Category: General

ECFMG On-line Services Unavailable January 19

Due to scheduled maintenance, ECFMG’s on-line services will be unavailable from approximately 12:00 a.m. through approximately 5:00 p.m. on January 19, 2019. All times are calculated using Eastern Time in the United States.

During this maintenance period, you will be unable to access the following:

  • IWA—Interactive Web Applications
  • OASIS—On-line Applicant Status and Information System
  • Step 2 CS Calendar and Scheduling
  • IAN—IMG Advisors Network
  • EMSWP—ECFMG Medical School Web Portal, and its programs for medical schools and other institutions:
    • Status Verification
    • Credentials Verification
    • Performance Data
    • EMSWP ERAS
    • GEMxSM for Partner Institutions
  • CVS ON-LINE—Certification Verification Service On-line
  • EVNet—Exchange Visitor Network
  • EPICSM—Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials
    • Physician Portal
    • Report Portal
  • GEMx on-line services for students
  • MyECFMG mobile app

The World Directory of Medical Schools also will be unavailable during this maintenance period.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to maintain high-quality on-line services.

ECFMG President Dr. William W. Pinsky Featured in NBC10 Philadelphia Story on IMGs

NBC10 Philadelphia on Monday aired a story on the importance of international medical graduates (IMGs) to the U.S. health care system featuring ECFMG President and CEO William W. Pinsky, M.D. You can see the story at https://bit.ly/2ClGCH0. NBC10 correspondent Matt DeLucia also interviewed Dr. Arturo Rios-Diaz, an ECFMG-certified physician currently under ECFMG J-1 visa sponsorship as a third-year general surgery resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

FAIMER Offering $30,000 Grants to Support Expansion of Community Health Projects That Work

The Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®) announces the opening of its 2019 Projects That Work competition. This annual international competition shines a spotlight on projects that have had a significant impact on the health of communities and education of health professionals. This year, for the first time, FAIMER is excited to offer five grants of up to $30,000 each to help recipients expand their work.

Launched in 2013, Projects That Work has showcased more than 30 projects that have succeeded beyond initial implementation and had a significant impact on community health or health professions education over three or more years. “Projects are an important link between capacity building of health workers and impact on community health,” says William Burdick, M.D., FAIMER’s Vice President for Education. “Our Projects That Work competition highlights the teamwork, innovation, and evaluation that characterize the best of these.”

Past projects have focused on issues such as point-of-care diabetes testing in Cameroon, medical technology aimed at improving maternal and child health in India, hygiene and water sanitation projects in Rwanda, and malnutrition reduction field training in the Philippines, to name just a few. By providing the leaders of these projects with the opportunity to present their work to large audiences at the annual conference of The Network: Towards Unity for Health (TUFH), FAIMER also aims to serve the international health care community at large by broadly disseminating information about what works.

Applications for 2019 Projects That Work grants must be completed online at https://faimer.fluidreview.com/res/p/projects-that-work/. Funding decisions will be made by a distinguished panel of international reviewers with a wide variety of expertise in health professions education, and up to five projects will be selected to receive grants. The recipients will present their projects at the 2019 conference of The Network: TUFH, being held September 10-13, 2019, in Darwin, Australia.

For more information on the Projects That Work competition, visit https://www.faimer.org/project-competitions/projects-that-work.html.

Fee Increases for 2019

Effective January 1, 2019, fees for the following ECFMG applications/service requests will increase:

  • The fee for Application for ECFMG Certification will be $135.
  • The examination fees for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) will be $940 for each exam registration.
  • The examination fee for Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) will be $1,580 for each exam registration.
  • The fee for an extension of eligibility period for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK will be $80.
  • The fee for a change of testing region for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK will be $75.
  • The fee for rescheduling a Step 2 CS testing appointment will be 0-$1,290 (depending on date of cancellation).
  • The fee for a Certification Verification Service (CVS) request will be $50.
  • The fee for an application for J-1 visa sponsorship will be $340.

The new fees will be assessed for all applications/requests submitted to ECFMG on or after January 1, 2019 (Eastern Time in the United States).

For more information on the fees associated with applying for ECFMG Certification and for USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 2 CS, refer to the ECFMG 2019 Information Booklet and the Fees page of the ECFMG website.

ECFMG Launches New Blog, Journeys in Medicine

ECFMG serves as the sole sponsor for nearly 11,000 foreign national physicians participating in the U.S. Department of State’s Exchange Visitor (J-1 Visa) Program to train in U.S. programs of graduate medical education. During their time in the United States, exchange visitor physicians engage in medical specialty and subspecialty training at institutions accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and have opportunities to both share their cultures and learn about the people and places of the United States.

