Issue One - December 12, 2000
Clarification of USMLE™ Step 1/Step 2 Identification Requirements
Due to the variety in the forms of government-issued identification throughout the world, the USMLE Program has issued a clarification of its existing policy on the identification requirements for taking USMLE Step 1 / Step 2. To ensure that you are admitted to the test center on the date of your exam, you must bring acceptable identification, as described below, with your original scheduling permit. The following requirements apply to all examinees regardless of whether they have presented other identification in the past. Test center staff of Prometric, Inc.® must follow the identification requirements outlined below and cannot make exceptions.
Effective January 15, 2001, examinees who appear at the test center without acceptable identification, as described below, will not be admitted to the test center.
USMLE Step 1/Step 2 Identification Policy:
When you arrive at the test center, you must present both your original scheduling permit and an acceptable form of identification as described below. Your name as it appears on your scheduling permit and your form of identification must match exactly. Since your name on the scheduling permit appears in the Latin alphabet, i.e., in English language letters, the name on your identification must also appear in the Latin alphabet. These names must be the same in both spelling and order. If the names do not match as described above, you will not be allowed to take the exam.Acceptable Identification:
The form of identification you present must be one of the forms of unexpired, government-issued identification listed below that contains your name in the Latin alphabet, your signature and your photograph.The following forms of identification are acceptable, only if they meet all of these requirements:
- Passport;
- Driver's license;
- National Identity Card; or
- Other form of unexpired, government-issued identification that has both your signature and photograph.
If your government-issued form of identification contains your name in the Latin alphabet and your photograph but not your signature, you can use another form of unexpired identification that contains your signature, such as a student / employee identification card, to supplement your photo-bearing, government-issued identification.
ECFMG® Identification Card (EIC):
If you do not have acceptable identification, as described above, that contains your name in the Latin alphabet, you can apply for an ECFMG Identification Card (EIC). You may use a valid EIC in place of one of the forms of identification listed above to gain admittance to the test center on the date of your exam. To receive an EIC, complete an ECFMG Identification Card Request Form (Form 180) and submit it to ECFMG with your exam application. Form 180 is available on the ECFMG website. If you are applying for both Step 1 and Step 2 using the same application, you must complete a separate EIC request form for each exam. The EIC is valid for one testing appointment only and will be collected at the test center at the end of your testing appointment.Important Note: The purpose of the EIC is to provide acceptable identification for examinees who do not have identification that contains their name in the Latin alphabet. Do not request an EIC if you already have identification that meets all of the requirements listed above. Exam applications accompanied by an EIC request form will require additional processing time. Requesting an EIC may delay the processing of your exam application up to four weeks.
Questions Frequently Asked by Graduates of Foreign Medical Schools (FMGS) about Graduate Medical Education (GME) Programs in the United States
Question 1:
What does the latest data show about graduate medical education first year positions (PGY-1) and are there any trends?
Each year the results of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) are published in the June issue of the journal Academic Medicine. These results show that 20,598 PGY-1 positions were offered through the 2000 Match. Comparing this information for the 2000 Match with Match results from the past seven years shows that, although the number of PGY-1 positions offered varies slightly from year to year, there has been no significant change in the total number of PGY-1 positions offered through the National Resident Matching Program. In fact, the number of PGY-1 positions offered in 2000 is exactly the same as the number of PGY-1 positions offered through the Match in 1993. The number of PGY-1 positions offered in the 2000 Match represents an increase of 145 positions over the number of first-year positions offered in the 1999 Match. The number of residency positions available outside the NRMP is not known but may be more than 3,000 and includes some federal uniformed services positions.
Question 2:
What does the recent data for the NRMP indicate regarding the performance of graduates of foreign medical schools in obtaining post-graduate residency positions in the U.S.?
The number of foreign medical graduates who were matched to PGY-1 positions increased in 2000 to 3,532, compared to 3,431 for 1999. Of the 8,456 foreign medical graduates who participated in the 2000 Match by submitting rank-order lists, 2,169 were U.S. citizens and 6,287 were non-U.S. citizens. The number of U.S. citizen FMG participants increased by 19.1% over 1999, while the number of non-U.S. citizen FMG participants decreased by 21.2% over the previous year. In the 2000 Match, the percentages of participants who successfully matched increased in both of these categories. As a group, the match rate for FMG participants was 41.7%, reflecting an increase of more than 6% over the previous year. Within this group, 51.4% of U.S. citizen FMGs matched, an increase of 3.9% over 1999. Likewise, the match rate for non-U.S. citizen FMG participants increased from 32.2% in 1999 to 38.5% in 2000.
Question 3:
Is it true that significantly fewer PGY-1 residency positions are now available in the U.S. for FMGs?
No. The total number of PGY-1 positions offered in the Match has actually been quite stable over the last eight years.
Sources:
Lostumbo, Elizabeth M. and Robert L. Beran: Results of the National Resident
Matching Program for 1999. Academic Medicine 74:6, 722-724. June 1999.
Lostumbo, Elizabeth M. and Robert L. Beran: Results of the National Resident
Matching Program for 2000. Academic Medicine 75:6, 674-676. June 2000.
Waldman and Randlett: Report from the NRMP: Results of the National Resident
Matching Program for 1993. Academic Medicine 68:6, 502-504. June 1993.
Detailed information on Match results for recent years is available on the NRMP website at www.nrmp.org.
Results of the 2000 National Resident Matching Program
Participation in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), or "the Match," is an important part of the process for graduates of foreign medical schools seeking to enter programs of graduate medical education (GME) in the United States. Considering the central role played by the Match in the GME application process, ECFMG would like to provide a brief update on FMG participation in the 2000 NRMP. The following analysis is taken from "Results of the National Resident Matching Program for 2000," published in Academic Medicine in June 2000.
For the GME year beginning July 1, 2000, 25,056 individuals participated in the Match. These participants competed for a total of 20,598 post graduate year 1 (PGY-1) positions. (This number does not include positions offered outside of the Match.) The number of participants in the 2000 Match decreased by 1,406 compared to 1999, while the number of PGY-1 positions offered increased by 145 compared to 1999.
Of the 25,056 participants in the 2000 Match, 8,456 were graduates of foreign medical schools. Of the 8,456 FMG participants, 2,169 were U.S. citizens and 6,287 were non-U.S. citizens. The number of U.S. citizen FMG participants increased by 19.1% over 1999, while the number of non-U.S. citizen FMG participants decreased by 21.2% over the previous year.
In the 2000 Match, the percentages of participants who successfully matched increased in both of these categories. As a group, the match rate for FMG participants was 41.7%, reflecting an increase of more than 6% over the previous year. Within this group, 51.4% of U.S. citizen FMGs matched, an increase of 3.9% over 1999. Likewise, the match rate for non-U.S. citizen FMG participants increased from 32.2% in 1999 to 38.5% in 2000.
Source:
Lostumbo, Elizabeth M. and Robert L. Beran: Results of the National Resident Matching Program for 2000. Academic Medicine 75:6, 674-676. June 2000.