ECFMG CERTIFICATE : Basics & The Fine Points

First let's tackle a basic question. "How Does the ECFMG certificate actually look ?" Well guys, .simply check out mine : Click on the image below to enlarge.





Second basic Question : Do you need to be ECFMG certified to apply for ERAS or Residency Match ?


Technically speaking, No ! You don't need to be ECFMG certified to either apply to Residency Programs OR to register for the NRMP Residency Match . However, you do need to be ECFMG certified before Programs submit their Rank Order Lists , which happens by Mid-February of the Year of the Match. (i.e. if you are thinking 2008 Residency Match , you should aim to be ECFMG certified before the 2nd week of February 2008 ). And here are the words from the University of Alabama Internal medicine website:

"An ECFMG certificate is not required at the time of application, but in order for IMG’s to be considered for an interview, they must have completed USMLE Steps I and II and the CSA exam when submitting their applications (or the scores must be available prior to a scheduled interview). IMG’s who are interviewed for this program MUST provide documentation (an ECFMG letter of certification or an ECFMG certificate) to our office PRIOR TO February 15, 2006"

Now, that was 'Technically'. These days, with increasing competetion, some programs may even wanna see you ECFMG certified before they can review your application - which means, you will need to call the programs u intend to apply to and find out the policy for the year...


When do you get the ECFMG Certificate ?

The Certificate usually arrives within 2 weeks after you have received ALL THREE SCORES (Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS), PROVIDED all your medical credentials have been verified with your medical school by then. Thus, if the last exam you took was the Step 2 CK, the Certificate will arrive within two weeks of the score reporting date for Step 2 CK on OASIS - unless ofcourse, you medical school has not yet verified your credentials with ECFMG. If not, then it will arrive 2 weeks after your credentials have been verified - *Duh* ;-)

Do you need to "apply" for it ?

No, there is no need to apply -ECFMG will send it you on their own , once you are qualified for the certificate.

Anyways, there are some more things I would like you to know about the certificate.

1. For those of you who will have applied to programs through ERAS before being "certified", its good to know that even though the "physical paper ECFMG certificate" arrives to you after two weeks and all - the programs that you apply to will receive your certification status electronically much before you, as an updated transcript. This fact may be useful for those few of you who may happen to play a tight rope-walk with time during the 2007 match (or any other match). Indeed some programs may convey to you that unless you are certified before they submit their candidate rank order lists in mid-february, they will not rank you.

2. Step 3 Application needs you to be ECFMG certified - they need the date of your ECFMG certification. Hence you can only apply for Step 3 AFTER you receive the Paper Ceritificate by mail.

Hmmmmmm..just remembered something else - Some pals told me that the day you get the ECFMG certificate, you can legally label yourself "MD" in the USA - I am not totally sure of how qualified that statement is , coz even the fact that you graduated from a med school makes you an "MD" here. Read more about this IMGs calling themselves MD issue officially on the American Medical Association Website.

Anyways...one more blog post and one more drop added to your ocean of working knowledge = another reason to smile :-)








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