my application fees to them too.
And that's it now. I just sit back and wait to be deemed eligible, and then I should get some paperwork from the PSI (Psychological Services, Inc) to sit the CPJE and get an "Authorization to test" or ATT back from the NABP to sit the Naplex. And that's about it, bar one more fee to the PSI to pay, I hope I will get my package from the PSI any day now, and my ATT from the NABP too, and then I can schedule my tests and let you all know how it goes, or let you know what went wrong, or what I forgot to do, or anything else that crops up to delay the process.
The only thing I have got checked out is that my name on my UK Passport matches my name on my Social Security Card and that they both match the name on my pharmacy intern license, my California drivers license and my birth certificate, as I have heard from a couple of people how any combination of these things that aren't identical can prove to be big problems trying to sit the tests.
Also I heard from one person how she got into enormous problems trying to get her result as she moved house between sitting the exams and waiting for the results. So although I do actually want to move soon, I am not about to start messing about with addresses until I have all of this behind me. And if that isn't a good enough reason, then I also don't want to move whilst my application to extend my visa is in progress either, as the immigration need to be told of any address change, and doing that mid-application is probably too complex a procedure for them to handle! So I'm staying where I am until I'm through all of this.
And that's all I want to say on this entry for now. For those of you about to head to America to begin your internships at the end of September, may I remind to read my section on Moving to America - there's a lot of very useful stuff there I had to learn the hard way. BUy a car whilst you have funds, take your driving test quickly, make sure you use your full name on that and your application for your SSN and they should both match your intern application name or in a years time you will have a real headache applying to sit for the final two exams.
Be well, be healthy, and be assured it can be done!
Farmacyst.
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