The Board of Pharmacy received a letter from a Canadian pharamacist who is marrying a South Dakota guy (L’chaim! And nice catch, South Dakota guy!) who’d like to practice her profession here but finds South Dakota’s Freedom™ isn’t working for her:
To the South Dakota Board of Pharmacy:
My name is Claire French, and I am a licensed pharmacist in Ontario, Canada registered in good standing with the Ontario College of Pharmacists. My fiancé (an American citizen) and I are moving to South Dakota in the near future. However, there are several requirements and exams that Canadian trained pharmacists must complete before becoming eligible for registration in the state. These requirements may take years to complete, however I currently have the appropriate education, skills and experience to provide pharmaceutical care services in South Dakota.
Regarding my experience as a pharmacist, I graduated from the University of Waterloo’s pharmacy program in 2022 with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. This program has been awarded Full Accreditation by the Canadian Council for Accreditation of Pharmacy Programs (CCAPP). I also successfully passed the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada’s written and practical exams to be able to practice in Ontario. Currently, I work in a community pharmacy where I provide a full scope of professional pharmaceutical care services in addition to dispensing and counselling activities….
Considering my qualifications, I am proposing that the Board grant an exception to the current registration pathway in South Dakota for Canadian pharmacists like me regarding the FPGEC certification, NAPLEX exam and internship requirements. The licensure of Canadian pharmacists is accelerated in other states like Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire and most recently, North Dakota. In these states, only the jurisprudence exam is required if the pharmacist is a graduate from a CCAPP university and currently practicing in their province. I am proposing to expedite licensure in South Dakota to the extent as reasonably possible as I believe I am fully qualified and competent to provide pharmaceutical care services in the state. I also understand from Governor Kristi Noem’s “Freedom to Work” workforce recruitment campaign that the state is seeking licensed professionals to relocate to South Dakota to meet the state’s ever-growing need for healthcare related services [Claire French, PharmD., B.Sc., RPh., letter to South Dakota Board of Pharmacy, 2023.08.31; board meeting handouts, 2023.09.14, p. 39].
South Dakota is short of pharmacy technicians but not pharamcists, at least not yet, although SDSU saw a dip in pharmacy school enrollment last year. But this incoming Canadian professional is smart enough to recognize that she should invoke our authoritarian celebrity Governor’s name to remind the Board of Pharmacy that they wouldn’t want to cross the Snow Queen’s nationwide marketing campaign, so she’s probably smart enough to be a good pharmacist. Stamp that license!
Way off topic, but any update about the license plate hub-a-bub?
https://dakotafreepress.com/2023/08/30/1apl8s-aclu-says-south-dakota-censors-free-speech-on-license-plates/
But will she bring the required MAGA characteristics needed?
Make her guv. At least she has qualifications.
Cory, how did you obtain this letter?
The Board to Rule Them All (BRTA, pronounced The Berta), will grant her request. We don’t need a whiney board of just pharmacist fellows. The BRTA will handle this matter, once instituted.
Teacher accreditations, too, I am sure. The BRTA will be all over that.
Bob Newland
The letter is part and parcel of the SD Board of Pharmacy “board meeting handouts” in the link Cory posted.
Wondering myself whether or not the SD Board of Pharmacy received and/or required permission to publicly divulge such correspondence.
South Dakota does not currently have a pharmacist shortage so Ms. French is not covered by the PR program South Dakota Freedom which only offers a list of job openings anyway, no real help in relocation. SDSU has a very successful and popular program producing graduate pharmacists every year. They tend to fill the job openings for Pharmacists in South Dakota and are also quite competitive when seeking out of state jobs. While it appears that we have this particular profession adequately covered in South Dakota, there are still plenty of places where one has to travel 50 miles to get a prescription filled. Most rural folks in that position rely on the US Mail.
Freedom? That ain’t freedom. That’s just being selfish!
Labeling selfishness as freedom is a deplorable trait of right-wing extremism.
Right-wing extremism promotes make believe individualism and pseudo limited government intervention in peoples lives.
This leads to the belief that acts of self-centeredness and prioritizing personal gains over communal well-being are the epitome of individual freedom.
Linking selfishness with freedom also aligns with the idea of unregulated capitalism, where pursuit of profit and personal success are somehow seen as essential.
This viewpoint neglects the massive negative consequences of unrestricted selfishness. It ignores the importance of societal cohesion, interconnectedness, and the need for collective responsibility.
Labeling selfishness as freedom disregards moral, ethical, and societal considerations, causing harm to marginalized groups and the preservation of systemic inequalities.
AI Generated ~ fully curated & edited by P. AItch
if North Dakota will accelerate her licensure, why doesn’t she move there first, and get a North Dakota license, and then move to South Dakota, if that is an easier way to do it?