ECFMG has developed Journeys in Medicine as a forum for these current and alumni exchange visitor physicians to share their experiences in their own words. In addition, Journeys in Medicine will highlight training programs that host exchange visitor physicians. By sharing these stories, ECFMG hopes that readers will gain insight into the important impact exchange visitor physicians have on health care both in the United States and in their home countries.

We encourage you to explore the stories now available on Journeys in Medicine at www.ecfmg.org/journeysinmedicine/. Follow @ECFMG_J1 on Twitter to find out when new stories publish and about upcoming content. Please share this information with your friends and colleagues who are interested in graduate medical education.

ECFMG On-line Services Unavailable November 17

Due to scheduled maintenance, ECFMG’s on-line services will be unavailable from approximately 12:00 a.m. through approximately 5:00 p.m. on November 17, 2018. All times are calculated using Eastern Time in the United States.

During this maintenance period, you will be unable to access the following:

  • IWA—Interactive Web Applications
  • OASIS—On-line Applicant Status and Information System
  • Step 2 CS Calendar and Scheduling
  • IAN—IMG Advisors Network
  • EMSWP—ECFMG Medical School Web Portal, and its programs for medical schools and other institutions:
    • Status Verification
    • Credentials Verification
    • Performance Data
    • EMSWP ERAS
    • GEMxSM for Partner Institutions
  • CVS ON-LINE—Certification Verification Service On-line
  • EVNet—Exchange Visitor Network
  • EPICSM—Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials
    • Physician Portal
    • Report Portal
  • GEMx on-line services for students
  • MyECFMG mobile app

The World Directory of Medical Schools also will be unavailable during this maintenance period.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to maintain high-quality on-line services.

ECFMG Launches Resource to Help Students Select a Medical School

The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) has launched a new resource for students who plan to apply to medical school. Designed to assist in identifying schools offering quality medical education, this new resource is a valuable tool for those who are beginning their medical education, as well as for current medical school students who plan to transfer to a different medical school. The new resource is available on the ECFMG website at www.ecfmg.org/medschoolselection.

Graduation cap and stethoscope FACEBOOK.jpgIn recent years, there has been rapid growth in the number of medical schools around the world, and there are a small number of schools that engage in spurious business practices. It also has become more common for students to migrate for medical education—attending medical school outside their home country. This situation creates challenges for students who are evaluating schools and deciding where to apply, according to William W. Pinsky, M.D., President and CEO of ECFMG and Board Chair of ECFMG’s Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®).

“With more than 3,000 medical schools worldwide, selecting the right school can be an intimidating task and a significant financial investment,” Dr. Pinsky said. “Our new guide provides prospective medical students around the world with information on the characteristics to consider and questions to ask when evaluating medical schools before applying so they can make a well-informed decision.”

The guide covers such important considerations as accreditation status, curriculum, faculty, educational resources, and the structure of clinical rotations. It also prompts students to ask questions about the student experience, consider how schools market themselves, and talk to alumni about their success in and beyond medical school.

As leading experts on the world’s medical education systems and their graduates, ECFMG and its foundation are uniquely positioned to provide this important guidance to the next generation of physicians. The new resource is an important addition to the collection of services offered by ECFMG and FAIMER to physicians and the medical education community around the world.

Français / French (PDF)

Spanish / Español (PDF)

ECFMG On-line Services Unavailable October 20

Due to scheduled maintenance, ECFMG’s on-line services will be unavailable from approximately 12:00 a.m. through approximately 5:00 p.m. on October 20, 2018. All times are calculated using Eastern Time in the United States.

During this maintenance period, you will be unable to access the following:

  • IWA—Interactive Web Applications
  • OASIS—On-line Applicant Status and Information System
  • Step 2 CS Calendar and Scheduling
  • IAN—IMG Advisors Network
  • EMSWP—ECFMG Medical School Web Portal, and its programs for medical schools and other institutions:
    • Status Verification
    • Credentials Verification
    • Performance Data
    • EMSWP ERAS
    • GEMxSM for Partner Institutions
  • CVS ON-LINE—Certification Verification Service On-line
  • EVNet—Exchange Visitor Network
  • EPICSM—Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials
    • Physician Portal
    • Report Portal
  • GEMx on-line services for students
  • MyECFMG mobile app

The World Directory of Medical Schools also will be unavailable during this maintenance period.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to maintain high-quality on-line services.