then we must try to find out what is the eact requirement for getting a ecfmg certificate. do we need to be a graduate of a foreign medical school or do we need to be a licensed praticing docotor in the country where we recerived our medical education? If practicing doctor is the requirement, then we are all going for year 6 in here. however, if all we need is to graduate from the medical school, then we can probably skip the 5th year of internado and go straight right into residency. from what I read in the ecfmg site, graduation diploma seems to be the only requirement. am I right or wrong?

Eligibility & Requirements

To apply for ECFMG Certification, you must be an international medical student or graduate. This means that your medical school is located outside the United States and Canada. U.S. citizens who graduate from such schools are considered IMGs and are eligible to apply for ECFMG Certification. Non-U.S. citizens who graduate from schools in the United States and Canada are not considered IMGs and are not eligible for ECFMG Certification.
Additionally, your medical school must be listed in the International Medical Education Directory (IMED) of the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER®). If you are a medical school graduate, your graduation year must be included in your school's IMED listing. If you are a student, the "Graduation Years" in IMED for your medical school must be listed as "Current." You can access IMED on the ECFMG website.

To be eligible for certification, you must graduate from a medical school that meets the requirements described above, and fulfill the following additional medical education credential requirements:

• You must have had at least four credit years (academic years for which credit has been given toward completion of the medical curriculum) at a medical school listed in IMED. There are restrictions on credits transferred to the medical school that awards an applicant’s medical degree that can be used to meet this requirement.
• You must document the completion of all requirements for, and receipt of, the final medical diploma. ECFMG will verify your medical school diploma with the appropriate officials of the medical school that issued the diploma and request that the medical school provide your final medical school transcript. Verification by ECFMG with the issuing school may also be required for transcripts that you submit to document transferred academic credits. Your credentials are not considered complete until ECFMG receives verification directly from the issuing school(s) and accepts this verification.

Applicants for ECFMG Certification must also satisfy the following examination requirements:

• Medical Science Examination. USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (Step 2 CK) are the exams currently administered that satisfy this requirement. Applicants register for these exams with ECFMG and take these exams worldwide at test centers of Thomson Prometric, a part of The Thomson Corporation. ECFMG also accepts certain former medical science exams to fulfill this requirement. Refer to the ECFMG Information Booklet for more information.
• Clinical Skills Requirement. USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills (Step 2 CS) is the exam currently administered that satisfies this requirement. Applicants register for Step 2 CS with ECFMG and take the exam at one of several regional clinical skills evaluation centers in the United States. Applicants who have both passed the former ECFMG Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA®) and achieved a score acceptable to ECFMG on an English language proficiency test (such as the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ [TOEFL®] or the former ECFMG English Test) can use these passing performances to fulfill this requirement. Refer to the ECFMG Information Booklet for more information.

Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 2 CS are the same exams taken by graduates of U.S. and Canadian medical schools. Detailed information on the USMLE is available on the USMLE website.
Refer to the ECFMG website for information on exam eligibility, fees, application, scheduling, test centers, preparation, and sample test materials.
is there any word in there that even mentioned anything about obtaining a praticing license.

Why does everybody quote the ECFMG site without looking at the IMED list. ECFMG follows IMED as the people who know about the curriculum. Although you may be able to go to Spain without two years, ECFMG goes by the IMED requirements of 6 years. This was made abundantly clear when I called ECFMG.

As of now, no matter what UAG gives you, you have to fulfill the IMED curriculum requirements. Read below:

"School Name
UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE GUADALAJARA

School Address
FACULTAD DE MEDICINAAV. PATRIA NO. 1201, LOMAS DEL VALLE 3AAPDO 1-440GUADALAJARAMEXICO Phone +523-33-610-0305 Fax +523-33-610-0229
Email uag@valuemd.com
Contacts
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE110 GALLERY CIRCLESAN ANTONIO, TX 78258USA800-531-5494 (phone)

Website
Bienvenidos a la Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara

Former Official Names of Medical School/University
Not Applicable

Degree Title
Titulo de Medico Cirujano

Graduation Years
1933 - Current Year

Instruction Began
1933

Language of Instruction
Spanish, English

Duration of the Curriculum
6 years

Curriculum Comments
A one-year internship, a one-year social service period and a Professional Examination are required for award of the final medical diploma, the Titulo de Medico Cirujano.

Entrance Examination Requirement
Yes

Foreign (Non-National) Students Eligible
Yes

Total Enrollment
Data not currently available.

Notes
The Medical Colllege Admissions Test (MCAT) is required for U.S. citizens."

I doubt very seriously that ECFMG is going to ignore the 6 year requirement just because UAG gave you a piece of paper. It requires the backing of the government and a change to these IMED requirements.

