ERAS Support Services for Applicants
COVID-19 (CORONAVIRUS) ANNOUNCEMENT
ECFMG|FAIMER has adapted some aspects of our operations to help ensure the continuity of our programs and to enhance flexibility for stakeholders who also have made operational changes in response to the pandemic, including the USMLE program, AAMC ERAS, and NRMP. For consolidated information on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on ECFMG|FAIMER programs and what we are doing in response, please visit our COVID-19 (Coronavirus) web page. Please also monitor the ECFMG, AAMC, and NRMP websites frequently for updates throughout the ERAS 2021 season.
Application Process
Research
- Select your residency programs of interest. There are many things to consider when exploring potential residency programs. Your residency is important because it is a time of tremendous growth both in your clinical knowledge base as well as your professional development. To achieve your goal of entering a residency program, you should effectively research programs, compare your qualifications, pinpoint your preferences for residency training, and compare programs.
- Prior to applying via ERAS®, contact your programs of interest to determine their minimum eligibility criteria, MyERAS application deadlines, licensure requirements, and institutional policies about visas, if applicable. Much of this information can be found on each program’s website. A list of programs participating in ERAS can be found on the AAMC's website.
- Review the ERAS Timeline and Fees.
Selecting a Residency Program
Before you begin the MyERAS application process, consider your career path by researching one or more medical specialties. Selecting a medical specialty is best done with the help of advisors and mentors. It may be helpful to consult physicians practicing in the specialties you are considering. You should also consider the degree to which a given specialty would be professionally satisfying. For each specialty, it may be useful to research the overall number of positions available, the degree of competition typically experienced in obtaining a position, and the experience of prior international medical graduates, particularly graduates of your medical school, in obtaining residency positions. Detailed information on the number of positions, by specialty, offered and filled by the NRMP is available on the NRMP website.
After you have selected a specialty or specialties, you must decide to which programs within those specialties you will apply. There is no limit on the number of programs to which you can apply. Factors that you may wish to consider in selecting programs include the location of individual programs, their hospital affiliations, program and institution accreditation status, and the performance of their graduates. For more information about specialties and programs that participate in ERAS, refer to the ERAS Participating Specialties and Programs on the AAMC website.
The American Medical Association (AMA) also provides a free on-line Residency/Fellowship Training Program Search through FREIDA™.
Last updated June 5, 2020.
XRegister for ERAS
- Obtain a Residency Token via ECFMG’s OASIS or the MyECFMG mobile app in the ERAS Support Services Section.
- Use your Token to register at the AAMC’s MyERAS. If you have not already done so, you will be asked to create an AAMC username.
Token Request
The Token is a 14-digit, alpha-numeric code that you request via ECFMG’s OASIS or the MyECFMG mobile app. You must obtain a Token in order to register at MyERAS and start your residency application. The request is fulfilled entirely on-line. Your Token is associated with your USMLE ID, ECFMG Status Report, and USMLE transcript; therefore, do not allow any other ERAS participant to use your Token.
Log in to ECFMG’s OASIS or MyECFMG and select ERAS Support Services from the menu. You will then see the option to Request a Residency Token.
Tokens for ERAS 2021 will be available beginning on June 23, 2020.
There is a $145 non-refundable fee for this service.
When you request your Token using OASIS or MyECFMG, you can pay on-line using a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express). You can also pay by electronic check from a checking account at a U.S. bank.
After your payment is approved, click Continue on the payment confirmation page for immediate access to your Token. Your Token will remain on the ERAS Token Request page in OASIS and MyECFMG and may be accessed at any time during the ERAS 2021 season.
No. The ERAS software will not recognize a Token issued for previous ERAS seasons. You need one Token per ERAS season, and you can use that one Token to apply to as many specialties and programs as you want during the ERAS season. You can also use your 2021 Token to apply for both a clinical year (PGY-1), which begins in 2021, and for an advanced position (PGY-2), which begins in 2022 (e.g., Radiology, Neurology, etc.).
Fellowship Tokens must be requested through the ERAS Fellowships Documents Office (EFDO). Tokens requested through ECFMG’s OASIS are for residency applications only. If you are currently enrolled in a residency program and require a Token for a fellowship application, you must request your Token through EFDO.
Last updated June 5, 2020.
XComplete the MyERAS Application
- Once you have registered at MyERAS, you can begin to work on your MyERAS application and Personal Statement. You can also create your personal list of Letter of Recommendation (LoR) authors and confirm the authors for upload.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: You will be required to certify your MyERAS application on-line at MyERAS. Do not certify your application until you are absolutely sure the information that you have provided is accurate and complete. Once you certify your application, it cannot be changed. ERAS Support Services at ECFMG does not have access to your MyERAS application.
Submit Supporting Documents
- Begin submitting your supporting documents to ERAS Support Services at ECFMG. See Submission At-a-Glance for details on submitting ERAS documents.
- Refer to your list of confirmed LoR Authors in MyERAS and provide your letter writer(s) with the Letter Request form. The Request Form includes all information your letter writer(s) will need to submit an LoR through the AAMC’s Letter of Recommendation Portal.
- If you participated in ERAS 2020, you are eligible to reuse documents that were available in your previous application. For information, please review the Reusing Documents page.
- If your medical school participates in the EMSWP ERAS program, the school must submit your medical school transcript and Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) via EMSWP ERAS. To find out if your school participates in EMSWP ERAS, download the MyECFMG mobile app or contact the Dean’s office of your medical school.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Supporting documents may take up to five business days to process once submitted. You should make every effort to ensure your supporting documents are received by ECFMG in time for evaluation by programs and to meet program deadlines.
- Track the status of your documents in MyERAS.
Apply to Programs
- On September 1, at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time in the United States, you may begin applying to programs. Programs will not have access to review applications until October 21 at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Time in the United States. All applications submitted September 1 through October 21 will appear to programs as submitted on October 21. ERAS Support Services at ECFMG highly recommends that you submit all of your supporting documents no later than October 14 to help ensure their availability on October 21 when programs begin accessing applications.
Register for the NRMP Match
- Beginning on September 15, register with NRMP in order to participate in this season’s Match.
Monitor Your Applications
- Go to the Applied-to Programs section of MyERAS to verify which programs have received your application.
- MyERAS will display the date and time each document was made available to each applied-to program. MyERAS will not display whether a program has viewed the application and supporting documents.
