Category: General

FAIMER Celebrating 20th Anniversary with Virtual Conference Oct. 20-22 Featuring Dr. Abraham Verghese

The Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER) is celebrating 20 years of accomplishments and service to world health with a virtual conference from October 20-22. Dr. Abraham Verghese, the noted physician and best-selling author, will provide the keynote address during the free three-day event. For more information and to register, please visit: https://cvent.me/qMoN9L.

Titled Celebrating 20 Years of FAIMER: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, the virtual conference is of interest to medical and health professions educators; international medical students; medical regulatory authority officials; those interested in improving world health through education; and anyone who has participated or is interested in FAIMER programs and initiatives, including the thousands of FAIMER Fellows worldwide.

The first day of the conference will focus on FAIMER’s history and will feature Dr. John Norcini, who was FAIMER’s President from its founding until 2019; Dr. Page S. Morahan, Founding Co-Director of the International FAIMER Institute; and Dr. James A. Hallock, President Emeritus of ECFMG and a FAIMER Senior Scholar.

The conference’s second day will feature Dr. Verghese, who will talk about his experiences as an international medical graduate and his career in medical education. In addition, the directors of FAIMER’s Regional Institutes in Chile, China, Egypt, India, and Indonesia will highlight their histories and accomplishments.

The third day of the conference will look forward to FAIMER’s future, including the organization’s new strategic plan offering exciting new curricula for health professions educators, expanding its Regional Institutes in Africa, developing new assessment tools, and creating additional data resources for the global health care community. Speakers for the third day will include Dr. Jeannette Mladenovic, President of FAIMER; Dr. William W. Pinsky, President and CEO of ECFMG|FAIMER and Chair of the FAIMER Board of Trustees; and Dr. Francis Omaswa, Executive Director of the African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST).

We invite you to join us in celebrating two decades of progress and accomplishments and looking forward to a bright future for FAIMER.

ECFMG On-line Services Unavailable September 17-19

Due to scheduled maintenance, ECFMG’s on-line services are expected to be unavailable beginning at approximately 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 17, 2021. Services are expected to be restored by 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 19, 2021. 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
  • Application for Pathways for ECFMG Certification for 2022 Match
  • Clinical Skills Evaluation and Attestation Portal
  • 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.

Pathway 6 On-line Application Now Open

The on-line application for Pathway 6 is now open. Pathway 6 is for applicants who do not meet the eligibility requirements for Pathway 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 and/or have failed the former Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) component of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®). Pathway 6 requires an applicant’s clinical skills to be evaluated by licensed physicians through in-person clinical encounters.

Detailed information on Pathway 6, including criteria for acceptable clinical encounters, criteria for acceptable evaluators, and instructions for applicants, is available at Pathway 6: Evaluation of Clinical Patient Encounters by Licensed Physicians. Detailed information and instructions for physician evaluators are available at Information for Physician Evaluators for Pathway 6.

About the Pathways

The 2022 Pathways allow qualified IMGs who have not passed the former USMLE Step 2 CS exam to meet the clinical and communication skills requirements for ECFMG Certification and for participation in the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) 2022 Main Residency Match® (The Match®).

ECFMG’s 2022 Information Booklet on ECFMG Certification and Application Materials Now Available

ECFMG’s 2022 Information Booklet on ECFMG Certification and the 2022 exam application materials for international medical students/graduates (IMGs) are now available on the ECFMG website. The ECFMG Information Booklet is the definitive source of information on ECFMG Certification and is required reading for applicants.

To be eligible for ECFMG Certification, IMGs must satisfy a number of requirements, including the medical science examination requirement, the clinical skills requirement, and the communication skills requirement.

  • To meet the medical science examination requirement for ECFMG Certification, applicants must pass Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®).
  • To meet the clinical skills requirement and communication skills requirement for ECFMG Certification, applicants must:
    • Complete an ECFMG Pathway, which includes attaining a satisfactory score on the Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine, OR
    • Have earned a passing performance on the former Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) component of USMLE that satisfies ECFMG requirements for ECFMG Certification.

Application Materials and USMLE Step 1/Step 2 CK Eligibility Periods

For USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK, applicants can use the 2022 materials to apply for all available eligibility periods ending in 2021 and all eligibility periods ending in 2022, beginning with the November 2021-January 2022 eligibility period.

Please monitor the ECFMG website, and follow ECFMG on Facebook and Twitter for updates and important information.

