Pharmacy in Canada

[aussiepharmer]

Do all US states require FPGEE for canadian licensed pharmacists?

[pharout]

Originally Posted by aussiepharmer

Do all US states require FPGEE for canadian licensed pharmacists?

I believe so....it is a standard requirement across the board.

[lt17]

Hey

Im currently a pharmacy student in canada, so we've just gone over all of this in class haha. it's true we still have to write the exams and all that sha bang. However, in regards to the interning hours there is one other option shorten this 1500 hr requirement. Due to the shortages in Wasington state, they only require Canadian certified pharmacists to do 300 hrs of interning (yay) so instead of a year, it'll only take a few months. ALSO after getting licensed in washington you are allowed to practice in abother if you wish... im not exactly sure, but you maybe have to write a law exam for the specific state you want though. Hope this helps

[aussiepharmer]

Originally Posted by lt17

Hey

Im currently a pharmacy student in canada, so we've just gone over all of this in class haha. it's true we still have to write the exams and all that sha bang. However, in regards to the interning hours there is one other option shorten this 1500 hr requirement. Due to the shortages in Wasington state, they only require Canadian certified pharmacists to do 300 hrs of interning (yay) so instead of a year, it'll only take a few months. ALSO after getting licensed in washington you are allowed to practice in abother if you wish... im not exactly sure, but you maybe have to write a law exam for the specific state you want though. Hope this helps

What if you have a Canadian pharmacist license but with a 4 year degree? Can you still be licensed in US?
If not, will a Canadian PharmD help?

[lt17]

Nope, all you need is the BSc Pharm. I think it is because all of the pharmacy programs in Canada require a minimum of one year in post-secondary to complete all of the prerequisites. If you get in after one year and then you do the 4 year program, it is equivalent to 5 years, so that may be why. I don't think pharmD would be necessary, because the canadian BScPharm is equivalent to the american PharmD. Because the states used to have a BSc & a PharmD and the difference between them was that the PharmD had more clinical/patient approach and the BSc (in the US) didnt. But the Canadian BSc already had that incorporated into it's program. OH I love how my class is actually useful.

[aussiepharmer]

Originally Posted by lt17

Nope, all you need is the BSc Pharm. I think it is because all of the pharmacy programs in Canada require a minimum of one year in post-secondary to complete all of the prerequisites. If you get in after one year and then you do the 4 year program, it is equivalent to 5 years, so that may be why. I don't think pharmD would be necessary, because the canadian BScPharm is equivalent to the american PharmD. Because the states used to have a BSc & a PharmD and the difference between them was that the PharmD had more clinical/patient approach and the BSc (in the US) didnt. But the Canadian BSc already had that incorporated into it's program. OH I love how my class is actually useful.

Sorry, it seems like my explanation wasn't detailed enough. Australia, the country itself offers a four year BPharm straight after high school without one year prepharmacy prerequisites, which is unlike Canada. However, in my PERSONAL circumstances, I had to take one year of uni before entering my BPharm in Australia. My qustions is, does US recognize personal circumstances like my case(took 1.5 yrs college in US and transferred to 4 yr BPharm), or does the country itself has to be five years?
I also have a friend who took 1 yr college courses in Canada and transferred to Australia.
Another example would be that the UK pharmacy students can be licensed in US cuz UK offers A-levels + 4 yr pharmacy.Although Australia itself doesn't offer 5 yrs, but say, what if you take A-levels in high school and have a BPharm from Australia? Australia itself would not require A-levels for Australian students but require A-levels from students graduating from UK high schools.

[lt17]

I don't think they care how many years you've done before your degree, they are more interested in the degree you have.

How I see it is that since the Canadian degree requires one year of post secondary, the US sees this as a degree with greater difficulty than one that you can enter straight from high school, since this prerequisite year we had to take were full of specific courses that laid the foundation for the science background that would be applicable to a pharmacy degree.

I can see how in your case, you would think that your 1.5 yrs before would count as something, however, you are completing a degree that didn't require those extra years of school. SO in the eyes of the US you are taking a degree that you could have taken straight out of high school and therefore lesser difficulty and only counts as a 4 year degree. (IN THE EYES OF THE US, i'm not saying that it is more or less difficult, it is probably the same as ours... it's just how they see it)

In regards to getting licensed in Canada and then going over to the US. I believe the US will still look at the degree that you received (the australian one). I don't think that just because you are licensed in Canada means you can get licensed in the states, because Canadian standards for overseas licensing is quite different for the US requirements.

