ERAS Support Services for Applicants

ECFMG serves as the designated Dean’s office for all international medical students and graduates (IMGs) who use the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) to apply for first- and second-year (PGY-1 and PGY-2) residency positions in U.S. programs of graduate medical education (GME). As your designated Dean’s office, ECFMG is your primary contact for assistance and information throughout the ERAS application process.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are a student or graduate of a U.S. (LCME- or AOA-accredited) medical school/program, you must apply for residency positions through the Dean’s office at your medical school. If you are a student or graduate of a Canadian medical school/program, the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS) acts as your Dean’s office for the purpose of applying to positions in the United States; for more detailed information, go to www.carms.ca.

Your pursuit of a residency position involves three separate organizations:

• ERAS Support Services at ECFMG
• AAMC’s Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)
• National Resident Matching Program (NRMP, or “the Match”)

It is vital that you read all websites carefully to understand the role of each organization and to understand the intricacies of resident recruitment, eligibility criteria, and what is expected of you as a prospective candidate for a residency position.

ERAS Support Services at ECFMG will issue your ERAS Token, which you must request via ECFMG’s OASIS and which will allow you to access the AAMC MyERAS website to complete your residency application. ERAS Support Services will also transmit to the ERAS PostOffice your supporting documents along with your ECFMG Status Report and, if requested, your USMLE transcript.

AAMC operates MyERAS, the website that ERAS applicants use to complete their residency application materials. Most residency programs participate in ERAS. The list of ERAS participating specialties and programs is published on the AAMC ERAS website. You must use ERAS to apply to participating programs. You cannot use ERAS to apply to programs that do not participate in ERAS; ERAS will not forward supporting documents to such programs.

ERAS Support Services at ECFMG strongly encourages you to read the AAMC publication, Roadmap to Residency: From Application to the Match and Beyond (Second Edition), which provides an overview of U.S. medical education recruitment processes.

NRMP matches applicants with available positions in programs. Applying at MyERAS and submitting supporting documents to ERAS Support Services at ECFMG do not register you with the NRMP Match. You are required to register with NRMP in order to be a participant in the 2013 Match. Additionally, you must meet NRMP’s examination requirements, and your passing examination results must be available in time to participate. If you are not matched to a position through the Match, you may be eligible to participate in the NRMP’s Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP), which replaced the former post-Match Scramble. Like the post-Match Scramble, SOAP occurs annually during Match Week.

ERAS Support Services at ECFMG strongly encourages you to read the 2010 NRMP Program Director Survey. This publication provides insight into the factors program directors use in selecting applicants for an interview and in ranking applicants for their programs. Additionally, you are encouraged to read the 2012 NRMP Main Residency Match: Match Results by Specialty and State, which details the number of positions secured by IMGs through the Match by specialty and by state.

It is important to know that programs may participate in ERAS but not in the Match. The reverse holds true; programs may participate in the Match but not in ERAS. You will need to research this information on your own.

There are fees associated with the services provided by ECFMG, AAMC, and NRMP. You must ensure that you satisfy all fee requirements; otherwise, a hold may be placed on your ERAS application and NRMP activities, and ECFMG will not process your requests.

It is important to know that ECFMG and AAMC are not associated with other services seeking to assist you with the ERAS application process for a fee. ECFMG is the designated Dean’s office and primary contact for IMGs throughout the ERAS application process.

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