From: masuda@fcs280b.ncifcrf.gov (Michiaki Masuda)
Newsgroups: sci.med
Subject: Re: Post-graduate study and foreign medical degree
Date: 2 Oct 92 23:23:50 GMT
Organization: Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center

In article <92268.114200ASCKN@ASUACAD.BITNET> ASCKN@ASUACAD.BITNET (Chee Ng) writes:
>Dear netters,
>
>   I have a quick question:
.....

   I tried to reply by e-mail, but it doesn't seem to have been delivered
correctly. I hope the orignal poster will find this posting.

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Original message follows:

Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 18:48:02 EDT
From: masuda@ncifcrf.gov
Message-Id: <9210022248.AA22558@fcs280b.ncifcrf.gov>
To: ASCKN@ASUACAD.BITNET
Subject: Re: Post-graduate study and foreign medical degree
Newsgroups: sci.med
Organization: Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center
Cc:

In article <92268.114200ASCKN@ASUACAD.BITNET> you write:
>Dear netters,
>
>   I have a quick question:  Is the FMGEMS (Foreign medical graduate
>examination in medical sciences) offered in U.S. embassies abroad?
>How much is the registration fee to take the exam?  How frequently
>is the exam offered?

    I am a graduate of a Japanese medical school and took the FMGEMS
in July, which I luckily passed.
    Because I was already in the US when I registered for the exam,
I obtained the information directly from ECFMG by mail. As I understand it,
there are branch offices of ECFMG in other countries, and applicants
should be able to get information through those offices. As Singapore
has an examination center, your sister-in-law might want to try to
find its address and/or phone number. The US embassy there might help
her to get that information, but the exam itself is held by ECFMG.

   Next exam is scheduled on January 19-20, 1993, and the deadline for
the application is October 20, 1992.

   The following one (the last FMGEMS; see below) is scheduled on July 13-14,
1993, and the deadline is April 14, 1993.

   Registration fee (effective January 1993) is:

     Basic Medical Science Component (Day 1 only)    $275
     Clinical Science Component and English test      275
      (Day 2 only)
     Day 1 and Day 2                                  450
     ECFMG English test only                           30
     Change of examination center                      25

   (Fees subject to change)

>   I am posting this question here after been frustrated by the
>ECFMG's (Education commission on foreign medical graduate) phone
>line at Philadelphia which is always busy all-day-long.

    I've never succeeded in calling them, and you would never, either.
After all, I wrote a letter to get information. In the letter, of course,
I didn't forget to point out their phone problem relatively offensively 8-).
Oh well, they didn't get so mad as to make me fail in the exam 8-).
If your sister-in-law finds the ECFMG in Singapore, it might be better for
her to contact them by herself. Alternatively, she could write to the 
Philadelphia office at 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2685, USA.

>  I am trying
>to gather info for my sister-in-law who has an M.B.B.S. degree
>from Singapore, and who intends to further her profession degree
>in pediatrics in U.S.A.

   As I understand it, what is called "USMLE Program" will be started in the
US in 1993. USMLE stands for United States Medical Licensing Examination.
The program consists of three steps. Step 1: Exam on basic medical science,
Step 2: Exam on clinical medicine, Step 3: Exam to test one's ability
to perform unsupervised medical practice. The FMGEMS will not be held after
July next year. Thereafter, a foreign medical graduate will have to pass
USMLE step 1 and 2 to be eligible for the ECFMG certificate.

   The good part of the new system is that after passing the step 3, one
can be eligible for medical licensure in the US. In other words, one could
become very rich (although I'm not willing to use this expression). Those
who already passed FMGEMS and have ECFMG certificate cannot skip the step
1 and 2 in order to get a license. Therefore, if your sister is thinking of
staying in the US for long as medical practitioner, USMLE instead of FMGEMS
is the one that she might want to take.

   On the other hand, if she is interested in getting some graduate training
in the US and going back to Singapore, she should not miss the last two
opportunities of FMGEMS. The reason is that what she needs is only ECFMG
certificate and that passing FMGEMS which is a 2-day exam and costs $450 is
good enough for the certificate. USMLE step 1, which is a 2-day exam, costs
$400, and the step 2, another 2-day exam, costs another $400.

   Information on USMLE is also available from ECFMG upon request. She
should decide her course depending on her long-term life plan.

>   Any help from you fellows out there is extremely appreciated.
>
>   Thanks and lots of God bless.

  I hope what you got is what she wants.

Let's wish her a good luck.

Michiaki Masuda, M.D., Ph.D.
Laboratory of Molecular Oncology
National Cancer Institute
Bldg. 469, Rm. 140
Frederick, MD 21702-1201
U.S.A.
E-mail address: Masuda@ncifcrf.gov
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