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Obtaining ECFMG Certification
U.S. graduate training for physicians generally involves completing
a prescribed period of clinical training in a chosen medical
specialty, usually called a residency. The Accreditation Council
for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredits such programs.
While entry to residencies is quite competitive, international
physicians have better chances to pursue U.S. study at this
level than at the first professional level.
To obtain residency positions or other training involving
patient contact, graduates of medical schools outside the
United States must pass a certification program administered
by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
(ECFMG). This certification program is designed to assure
both the U.S. public and directors of residency programs that
applicants from foreign medical schools have qualifications
comparable to U.S. medical school graduates. All graduates
of medical schools outside the United States and Canada (including
U.S. citizens who have graduated from medical schools not
accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education)
must meet ECFMG certification requirements.
For ECFMG certification, you will have to:
- Submit documents showing graduation from a medical school
listed at the time of graduation in the then current edition
of the World Directory of Medical Colleges.
- Submit documents showing completion of all educational
requirements to practice medicine in the country where your
medical education was completed. Physicians who are nationals
of the country where they were educated must also have a
license to practice medicine in that country.
- Pass both the basic medical science (Step 1) and clinical
science (Step 2) sections of the U.S. Medical Licensing
Examination (USMLE). These are computer-based examinations
administered at testing centers worldwide. Further information
is available from information and advising centers or from
the USMLE Web site at http://www.usmle.org.
- Pass the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA), which is a
test evaluating spoken English ability and clinical proficiency.
The CSA is currently administered at the ECFMG Clinical
Skills Assessment Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
in the United States. Physicians are eligible to take the
CSA only when they have completed all other ECFMG testing
requirements successfully.
- Achieve an acceptable score on the Test of English as
a Foreign Language (TOEFL), which is a computer-based English
language proficiency test administered at testing centers
worldwide. Further information is available from information
and advising centers or from the TOEFL Web site at http://www.toefl.org.
ECFMG can provide an information booklet, updated annually,
that contains further details on the certification process.
Contact the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates,
3624 Market Street, 4th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2685,
USA; Telephone: 215-386- 5900; Fax: 215-387-9963; Web site:
http://www.ecfmg.org.
In addition to ECFMG certification, some states require that
foreign medical graduates pass a third medical licensing examination,
the USMLE Step 3, prior to taking part in a residency. This
test is administered only in the United States.
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