IMG Update: Unraveling upcoming changes to ECFMG certification with Dr. Tomáš Petras

Gear up for an update on the ever-changing regulations for international medical students and graduates to practice medicine in the US. In this week's episode, our host Sophie Neale unravels the mysteries of the upcoming ECFMG requirement changes with the insights of Dr. Tomáš Petras, AMBOSS's new Educational Partnerships Manager! Join in as they dissect the effects on international students and share tips to help students navigate this brave new world. 

Read more:
Dr. Tomáš Petras: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomaspetras
ECFMG Certification for IMGs: https://www.ecfmg.org/certification-pathways/
World Directory of Medical Schools: https://www.wdoms.org/

AMBOSS Qbank Q: https://next.amboss.com/us/shared/questions/O7100INRUe/12
Book rec: "Four Thousand Weeks" by Oliver Burkeman from 2021: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/books
Fun fact: https://daily.jstor.org/the-1910-report-that-unintentionally-disadvantaged-minority-doctors/ 

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Read more at the AMBOSS blog: https://go.amboss.com/blog-ambosspod. 
Find out more about the AMBOSS podcast: https://go.amboss.com/int_podcast-23.  

Transcript

Sophie 0:22

welcome everyone to another episode of the Ambos podcast, beyond the textbook where we provide medical students and physicians with in-depth insights and expert knowledge that goes beyond your traditional medical textbooks. I'm your host, Sophie Neal, and today we're going to be touching on a topic that's critical for international medical students, the upcoming changes to the educational commission for foreign medical graduates. So the episode is going to shed some light on these changes and discuss how you can navigate this new landscape to successfully practice in the US as international graduates. But before we jump into our interview, Here's our question of the day, directly from the ambos. Step one study plan in the endocrine system. And of course, stay tuned for the answer coming up at the end of the episode. here you go. A healthy 31 year old woman comes to the physician'cause she's trying to conceive. She's currently timing the frequency of intercourse with at-home ovulation test kits. An increase in the levels of which of the following is the best indicator that ovulation has already occurred. A estrogen. B. Go-nad-o-tropin releasing hormone. C. Follicle stimulating hormone. D, progesterone, or E luteinizing hormone. To talk about today's topic, we have our special guest, Dr. Thomas Petra, who has recently joined our ambos team as the educational partnerships managers. We're so excited to have him here today. Thomas is a junior doctor from Slovakia, and as a student, he's been involved in many medical students associations locally, nationally, and internationally as well. So thank you so much for joining us today, Ash, and maybe you could start by telling us a bit more about yourself and your background.

Tomas 2:02

Thank you very much for inviting me to the podcast. So, I'm currently a junior doctor. From Slovakia, I joined Ambos as the educational partnerships manager where I try to develop partnerships and support the development of partnerships between ambos and medical faculties all around the world. Other than that I have had some experience with medical students associations I had the chance to represent the International Federation of Medical Students Associations, as the director of the standing Committee on medical education. So, penal education is a very close topic to me. I also had a chance to recently join the World Federation for Medical Education as the recognition team assessor And I'm also currently working a little bit on faculty development for my alma mater since I am helping them with the establishment and coordination of the medical education center.

Sophie 2:57

Amazing. Thank you very much for, as I said, joining us. We're, really happy to have you and really excited to talk about this topic because I know it's something that, some students are aware of, but others maybe not so much. And so Maybe you could explain what the current situation is for international students who are applying to sit the U S L E and how the educational commission for foreign medical graduates plays a role in that process.

Tomas 3:20

so, the United States Medical Licensing examination is a three step examination program for medical licensure in the United States focusing on foundational medical science which is typically obtained during the first two years of medical. School in the step one knowledge of clinical medicine in the step two, and also application of clinical knowledge to patient management in step three. So, the E C F M G, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical graduates certifies the international medical graduates who are essentially entering the United States Healthcare system. the E C F M G through the certification process really says that the international medical graduates do possess the competencies the skills to be able to practice in the United States. And this is very important. because 25% of all the doctors in the United States are international medical graduates. So you can imagine every fourth doctor comes from a different country and of course there is a question whether or not their medical school was up to a standard that is acceptable for the United States. So the E C F M G certification, is one of the eligibility requirements for IMGs to take step three of the US MLEs. And currently there are a couple of requirements to be eligible for the E C F M G certification. there are medical school requirements. Examination requirements and medical education credential requirements So, to satisfy the medical science examination requirement the applicants must pass step one and step two of the US MLEs, but also the occupational English test

Sophie 5:04

Oh wow. That's a lot of information, tomash so you mentioned the E C F M G. they made an announcement, that things would start changing from 2024 what does that change look like and what does it mean for international medical graduates?

