ERAS Support Services for Applicants

The ECFMG Medical Education Credentials Committee reviews allegations of “irregular behavior.” Irregular behavior includes all actions or attempted actions on the part of applicants, examinees, potential applicants, others when solicited by an applicant/examinee, or any other person that would or could subvert the examination, certification, or other processes of ECFMG. Such actions or attempted actions are considered irregular behavior, regardless of when the irregular behavior occurs, whether before or after the individual is certified by ECFMG. Examples of irregular behavior include, but are not limited to, falsification of information on applications; failing to comply with a USMLE or ECFMG policy, procedure, and/or rule; submission of any falsified or altered document to ECFMG, whether submitted by the individual or by a third party, such as a medical school, on behalf of the individual; and submission of any falsified or altered ECFMG document to other entities or individuals. A determination of irregular behavior shall be sufficient cause for ECFMG to bar you from an exam and/or ECFMG Certification, to terminate your participation in an exam, to withhold and/or invalidate the results of an examination, to withhold an ECFMG certificate, to revoke an ECFMG certificate, or to take other appropriate action. ECFMG will report findings of irregular behavior to the Federation of State Medical Boards Board Action Databank, state medical licensing authorities, and directors of graduate medical education programs, among others. ECFMG may also report such findings to the USMLE Committee on Irregular Behavior and Score Validity and to any other organization or individual who, in the judgment of ECFMG, has a legitimate interest in such information. If it is determined that you have participated in irregular behavior, an annotation to that effect will be included in your ECFMG record. This annotation will appear on your ECFMG Certification Verification Service Reports and ECFMG Status Reports.

AAMC has taken a strong position in connection with applicants engaging in irregular behavior. Copying language from any source, including the Internet, for use in your Personal Statement is considered plagiarism. Samples of published Personal Statements are found on the Internet. Although these samples may be used to assist you in writing your own Personal Statement, copying any portion of the published language and representing it as your own is plagiarism. Any reported allegations of plagiarism will prompt an investigation by AAMC and may result in your becoming ineligible to participate in the NRMP Match. ERAS participants should read and become familiar with the AAMC ERAS Integrity Promotion Education Program.

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