ECFMG Partners with Other Leading Organizations to Launch Data Commons, LLC
ECFMG and other leading national physician education and assessment organizations announced today their partnership to launch the Data Commons, LLC. The Data Commons, an information-sharing company, is developing a system that could revolutionize the way in which researchers, policy makers, analysts, and other data users access and analyze data on physicians and other health care professionals.
The core of this new system is a secure data hub that will allow multiple organizations to make available selected information from their individual databases. The ability to access data more efficiently, and the ability to combine data sets in new ways, will have a positive impact on research efforts.
ECFMG is pleased to play a fundamental role in this initiative that has the potential to advance scientific knowledge, enhance patient safety, and improve medical quality, all of which are essential to furthering ECFMG’s mission to promote quality health care.
To learn more, read the Data Commons press release and explore the Data Commons website at www.mydatacommons.org.
ECFMG Selected as a Top Workplace by Philly.com
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) has been named one of the 100 Top Workplaces in Philadelphia for 2013 by Philly.com. Organizations included in the list are not just better places to work, they are more likely to be successful than peer organizations.
Recognition as a Top Workplace is determined solely by employee feedback obtained through a survey conducted by WorkplaceDynamics, LLP, a leading research firm on organizational health and employee engagement. WorkplaceDynamics conducts national and regional workplace surveys on the principle that “The most successful companies are the ones that employees believe in.”
Read the press release.
ECFMG Developing New Service to Facilitate and Promote International Exchange in Medical Education
ECFMG is collaborating with members of the international medical education community to develop the Global Education in Medicine Exchange (GEMx), an exciting new service to facilitate and promote international exchange in medical education. GEMx will allow medical schools to promote their electives to students around the world, and to establish strong relationships with other schools to provide students with a wide range of high-quality international educational opportunities.
Read the press release.
New ECFMG Program Provides Support and Service to International Medical Graduates
ECFMG® is pleased to announce the launch of the ECFMG Certificate Holders Office (ECHO), a new program that provides support and service to ECFMG-certified physicians, and physicians about to be certified, as they plan their careers. ECHO expands on the resources offered by ECFMG’s former Acculturation Program.
ECHO provides free resources that allow international medical graduates (IMGs) to be better prepared and organized in making important career decisions. In addition to allowing them to access ECFMG’s expertise, ECHO also enables IMGs to connect with other experts and organizations, and with each other, to learn, share, and network. ECHO’s feedback mechanisms offer new ways for IMGs to communicate with ECFMG on an ongoing basis, establishing a dialogue between ECFMG and the physicians it certifies.
As ECFMG’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel G. Cassimatis, M.D., observes, “Providing these additional services to the physicians we certify enhances their professional development. ECHO also strengthens the relationship between ECFMG and IMGs, extending our connection beyond ECFMG Certification and ensuring opportunities for IMGs to tell us what they need and how we can better meet these needs.”
Read the press release.
ECFMG Introduces a New E-newsletter for International Medical Schools
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) is pleased to announce the launch of Focus, a new e-newsletter specifically for the Deans, faculty, and staff of international medical schools. Last week, more than 3,000 international medical school representatives received the inaugural issue of this informative new publication, which included articles on efforts to advance accreditation of international medical schools, the pilot of ECFMG’s program to electronically verify the medical education credentials of international medical students/graduates who apply to ECFMG, and programs available to schools through the ECFMG Medical School Web Portal (EMSWP).
Read the press release.
ECFMG Launches Electronic Verification of Medical Credentials
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), a world expert on international medical schools and the credentials they issue, is pleased to announce the launch of an electronic process for verifying the medical education credentials of international physicians who seek entry into the U.S. health care system.
In January 2012, after more than a year of intensive development, a pilot of ECFMG’s electronic Credentials Verification program was launched with participation from approximately 20 international medical schools. Participating institutions use Credentials Verification to electronically receive and verify the medical education credentials of their students and graduates who apply to ECFMG.
For more than 50 years, through its certification program, ECFMG has assessed whether international medical graduates are ready to enter U.S. graduate medical education programs. As part of this certification program, ECFMG requires international physicians to provide copies of their medical education credentials, specifically medical diplomas and transcripts. Since 1986, ECFMG has verified applicant credentials by mailing copies directly to the issuing institutions. The electronic Credentials Verification program represents a significant advance over the paper primary-source verification process, benefiting medical schools and their students/graduates while maintaining ECFMG’s rigorous standards for primary-source verification.
ECFMG’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel G. Cassimatis, M.D., comments, “ECFMG’s role in verifying the medical education credentials of international physicians is critical to protecting the public. Electronic Credentials Verification revolutionizes the way we perform this vital function.”
Read the press release.
ECFMG Named One of The Principal 10 Best Companies for 2011
The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) has been named a 2011 winner of The Principal® 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security. Presented by The Principal Financial Group®, The Principal 10 Best Companies is a national program recognizing growing companies that excel at helping employees build their financial futures through excellent benefits programs. Winners are selected by an independent panel of financial services and human resources experts that evaluate entrants on criteria such as the variety of financial benefits offered; the financial value of benefits offered; level of commitment to the financial security of employees; and the entrants’ industry, strength of benefits for that industry, and the demographics of their workforce.
ECFMG’s mission, promoting quality health care for the public, is critically important. Retaining the skill and expertise represented by ECFMG’s employees is essential to fulfilling this mission and to continuing to be responsive to its examinees and other constituencies. As observed by ECFMG’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Emmanuel G. Cassimatis, M.D., “Working in a positive environment and having colleagues who are happy to be here makes for a better atmosphere for everyone—and, ultimately, results in better service to our customers.”
Read the press release.
ECFMG to Require Medical School Accreditation for International Medical School Graduates Seeking Certification Beginning in 2023
In July 2010, ECFMG® determined that, effective in 2023, physicians applying for ECFMG Certification will be required to graduate from a medical school that has been appropriately accredited. To satisfy this requirement, an applicant’s medical school must be accredited through a formal process that uses criteria comparable to those established for U.S. medical schools by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or that uses other globally accepted criteria, such as those put forth by the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME).
View full announcement.