New Help for Foreign Medical Graduates

EducationUSA

The Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) is a world leader in promoting quality health care — serving physicians, members of the medical education and regulatory communities, health care consumers, and those researching issues in medical education and health workforce planning. ECFMG’s Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS), a support service developed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (an ECFMG member), has recently undergone advancements to further assist medical school students and graduates in applying for residency positions in accredited U.S. graduate medical programs. Among these developments, the number of international medical schools using ERAS has grown, with 95 schools now submitting documents electronically on behalf of their students and graduates. The ERAS new Letter Writer Portal has also been introduced to aid international medical graduates applying for U.S. post graduate training, by allowing letters of recommendation to be requested through and later uploaded directly to ERAS; this feature has seen success in accelerating this part of applying to U.S. programs. Also accessible through ERAS, on Thursday, February 9th, the National Resident Matching Program will be hosting an informational web conference on the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). This is one of multiple new web conferences, meant for both international medical schools and their students, which will include complete information on the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) implemented for Match week 2012, as well as information and guidelines for letters of recommendation, and information on the AAMC’s new release date for the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE).