Layoffs and Licensure
The last several months have rocked the genetics world with news of restructuring and layoffs at some of the biggest companies in the industry. Hundreds of people have found themselves back in the job market unexpectedly, and it’s caused some unease about the future, even for those whose jobs have been spared. Genetic counseling licensure might be one of the last things on your mind if you’ve just been laid-off, but it’s an important subject that should not be ignored for too long.
No one starts a job with the intention of leaving, and business don’t hire people with the intention of laying them off, but being prepared for mobility is never a bad thing when it comes to licensure. Here are our tips for setting up your licensure, to ensure you keep your access if you change jobs, and what to do if you have a sudden change to your employment.
Use personal emails for state portals and correspondence
Even if your employer is the one paying for a license, it is YOUR license. It will not disappear when your job changes. Set up your portals and contact info with your own personal email account so you aren’t stuck if you loose access to your work email. If you already used your work email to set them up, it’s best to change them to your personal email as soon as possible.
Save your Licensure Portal passwords somewhere outside of your work computer
If you’re creating a license portal account at work, it’s very easy to click “save password” and forget about it. Don’t get stuck wondering how to log-in after you’ve turned in your work laptop. (BTW, Elsie’s password manager lets you store and access all your licensure passwords from any browser, at work or home.)
Don’t forget to update the states
You’ll need to change your business contact information with the states if you change jobs. Same goes for personal contact information if you end up moving.
Decide what to do with each license
This may be the hardest part of licensure when it comes to an unexpected job change. Will your next job require all the licenses you have? Can you afford to renew them on your own? What happens if they do expire? For each license you hold, you have the following 3 options:
Renew on your own- If you live in a state, intend to work in that state, or expect to do telehealth there in the future, you may want to renew your license(s) yourself. Click here to see the current renewal fees for each state, and when they typically renew.
Voluntarily inactivate- Many states have an “inactivate” option, but what they mean by “inactive” can vary. By inactivating your license, you can no longer see patients in that state, but you may have CEUs or other renewal requirements waived. Some states DO still make you pay renewal fees even if your license is inactive. However, reactivating an inactive license is sometimes easier than reinstating an expired one. This might be a good option if you’re undecided on whether you want to keep a license or not.
Let them expire- If you’re fairly certain you won’t need a particular license again in the future, it may be best to just let it expire. But be careful— some states pile on hefty late fees or make you pay all past renewal fees if you do try to reactivate it in the future. Others make you start the application process from the beginning as if you were never licensed in the first place.
At Elsie, we understand that genetic counselors switch jobs both voluntarily and involuntarily, and have built our software with that in mind. If your employer was paying for your Elsie account, we can easily convert it to an individual plan so you don’t loose access to any of your licensure information. If your new employer uses Elsie, we can add your account to their team plan so they can take over payments for you.
Whether your job change is an unexpected one or not, we hope these tips will make your licensure life a little easier. If you’re interested in seeing how Elsie can help manage your licenses, click here.
