Category: General

ECFMG On-line Services Unavailable May 23-25

Due to scheduled maintenance, ECFMG’s on-line services will be unavailable beginning at approximately 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2019. Services are expected to be restored by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, 2019. This maintenance will affect most ECFMG on-line services―including our external-facing web-based services, internal processing systems, and APIs for client organizations. A partial list of the web-based services that will be unavailable appears below.

Because our internal systems will not be available, we also will be unable to answer telephone and e-mail inquiries on Friday, May 24, 2019.

All times are calculated using Eastern Time in the United States.

During this maintenance period, you will be unable to access most ECFMG on-line services, including 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 (for staff of U.S. training programs that host ECFMG-sponsored exchange visitor physicians)
  • 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.

 

USMLE Scoring: An Ongoing Conversation

At the March 2019 Invitational Conference on USMLE Scoring (InCUS), stakeholders from organizations within the house of medicine discussed USMLE’s score reporting, both its primary use for licensure as well as secondary uses in undergraduate and graduate medical education. Read the latest update about the InCUS experience and timeline on the USMLE website.

New 2023 Accreditation Section of ECFMG Website

2023 Medical School Accreditation logo

ECFMG has launched a new section of its website dedicated to the 2023 Medical School Accreditation Requirement for ECFMG Certification. Featured in this section are new eligibility guidelines that provide more detail on how the requirement will impact individuals applying to ECFMG for ECFMG Certification and the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) leading up to 2023 and after. We encourage applicants, medical school officials, and medical regulatory authorities to visit the new 2023 website section and to check back periodically for updates.

ECFMG/FAIMER Again Named Top Workplace in the Delaware Valley

Top Work Places 2019

Philadelphia, Pa.—The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) and its Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®) have again been recognized as a Top Workplace by the Philadelphia Inquirer. ECFMG/FAIMER ranked 14 among 31 companies in the large workplace category and was among 125 companies in the region honored at an awards ceremony April 18.

Top Workplaces photo
ECFMG/FAIMER employees celebrate the organizations’ recognition as a Top Workplace in the Philadelphia region and #14 ranking among large companies.

Winners are based solely on employee feedback, gathered through third-party research partner Energage, LLC. The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution, and connection, to name just a few.

“ECFMG and FAIMER promote quality health care around the world,” said William W. Pinsky, MD, President and CEO of ECFMG and Board Chair of FAIMER. “As an employer of choice in Philadelphia and the region, we are able to attract the best local talent to support this critical mission.”

This is the second consecutive year that ECFMG/FAIMER received the Top Workplaces honor. In addition, Modern Healthcare recognized ECFMG/FAIMER in 2018 as a Best Place to Work in Healthcare and presented it with the Family-Friendliest Workplace Award for the second year in a row.

To learn more about a career with ECFMG/FAIMER, please visit www.ecfmg.org/careers.

About ECFMG and FAIMER

ECFMG and FAIMER are private, non-profit organizations based in Philadelphia in the United States. In partnership with each other and with other organizations around the world, ECFMG and FAIMER work to promote quality medical education and health care worldwide. ECFMG and FAIMER are leading experts on the world’s medical education systems and their graduates, the authenticity of physician credentials, the assessment of physicians, and research on physician migration and U.S. physician workforce issues. ECFMG and FAIMER offer programs and resources that serve global communities of medical educators and regulators; physicians and medical students; and those investigating issues in medical education, assessment, and health workforce planning. Learn more at www.ecfmg.org and www.faimer.org.

ECFMG partners with the National Board of Medical Examiners® (NBME®) in administering the Step 2 Clinical Skills component of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®), a requirement both for international medical graduates and for graduates of U.S./ Canadian medical schools who wish to be licensed in the United States. Through this collaboration, the Clinical Skills Evaluation Collaboration (CSEC), ECFMG uses its expertise in assessment to ensure that all physicians entering U.S. graduate medical education can demonstrate the ability to gather information from patients, perform physical examinations, and communicate their findings to patients and colleagues. As part of this collaboration, ECFMG operates two CSEC test centers in Philadelphia. Learn more at www.csecassessments.org.