Tomas 5:18

So, the change that will take place beginning from 2024 is physicians applying for E C F M G certification will be required to graduate from a medical school that has been appropriately accredited, on the world directory of medical schools, you can find your specific university and there you can find information whether graduates from this university are eligible for E C F M G certification.

Sophie 5:44

what would a student do in the case that their school actually isn't accredited

Tomas 5:49

a good question. So, currently there are two international bodies. I. Which recognize the accreditation agencies, which accredited the medical schools So one of them is the World Federation for Medical Education And the second is the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation, And they will report this to the World Directory of Medical Schools, which is accessible for anyone to search for their specific medical school and find this information So my advice would be to bring this topic towards their medical faculty, and facilitate the discussion between medical faculty, between the accreditation agency how to obtain accreditation.

Sophie 6:31

Yeah, that is really good advice. definitely something I think good to know from a student perspective. So in terms of keeping up to date with the news and how this will impact students after 2024, where's the best place students can go to find this out?

Tomas 6:45

currently the only, reliable resource is the E C F M G website. I know that it's updated regularly with the most current information. So I would definitely recommend anyone who is uncertain of how this will change. To go to the E C F M G website and There will be also the world directory of medical schools that they can refer to and find their medical school and whether or not the medical school fulfills the C F M G certification requirements.

Sophie 7:16

yeah, absolutely. So we'll definitely include those links in the show notes for anybody that wants to look that up and check them out So finally, if you could give our listeners any advice beyond the textbook, what would you say?

Tomas 7:27

my advice would be to not only develop your soft skills but also to represent the student voice when it comes to the quality of medical education, also to be part of the organization of your medical school. And you can join your medical students association. And if you do not have one, you can also create one. There are many international medical students associations, which will be more than glad. To support, you

Sophie 7:53

Amazing. That's really great advice. thank you so much for helping us to learn more about this important topic For any international students who are currently considering or starting their journey towards sitting the U S M L E exams, we have included a number of helpful and informative resources in our show notes today so don't forget to check those out. And of course, don't forget to have a look at our Ambos Question Bank, where you will find over 5,000 style questions and here, of course, is the answer to our earlier qbank questions. The answer is D, progesterone. Towards the end of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, a peak in estrogen levels triggers an LH surge, which induces ovulation. The corpus lutetium then begins to produce progesterone. An increase in progesterone levels is therefore an indicator that ovulation has occurred. Progesterone maintains the endometrium and inhibits this secretion of fsh, and LH throughout the lute phase of the menstrual cycle. If fertilization and implantation occur, the prediction of beta H C G maintains the corpus lutetium and this progesterone for the first weeks of pregnancy. Your book recommendation this week is 4,000 Weeks by Oliver Birkman, which introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing rather than denying their limitations. Hopefully, for those of you juggling med school, work life, and U S M L E balance, this not only will help but also provide some really thought provoking relief along the way, And finally, your medical fun fact of the day. as a consequence of the Flexner report published in 1910, many medical schools across the US actually closed. Prior to the report, the US had 148 medical schools, and after it initiated countrywide reforms, there were only 66 left. More than 50% of medical schools closed based on the recommendations of just one person. And that's it for today's episode of Ambos Beyond the Textbook. Thank you all so much for listening, and we hope today's topic's been helpful. For those of you who are considering or already starting your U S M L E journey, be sure to subscribe to our podcast for more insightful episodes, covering everything in healthcare and medical education. again, thank you so much, Thomas for joining us.

Tomas 10:02

Thank you very much for inviting me, Sophie.

Sophie 10:04

I'm Sophie Neil, and This has been ambos Beyond the Textbook.