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.
News
New Videos from USMLE: “Your USMLE Journey to Medical Licensure in the U.S.” and “Who is USMLE?”
Two new videos about the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) program are now available on the USMLE website for students, examinees, medical school faculty, and others.
“Your USMLE Journey to Medical Licensure in the U.S.” looks at what is covered on each Step exam, using colorful scenes and visual elements.
“Who is USMLE?” features program volunteers and committee members who help develop the exams, discussing the perspectives and principles behind work on a licensure examination.
The new videos are a great way to quickly understand the exams that comprise the three Steps of USMLE.
In addition, the USMLE website now includes an easy to locate page for quick access to all videos and podcasts supporting program information.
Keep checking the USMLE Announcements section for news, videos, and podcasts to stay aware of program updates.
New 2023 Accreditation Section of ECFMG Website
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
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.
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.
IMGs Participating in 2020 Match Should Apply for Step 2 CS Now
To participate in the National Resident Matching Program® (NRMP®) Main Residency Match®, international medical students/graduates must have passed all exams required for ECFMG Certification. If you plan to participate in the 2020 Match (in March 2020) and still need to pass Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS), you should register now to take the examination.
To help ensure that your result will be available in time to participate in the 2020 Match, you must take Step 2 CS by December 31, 2019. If you do not register now and schedule soon, it is possible that you will not be able to obtain a test date in 2019. At the time of this writing, the earliest available test date at any test center is in September 2019.
The USMLE program also strongly encourages medical students/graduates to schedule their exams early to obtain a testing appointment this year.
If you register and schedule now, you can change your scheduled testing appointment (subject to availability) at no cost, provided you give notice of more than 14 days.
For periodic updates on the availability of Step 2 CS testing appointments, follow ECFMG on Facebook and Twitter. Detailed information on the results reporting schedule for Step 2 CS is available on the ECFMG website.
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.”
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.
2020 Schedule for Reporting Step 2 CS Results is Available
The 2020 schedule lets examinees know when to expect results for a Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) exam. Click here to view the schedule.
Results Reporting Schedule for Step 2 CS
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2019 Reporting Schedule – Step 2 CS |
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|
Testing Period |
Reporting Period |
|
|
For examinees who test |
Reporting start date |
Reporting end date |
|
January 1 through January 26 |
March 6 |
March 27 |
|
January 27 through March 23* |
April 24 |
May 22 |
|
March 24 through May 18* |
June 19 |
July 17 |
|
May 19 through July 13 |
August 14 |
September 11 |
|
July 14 through September 7 |
October 9 |
November 6 |
|
September 8 through November 2 |
December 11 |
January 8 (2020) |
|
November 3 through December 31 |
January 29 (2020) |
February 19 (2020) |
*No Step 2 CS exams will be delivered March 22 through March 30.
|
2020 Reporting Schedule – Step 2 CS |
||
|
Testing Period |
Reporting Period |
|
|
For examinees who test |
Reporting start date |
Reporting end date |
|
January 1 through January 25 |
March 4 |
March 25 |
|
January 26 through March 28 |
April 29 |
May 27 |
|
March 29 through May 23* |
June 24 |
July 22 |
|
May 24 through July 18 |
August 19 |
September 16 |
|
July 19 through September 12 |
October 14 |
November 11 |
|
September 13 through November 7 |
December 16 |
January 13 (2021) |
|
November 8 through December 31 |
February 3 (2021) |
February 24 (2021) |
*No Step 2 CS exams will be delivered March 27 through April 4.
Note: In each scoring cohort there will be occasional dates when individual test centers or the entire testing network are unavailable. These are typically known in advance, and the dates will be displayed as unavailable when examinees schedule appointments.
For each “Testing Period” in the above schedule, Step 2 CS scores are released every Wednesday over a corresponding four-to five-week “Reporting Period.” It is expected that results for the vast majority of examinees who take the exam during the testing period will be reported on the first Wednesday of the Reporting Period. Results for 98%-99% of examinees who take the exam during the testing period are reported by the third Wednesday in a Reporting Period. For a small percentage of examinees (1%-2%), scoring and quality assurance may be not completed in time for these examinees to be reported by the first three reporting dates; these will typically be examinees who took the exam in the latter part of the testing period. Results for these examinees will be reported each week throughout the reporting period, and should be reported no later than the last day of the score reporting period.
This schedule allows USMLE staff to enhance the quality assurance and data collection/scoring procedures performed prior to score reporting. Additionally, it provides examinees, as well as others who rely on Step 2 CS results, with guidelines regarding when a result will be reported for a given exam date. These guidelines allow examinees to plan their exam registration and scheduling in order to have their results in time to meet specific deadlines, such as those related to graduation or participation in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), or “the Match.”
(posted June 4, 2008; updated June 27, 2008, June 16, 2009, May 26, 2010, July 19, 2011, September 29, 2011, March 30, 2012, June 22, 2012, February 26, 2013, June 20, 2013, June 26, 2014, January 14, 2015, April 16, 2015, July 2, 2015, May 3, 2016, January 9, 2017, April 20, 2017, April 18, 2018, April 5, 2019)
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.