I hope that helped. Just curious as to why you want to practice in states? Im not exactly sure how much the pharmacist salary in Australia are. Even though you may be getting paid more, I don't think that would offset the dismal quality of life in the US, which is not the greatest and I've heard of American pharmacists threatened with a gun, at knifepoint and other horrendous stories.

[aussiepharmer]

That's because I use to live in the US for several years, and I have some, but not many friends there. You also have many more opportunities in the US. I don't know how it's like in Canada though, since I've never been there.
Life in Australia is also getting harder. Inflation is a serious problem here, real estate is also off the chart. Cost of living is now so much higher than US, and Pharmacist salary is regulated, unlike the North America. You need to have a lot of experience in order to reach $100k in aussie dollars. The avg of australian pharmacist salary is around $60k or $30 per hour(avg, not starting salary). The starting salary i heard is around 25k during the intern year.

Thanks a lot for your comment. It makes sense. But, the thing is, as a student graduating from a high school in US(not australia), my current pharmacy school actually REQUIRED ME to take at least 1 year of university study before entry to this BPharm. So I am not sure if NABP takes account into PERSONAL circumstances like myself. And also my subjects taken in US and Australia don't overlap much at all. It's only the Calcululs that I got exempted. What do you think I should do in this case?
Should I tell my pharmacy school to send a letter to NABP that "studying in the US for at least 1 yr was a requirement for this student..."?

What even more complicates the issue is that especially my pharmacy school accepts IB for high school students. In the UK, I heard IB is an alternative to A-levels in getting admission to pharmacy programs, and those with A-levels + UK 4 yr pharm degree can sit for FPGEE.
The reason I am comparing aussie to uk program is that they have pretty much the same pharmacy education except the A-levels.
I am sure that nobody in the world can answer this quickly. Just want to have some opinions and advice that are helpful.

PS) If you didn't know already, A-levels isn't even included in the pharmacy program. It's taken in HIGH SCHOOL for two years.

[lt17]

Ok i see what you mean. In Canada the pay is almost as much as the US. I know in my city starting wage for a pharmacist fresh out of the program is about $45CDN/hr + bonuses + benefits n all that. However, that is in the city, if you're willing to go out to the underserved areas in smaller towns you can make $50-55CDN/hr (starting wage). Then again, I live in Alberta where the economy is booming like crazy and a huge shortage of workers and you can get a job at McDonalds and be paid $15/hr. There is a massive shortage of pharmacists in Canada and the States due to the aging population, all of the pharmacists retiring and whatnot. The thing is we have our interning all throughout the program and it is unethical to be paid for our practicum's AND we have to pay to the university as if it were a course (so we are working full time, no pay, paying the university $800 to work for a month this summer. I'm quite bitter if you hadn't noticed). So at least you get paid your intern year.

Well the thing is the US pharmacy programs all require a minimum of 3 years before even being allowed to apply to pharmacy though. Maybe they just feel the pharmacy program in AUS isn't long enough or doesnt have the same curriculum that they have or something. You could try sending a letter to the NABP explaining your situation to them.

Again, regarding the A-levels & IB (i took this haha) I still don't think it matters, because they'll be looking at your pharm degree not what you did before or after. They may feel that the UK degree is at the level they want and the AUS degree is not what they want.

[aussiepharmer]

The fact is, NABP does look at what you did before the pharmacy degree. Like I told you here, if you didn't do A-levels and went straight to UK pharmacy degree, from say, Canadian high schools, you can't sit for FPGEE even though it's a 4 yr Masters pharmacy degree - this would be total of 4 yrs. I read in a different pharmacy forum that uk pharm grads have to actually send a proof for A-levels to NABP.(is a MUST for them)

How's the salary of pharmacists in Alberta compared to other provinces?
I have two Canadians in my school; one of them I know is from Toronto and the other's from Calgary.

Aussie lifestyle was actually quite a disappointment. It's harder to get good quality products and food than the States, and not as resourceful. I have a Canadian friend in Perth studying pharmacy, and he complains the same thing. Daily stuffs are harder to find, costs too much, and the avg housing prices there is around half a million! The only good thing about this country is tourism and that's it. I think it is an overrated country.
Ironically, an average miner here earns more than an avg. GP in Australia. Labor jobs have relatively higher salaries in this country.