Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates

Through its program of certification, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) assesses the readiness of international medical graduates to enter residency or fellowship programs in the United States that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

ECFMG acts as the registration and score-reporting agency for the USMLE for foreign medical students/ graduates, or in short, it acts as the designated Dean's office for the Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs), called nowadays as the International Medical Graduates (IMGs) in contrast to the American Medical Graduates (AMGs).

It conducts three examinations: Step 1, Step 2CK, Step 2CS. The ECFMG certificate is issued to a physician if he or she clears the above the three exams within a time period of seven years.

History
First established in 1956.