(published July 28; updated August 11)

Updates to ECFMG|FAIMER Privacy Notice

ECFMG|FAIMER has updated its Privacy Notice, effective August 9, 2021. We made these changes consistent with our continual efforts to provide you with transparency about how we collect, use, and share your Data and to ensure that our Notice accurately describes our current business practices. The changes also are intended to help ensure that our Notice is consistent with evolving best practices and privacy laws.

You can access the revised Notice at https://www.ecfmg.org/annc/privacy.html.

Your continued use of ECFMG|FAIMER programs and services, including websites and mobile apps, on or after the effective date will mean that you accept the changes.

We look forward to continuing to be of service and to protecting the privacy and security of your personal identifying information.

ECFMG’s IWA Unavailable August 10-11

Due to required maintenance, ECFMG’s Interactive Web Applications (IWA) will be unavailable for up to 24 hours, beginning at approximately 6:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States, on August 10, 2021.

During this maintenance period, you will be unable to perform any IWA transactions, including working on or submitting an Application for ECFMG Certification or USMLE exam application, and accessing a USMLE scheduling permit.

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

Incomplete USMLE Exam Applications in IWA Will Be Deleted on August 10

As part of the transition to the ECFMG 2022 Information Booklet and exam application materials, any USMLE exam applications that have been saved but not submitted via ECFMG’s Interactive Web Applications (IWA) will be deleted. If you have a saved exam application in IWA, you must complete and submit the application, including payment, by 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States, on Tuesday, August 10, 2021. If you have begun but not yet submitted the on-line part of an exam application when IWA becomes unavailable on August 10, your incomplete application will be deleted. If your application is deleted, you will be required to begin a new application in order to apply for examination.

 

 

Virtual Session on ECFMG|FAIMER Activities in Africa

The African Forum for Research and Education in Health (AFREhealth) and ECFMG|FAIMER invite you to join a virtual session on ECFMG|FAIMER activities in Africa. The session will highlight current work and future priorities and will cover ECFMG|FAIMER activities in critical areas such as health professions education, accreditation, and primary-source verification of medical credentials. The session also will include a presentation by Professor Francis Omaswa, Executive Director of the African Centre for Global Health and Social Transformation (ACHEST). The full session agenda is available here.

Hosted by AFREhealth, the session will take place on August 6, 2021, 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. GMT (10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. EDT). Registration is free and available here.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Detailed Information on Pathway 6 Now Available for Applicants and Physician Evaluators

Detailed information is now available on the ECFMG website for individuals planning to apply to Pathway 6 and for the physicians who will be evaluating their clinical skills. This new information includes step-by-step instructions for applicants and comprehensive information and instructions for physician evaluators. The on-line application process for Pathway 6 will open in August. Applicants should prepare now by reviewing this information carefully, identifying their physician evaluators if they have not already done so, and directing their physician evaluators to review the newly published information.

About the Pathways
The 2022 Pathways allow qualified international medical graduates who have not passed the former Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) component of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) to meet the clinical and communication skills requirements for ECFMG Certification and for participation in the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) 2022 Main Residency Match® (The Match®). Pathway 6 is for applicants who do not meet the eligibility requirements for Pathway 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 and/or have failed Step 2 CS one or more times. Pathway 6 requires an applicant’s clinical skills to be evaluated by licensed physicians through in-person clinical encounters.

OET@Home Available in August on Limited Basis

OET@Home, a version of the Occupational English Test (OET) Medicine that can be taken at home through remote proctoring, is available to certain Pathways applicants for test dates in August. OET@Home is available only to applicants who do not have a physical test venue (for paper-based or computer-based testing) in their country. Applicants with a test venue in their country should plan to take OET on paper or OET on computer at a physical test center to ensure that they test in time to meet Pathways requirements for participation in the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) 2022 Main Residency Match® (The Match®). Please  visit Test Dates and Locations on the OET website to determine whether there is a test venue in your country.

Eligible applicants can book OET@Home now on the OET website. If you have questions regarding OET@Home, please contact OET.

About the Pathways

The 2022 Pathways allow qualified international medical graduates (IMGs) who have not passed the former Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) component of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) to meet the clinical and communication skills requirements for ECFMG Certification and for participation in the 2022 Match. A satisfactory score on OET Medicine is required for IMGs applying to a 2022 Pathway. To meet ECFMG’s requirements, applicants must attain a minimum score of 350 (Grade B) on each of the four measured sub-tests of OET Medicine (Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking) in one test administration. Applicants must take OET Medicine on or before the last scheduled test date in December 2021. See the ECFMG website for more information.