Issue Five - July 15, 2002
Numbers for ECFMG Certification Program Continue to Increase
Regular inquiries received by ECFMG indicate heightened interest in the number of international medical graduates pursuing ECFMG Certification. Having passed the midpoint for 2002, we thought it a good time to report on the level of activity related to ECFMG Certification for the first half of this year.
Numbers associated with USMLE™ Step 1/Step 2, the ECFMG CSA®, TOEFL®> score acceptance and Standard ECFMG Certificates increased significantly during the first half of 2002, continuing an upward trend that began in 2001. During the six-month period from January through June of 2002, ECFMG registered 17,851 applicants for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2, an increase of 27% over the same period last year. The increase in the number of applicants registered for the ECFMG CSA was more dramatic. During the first half of 2002, ECFMG registered 4,483 applicants for the CSA, an increase of 56% over the same period in 2001. The number of scores for the TOEFL exam, which satisfies the English language proficiency requirement for ECFMG Certification, accepted by ECFMG was up by 22% for this period. The number of physicians certified by ECFMG in 2002 at 3,529 was up by 8%, compared to the same period last year. The number of applications received for J-1 visa sponsorship remains essentially unchanged in 2002. Through June 30th, ECFMG received sponsorship applications from 8,000 foreign national physicians, a decrease of 1% compared to the first half of 2001.
In keeping with its commitment to provide accurate, up-to-date information on international medical graduates, ECFMG will continue to publish updated information on this topic as it becomes available. Complete information on volume related to ECFMG Certification in 2002 will be published in ECFMG's 2002 Annual Report, expected to be available in April 2003.
ECFMG's On-line Application Options Gaining Popularity
International medical graduates pursuing ECFMG Certification can now select from three options when applying to ECFMG for the required examinations. ECFMG's Interactive Web Application (IWA), available on the ECFMG website, allows IMGs to apply on-line for USMLE Step 1/Step 2 and the ECFMG CSA. The ECFMG website also offers paper application materials that applicants can download, complete and submit to ECFMG. Finally, traditional printed application booklets are available by mail, upon request, from ECFMG.
The newest method, on-line application using IWA, is quickly becoming a very popular method of exam application. In November 2001, the first full month that on-line application was available for USMLE Step 1/Step 2, on-line applications accounted for 6% of all USMLE applications received by ECFMG. By June 2002, this number had grown to 34% of all USMLE applications. On-line application for CSA, available since April 2002, has grown from 21% of applications in its first month to nearly 40% of all CSA applications in June 2002. Taken together, the two on-line options for exam application (IWA and downloaded paper applications), now account for more than 80% of all applications received by ECFMG.
On-line application methods provide immediate, around-the-clock access to the materials required to apply for the exams. Application through IWA provides advantages not available with the paper application materials, including on-line validation that prevents common errors and a ten-day processing time for complete applications.
IWA is one of several ECFMG on-line services now available to IMGs. Applicants should visit the ECFMG website for more information on accessing applicant-specific information, making on-line payments, updating their contact information, requesting ERAS®> Tokens and scheduling their CSA sessions via the Web.