Certification

For more than forty years, ECFMG's program of certification has assessed the readiness of international medical graduates to enter U.S. graduate medical education programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). ECFMG Certification assures directors of accredited residency and fellowship programs, and the people of the United States, that international medical graduates have met standards of eligibility required to enter such programs. ECFMG Certification is one of the eligibility requirements to take Step 3 of the three-step United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and is a requirement for international medical graduates seeking medical licensure.

Throughout the history of the program, the requirements for ECFMG Certification have included examinations in the medical sciences and English language proficiency. In 1986, the program was expanded to include direct verification of medical education credentials with applicants' medical schools. In 1998, ECFMG added the ECFMG Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA), which allows direct assessment of the clinical and communication skills essential to providing supervised patient care. Currently, applicants for certification must meet the following examination and medical education credential requirements.

In 2002, ECFMG experienced significant increases in demand for all exams required for certification.

• Registrations for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 increased by 18%, compared to 2001.



• CSA registrations grew by 25% over the previous year.



• Requests for acceptance of TOEFL® scores increased by 12% in 2002.