Ah, Pennsylvania. Land of our Founding Fathers, Hershey's Chocolate, and... some particularly involved genetic counseling licensure requirements. Here's what you'll need to do to obtain a license in the Keystone State.
Difficulty: ⏳⏳⏳⏳ This is one of the most challenging states for licensure. Not only is the list of requirements long but you will have to obtain many of those items through other parties which could extend the length of the process beyond what you hoped.
Don't start panicking though. We're here to help.
Price: $50.00 application fee, + Background check fees (varies by residence history, see below), and $3 NPDB Self-Query
State Contacts:
Website: https://www.pals.pa.gov/#!/page/default
Address: State Board of Medicine, P.O. Box 2649 Harrisburg, PA 17105
Email: ST-MEDICINE@PA.GOV
Phone: (717) 783-1400
What you'll need:
Certificate of malpractice insurance
Background check from your current state and every state you have resided/worked in in the last 10 years OR current state and the FBI.
NPDB Self-Query
3-hour Child Abuse Prevention Course
CV
Name change document (if applicable)
Documentation of any items to disclosure such as previous disciplinary action taken against you or your licenses, arrest history, etc.
ABGC & license verifications (free website lookups uploaded to the Pennsylvania portal work in most cases.)
Education form completed and sent back by your graduate school (available for download AFTER the application is submitted).
Transcript sent directly to the board.
Beginning the Application Process:
Obtain from your employer or insurance agent a current certificate of insurance for your malpractice insurance for a minimum amount of $1,000,000.00 per occurrence or claims made. The certificate must list your name and that you are "covered while providing genetic counseling services in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."
You will need one or more background checks for this license. Click here to find out how to obtain these.
A National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) Self-Query is a report from a national repository of information on medical providers. If you have been disciplined by a state board, it is likely to show up on this report. To request a report, click here. You will be asked a series of questions to verify your identity. If you fail the questionnaire, you will have to have a form notarized in order to complete your request. Pricing starts at $3, and increases if you request paper copies (not needed for Pennsylvania). Download the certified digital copy and upload it to the Pennsylvania site.
Register for a 3-hour course on child abuse prevention through one of their approved providers. The option from University of Pittsburgh should be free.
For registration purposes, you will be applying through the State Board of Medicine and be sure to register using the same name you used for your application or the registration won't link with your account.
Once complete, it can take up to a week for the certificate to show up in your Pennsylvania application. You won't have to wait to proceed until this is there, but your license won't be issued until it is.
Update your CV and format to match Pennsylvania's requirements - List all periods of employment and/or unemployment (i.e., child rearing, research, etc.) from graduation from your masters program to present. The list must be in chronological order, including the name, city and state of the employer, dates of employment or advanced education/training (include the month and year), and description of the practice activity. Click here for more CV advice.
Once you have all the items above, register for an account via the website.
Completing the Online Application Process:
Start an application by clicking "Apply for a New License".
Important note: Pennsylvania has TWO BOARDS that license genetic counselors: the State Board of Medicine and the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine. The application requirements for both boards is the same, but the State Board of Osteopathic Medicine's application and renewal fees are over twice as expensive!! For this reason, we highly recommend applying through the State Board of Medicine.
Select the correct drop down box options:
Board/Commission: State Board of Medicine
License Type: Genetic Counselor
Obtained By: Application
Application Information: review your information and make any necessary edits. Make sure to fill out your maiden name or any former name.
Education: add your master's degree information only.
Answer Questions:
Name change & Military service: if you select "Yes" you will be asked to upload documentation
Add all states where you have lived or worked in the past 10 years.
Other licenses: Once you select "Yes", a box will appear for you to input the profession and the state of the license. Make sure to list all active and expired licenses.
For the legal questions, if you answer "Yes" to any of the questions, it will provide an upload box to put explanatory information
Verification Statement: Sign your name and mark that you agree with the terms of the application.
Delegate Email: Not required, but if you would like another representative to receive emails on your behalf, then through the text given scroll to confirm you read it and type in the name and email.
Note, the scroll bar for that text will not appear until you start the scroll.
Submit the application. You will be prompted to pay the application fee by credit card.
Return to the dashboard. You will see your submitted application and progress bar showing the number of outstanding items.
Click the plus sign to expand the checklist. This is where you'll be able to see if items have been received.
Additional Steps:
Download the education verification form. You will need to submit this to your graduate school to complete and return to Pennsylvania. We find that this form is what usually holds up the application most often because you have to wait for your grad school to complete it and send it to Pennsylvania. Send the form to your school ASAP!
Request a verification of your ABGC certificate be sent to the board through your ABGC account. Follow along here for step by step instructions.
Submitting License Verifications: Pennsylvania requires verification of all active and expired GC licenses but unlike other state applications, you do not have to order them. You may upload copies of the free verifications from those states to the "Letter of Good Standing" section of the checklist. Refer to this table for the different state verification instructions.
Request a transcript be sent to the board from your graduate school.
Watch out for any emails from Pennsylvania. They often ask for clarifying information to be uploaded to your portal.
When all items have finally been marked as accepted in your portal, the turnaround time for the board to issue a license is usually less than a week. In our experience, they don't usually alert you when the licenses is issued, so you'll have to check your portal or the Pennsylvania verification website to see if your license has been issued.
Note, a copy of your license will not be sent to you but will be available for download from your Pennsylvania portal. Click on the green “Download” icon under "Professional License Details". A popup will appear stating it will take 24 hours to receive the digital copy.
Don't have time for this? We can help! Ask us about our AutoGen application services today!