__________________

what is the exact requirement for qualifying for ecfmg requirement? do we need to have a praticing license (which requires the 6th year) or do we just need to finish the requirements to graduate from the college we attend our medical education (which is four years). if u simply examine the curriculum of the caribbean schools, there is one thing we must realize is that none of their graduates actually have a license that allows them to pratice back in their islands. am I simply looking at a technicality point?

[quote=Karplus;799646]Why does everybody quote the ECFMG site without looking at the IMED list. ECFMG follows IMED as the people who know about the curriculum. Although you may be able to go to Spain without two years, ECFMG goes by the IMED requirements of 6 years. This was made abundantly clear when I called ECFMG.

As of now, no matter what UAG gives you, you have to fulfill the IMED curriculum requirements. Read below:

"School Name
UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA DE GUADALAJARA

School Address
FACULTAD DE MEDICINAAV. PATRIA NO. 1201, LOMAS DEL VALLE 3AAPDO 1-440GUADALAJARAMEXICO Phone +523-33-610-0305 Fax +523-33-610-0229
Email uag@valuemd.com
Contacts
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE110 GALLERY CIRCLESAN ANTONIO, TX 78258USA800-531-5494 (phone)

Website
Bienvenidos a la Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara

Former Official Names of Medical School/University
Not Applicable

Degree Title
Titulo de Medico Cirujano

Graduation Years
1933 - Current Year

Instruction Began
1933

Language of Instruction
Spanish, English

Duration of the Curriculum
6 years

Curriculum Comments
A one-year internship, a one-year social service period and a Professional Examination are required for award of the final medical diploma, the Titulo de Medico Cirujano.

Entrance Examination Requirement
Yes

Foreign (Non-National) Students Eligible
Yes

Total Enrollment
Data not currently available.

Notes
The Medical Colllege Admissions Test (MCAT) is required for U.S. citizens."

I doubt very seriously that ECFMG is going to ignore the 6 year requirement just because UAG gave you a piece of paper. It requires the backing of the government and a change to these IMED requirements.

This is the IMED reading for St. Matthews in Belize says that only 4 years is needed.


School Name
ST. MATTHEW'S UNIVERSITY (BELIZE)
School Address
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
PO BOX 91
SAN PEDRO AMBERGRIS CAYE
BELIZE
Phone Data not currently available.
Fax Data not currently available.
Email Data not currently available.
Contacts DEAN
1750 WEST BROADWAY, SUITE 222
OVIEDO, FL 32765
USA
+407-977-8100 (phone)
+407-977-9269 (fax)

Website Data not currently available. Former
Official Names of Medical School/University
Not Applicable

Degree Title Doctor of Medicine
Graduation Years 1997 - 2002
Year Instruction Began 1997
Language of Instruction English
Duration of the Curriculum 4 years
Entrance Examination Requirement No
Foreign (Non-National) Students Eligible Yes
Total Enrollment Data not currently available.
Notes The medical school relocated to Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands in 2002.

If they applied with IMED that their curriculum is only 4 years than ECFMG accepts that it is only 4 years.

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from my personal experience and from what i know..you have to do the 6 years...
When i was applying for the usmle, the school told me to apply as a graduate since i had finished internado and servicio social ...and was just waiting to take my examen profesional..well the ecfmg didnt accept my application and told me to reapply as a student because in their words :
Based on the information in the letter you submitted to ECFMG, you have not yet completed all requirements to obtain the Titulo de Medico Cirujano from the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara. These requirements include completion of the pre-graduate internship, the social service year and the Professional Examination. According to information in your application, it appears that you are presently a student officially enrolled in the pre-graduate internship or social service components of the medical school curriculum or for the Professional Examination.
That is straight from the caballos boca as they say.
Also, as for spain ...2 things one .. i know a lot of guys were going there to work or do residencies but they did it after servicio social.
If people are going after internado there might be a program to do your servicio portion there OR spain might accept 5 years unlike the u.s.. Either way the only people i saw go to spain...a) went for rotations in their internado for a couple of months or b) went after they did servicio social.
This doesn't mean they couldnt' have gone right after internado but i didnt see it.

It seems that the true technicality would be the IMED information. So, what Karplus posted seems true, that the UAG would need to go to the IMED and change this info. It doesn't seem like it's a closed door, but they would just need to be proactive and go change that info. in their school listing. The Caribbean school, St. Matthews and others like it obviously chose to list 4 years in their curriculum information.

Benton, I am hurt to the quick. How could you doubt me???

__________________

Strong chance no more social service for private universities next year. Latin students say this, and I confirmed it with one of their teachers today. However, not a fact yet.

__________________
"You do not truly understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother." Albert Einstein