ECFMG President Co-Authors Article on Importance of IMGs to Cardiovascular Care

ECFMG President and CEO Dr. William W. Pinsky teamed up with Dr. Mandeep R. Mehra of Harvard University to co-author an article published April 15 in Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology. From their vantage points as physicians in cardiovascular specializations and leaders in academic medicine, Drs. Pinsky and Mehra demonstrate the importance of international medical graduates (IMGs) to U.S. health care through the lens of IMG contributions in the cardiovascular specialties.

The article, Immigration is Essential to Filling U.S. Physician Demand, covers the quality of IMGs, the diversity they add to U.S. health care, and the impact of current immigration policies on our ability to attract IMGs to the United States for graduate medical education.

Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology also conducted a video interview with Drs. Pinsky and Mehra at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans in March.

Dr. Mehra, a former colleague of Dr. Pinsky’s at Ochsner Health System, is The William Harvey Distinguished Chair in Advanced Cardiovascular Medicine at Harvard and Medical Director of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Heart and Vascular Center in Boston.

ECFMG and FAIMER Convene Stakeholders to Discuss Immigration Impacts

The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®) and its Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®) held their first Board meeting of the year April 3-5, which included a biannual Stakeholder Engagement Forum. The spring Forum convened representatives from the U.S. medical education, training, licensing, and immigration law communities to explore the impact of immigration issues on medical education and health care in the United States.

Invited guests included John E. Prescott, MD, Chief Academic Officer, and Matthew Shick, JD, Senior Director of Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC); Kimball Mohn, MD, Executive Director of the Association for Hospital Medical Education (AHME); Humayun Chaudhry, DO, President and CEO of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB); and Kristen Harris, MA, JD, Partner of Harris Immigration Law. These guests joined ECFMG and FAIMER Board members during the half-day session on April 5 to identify and evaluate emerging trends and impacts at the intersection of U.S. immigration and health care.

“Immigration restrictions will have a profound impact on access to quality health care in the United States, and those effects will be felt first in the medical education and training communities,” said William W. Pinsky, MD, President and CEO of ECFMG and Board Chair of FAIMER. “It is essential that those involved in U.S. medical education and training collaborate to share information and to address issues that jeopardize an adequate and high-quality physician workforce.”

ECFMG/FAIMER Stakeholder Engagement Forum guests
ECFMG/FAIMER Stakeholder Engagement Forum guests, from left: Kimball Mohn, MD, Executive Director, AHME; John E. Prescott, MD, Chief Academic Officer, AAMC; Kristen Harris, MA, JD, Partner, Harris Immigration Law; Humayun Chaudhry, DO, President and CEO, FSMB; Matthew Shick, JD, Senior Director of Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs, AAMC.

Held twice annually in Philadelphia, the Stakeholder Engagement Forums are designed to strengthen partnerships and enhance the perspectives available to ECFMG and FAIMER governance and staff.

About ECFMG and FAIMER

ECFMG and FAIMER are private, non-profit organizations based in Philadelphia in the United States. In partnership with each other and with other organizations around the world, ECFMG and FAIMER work to promote quality medical education and health care worldwide. ECFMG and FAIMER are leading experts on the world’s medical education systems and their graduates, the authenticity of physician credentials, the assessment of physicians, and research on physician migration and U.S. physician workforce issues. ECFMG and FAIMER offer programs and resources that serve global communities of medical educators and regulators; physicians and medical students; and those investigating issues in medical education, assessment, and health workforce planning. Learn more at www.ecfmg.org and www.faimer.org.

Dr. Pinsky Interviewed on Importance of IMGs by Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology

ECFMG President and CEO William W. Pinsky, M.D. and a colleague, Dr. Mandeep Mehra of Harvard University recently were interviewed at the American College of Cardiology annual conference by Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology.

Drs. Pinsky and Mehra discussed the work that ECFMG does and the important role that international medical graduates play in the field of cardiology.

You can see the video at https://www.dicardiology.com/videos/video-why-are-there-so-many-foreign-doctors.

ECFMG On-line Services Unavailable March 15-17

Due to scheduled maintenance, ECFMG’s on-line services will be unavailable from approximately 4:00 p.m. on March 15, 2019 through approximately 5:00 p.m. on March 17, 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.

[Posted March 11, 2019. Updated March 18, 2019]