Doctor

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

My heart goes out to you because I know where you're at. It is very overwhelming and a lot to learn. Am I right that you're the US citizen living in New York?

Here is the 2011 bulletin for USMLE CS . It's a PDF file so if you scroll to the last page it shows the locations for that exam. The closest location to New York is Philadelphia. There are five cities and Philadelphia has two locations so six testing centers total. The other exams are computerized and can be taken in most cities around the US and in some foreign countries.

I should also mention that the USMLE is not an equivalency exam. I used to think that when I first started learning about it six years or so ago. It's actually the same exact medical exam the American Medical Graduates (AMGs) take. Though they typically take the different Steps during different parts of their training. Some of the Steps for them are done during medical school and some of them are done during residency.

And here is the 2012 bulletin of information on the USMLE. This is what your spouse will really want to read to know the overview. It's about 39 pages long. Give yourself around 3 hours to read through it carefully and digest it. I know it's a lot to absorb.

Let us know if you have anymore questions.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

One more detail I should probably clarify. There are also the IMGs that are US citizens but they choose to go to medical school in foreign countries like the Caribbean, Ireland, ect. Not all IMGs need to be ECFMG certified by the rank order list deadline. There are countless Caribbean students and others who graduate on a similar schedule as the US medical schools. They are not ECFMG certified by the ROL deadline, but they are verified as long as they have passed all required exams. The difference would be between those IMGs that are graduated and those that are waiting to graduate on a similar schedule to AMGs and doing their USMLE Steps during medical school similar to the AMGs.

So graduated IMGs need to be ECFMG certified. Non-graduated IMGs will be verified as long as they passed all the required exams which are still the same as the certification. The certification in their case is issued upon graduation from the medical university. Verification during medical school is sufficient for the NRMP, but always be sure to check with the proper entities and sources if you have any questions.

Is your spouse already graduated from medical school? I assumed he was but I guess I should check first. I do know some IMGs currently in the States from Egypt doing a clerkship in Cleveland and they're taking their USMLE's while they're still in medical school on the same schedule as the AMGs. The process can be a little different for the two kinds of IMGs.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

My fellow MD spouses double checked my material posted here and they wanted me to make sure and let you know to not to read too much into what Wiki posts because they're sure it is definitely wrong. Their MD spouse(s) didn't have the ECFMG certification until a few days after their "intern" year started and they had to take those first few days as vacation days. It was very stressful for them.

Edited February 26, 2012 by ॐ

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Hey any updates on you guys?

[ainsn 13]

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation of the USMLE process for FMGs. My husband is finishing up his internship year (he'll be done in June) in Bangladesh, after which we're planing to take on the USMLE full on. For now we're just trying to prep for it and learn more about what he needs to do in the upcoming year or so. What would you advise we do at this stage in the game? Should he take his TOEFL before coming to the states? What kind of paperwork should he get together before he arrives in America so he can hit the ground running in relation to the USMLE process?

The good thing for us is that his first choice is family medicine or pediatrics, which already isn't as competitive as other specialties.

[sctdixon 6]

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation of the USMLE process for FMGs. My husband is finishing up his internship year (he'll be done in June) in Bangladesh, after which we're planing to take on the USMLE full on. For now we're just trying to prep for it and learn more about what he needs to do in the upcoming year or so. What would you advise we do at this stage in the game? Should he take his TOEFL before coming to the states? What kind of paperwork should he get together before he arrives in America so he can hit the ground running in relation to the USMLE process?

The good thing for us is that his first choice is family medicine or pediatrics, which already isn't as competitive as other specialties.

One of the most important things you can do "BEFORE" you leave your home country is to get every imaginable document related to your medical training translated into English if not already in English. Also, the ECFMG sent documentation to my wife's university to verify her education and they never responded. Luckily we were still in Peru and she was able to go back to the university in person to "prompt" them to return the documentation. That would've been impossible if we were already in the States. It took here numerous days and many hours back at her university to get everything addressed that the ECFMG needed.

I would be more than happy to help anybody else out with further information about this topic. Send me a PM and we can exchange emails as I don't frequent this site much more since we're back in the states.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation of the USMLE process for FMGs. My husband is finishing up his internship year (he'll be done in June) in Bangladesh, after which we're planing to take on the USMLE full on. For now we're just trying to prep for it and learn more about what he needs to do in the upcoming year or so. What would you advise we do at this stage in the game? Should he take his TOEFL before coming to the states? What kind of paperwork should he get together before he arrives in America so he can hit the ground running in relation to the USMLE process?

The good thing for us is that his first choice is family medicine or pediatrics, which already isn't as competitive as other specialties.

I'm glad this helped you. Seems if he is finishing up his intern year in Bangladesh then he will have time to register with the ECFMG. Like sctdixon mentions in the post below it will be most helpful to have access to his medical school to get the necessary paperwork in order. Otherwise your husband should designate a trusted friend or family member to run these medical school errands. That's what we did with our family back in Egypt. However, our family members that helped us are also doctors that have already been through the ECFMG process and knew what was needed and what else needed to be done. Someone who isn't familiar with the world of medicine might get easily lost.

Your husband won't need to take the TOEFL because that is part of the USMLE Steps. When you go to register with the ECFMG they will list all the required documents you'll need and they're the ones you'll want to verify everything with anyways. It's been some time since we first registered so things may have changed. I know that the USMLE Steps have even changed since we first began. We're two Steps down and one more to go to become ECFMG certified and eligible for the match and American Board Certification. We should be done with that by August this year because the applications for the match are in September and we have to have the results back in time for that.

Family Medicine, Pediatrics, OBGYN and Internal Medicine are the top four specialties IMGs get. It's not unheard of for them to land other specialties however. The NRMP prints a list of statistics each year after the match that show who matched in what and where. You just have to look around their site and find what you're looking for.

Also if he needs any study materials for the exams to try and get them before he comes over because they are astronomically priced here. We were able to get everything we needed in his home country for Egyptian prices which is a fraction of the USA prices.

One of the most important things you can do "BEFORE" you leave your home country is to get every imaginable document related to your medical training translated into English if not already in English. Also, the ECFMG sent documentation to my wife's university to verify her education and they never responded. Luckily we were still in Peru and she was able to go back to the university in person to "prompt" them to return the documentation. That would've been impossible if we were already in the States. It took here numerous days and many hours back at her university to get everything addressed that the ECFMG needed.

I would be more than happy to help anybody else out with further information about this topic. Send me a PM and we can exchange emails as I don't frequent this site much more since we're back in the states.

^This. Register and take care of the medical school paperwork and translation of documents with the ECFMG before coming to the States if you can manage it. Otherwise it may became a much bigger headache than needed. Also he can take Step 1 and one part of Step 2 abroad before he arrives but don't take a Step unless he's ready because you only get one shot to pass and once you pass that's the score you're stuck with. If you fail then you can take it again but failing a Step doesn't look good either.

Edited March 8, 2013 by Dr. A ♥ O