The MATCH

A document for all your questions concerning the MATCH

Mohammad Aladawi 4/20/20

 )‫(بسم هللا الرحمن الرحيم‬

Dedication:
For my family, friends, and all of those who are supportive.
Dr. Ahmad Alarmouti, Dr. Omar Alqaisi, and Dr. Mohammad Akkawi for helping me in writing few
sections of this documents.
Deceleration:
This work is done in the intent of helping new applicants in applying for the match and being successful
in matching. The idea behind this work is that during the MATCH season I’ve always thought that things
can be smooth if someone has walked me through the process and it’s details beforehand. So, this
document will hopefully be part of the solution.

1
Index
Topic Page
Overview 3
ERAS 3
ERAS token 3
ERAS Application notes on filling the application 4
Documents 6
Applying to programs 9
Receiving invitations and asking for them 10
Interviews 11
Interview logistics 11
The interview day 12
Post interview communication 14
USMLE step 3 14
NRMP & ranking 15
MATCH Week 16
SOAP 16
separated topics 17
ECFMG certification 17
USMLE step 3 18
Visa sponsorship 20
Few notes and the feedback form 21

2
 overview:
The MTACH journey consists of the following:
a. Doing your USMLE steps: 1, Ck, and CS
b. Applying and uploading your documents using ERAS
c. Using the NRMP and submitting your rank list
d. The MATCH day/SOAP.
e. The onboarding and moving in to start your residency
2. In this document we will discuss only the parts in bold and few Separated topics (Step3, visa
sponsorship, etc.)

ERAS:
ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service®) is the website where applicants upload all the
required documents for residency application.
We will discuss the following:
1. How to create an account on ERAS.
2. The needed documents for ERAS.
a. USMLE transcripts.
b. C.V.
c. Personal statement.
d. MSPE.
e. LORs.
3. How to choose and apply for programs.
4. How to book interviews and reply to messages.

Eras token
To access ERAS, you should buy ERAS tokens. Then, you will be able to create your residency
application and upload your documents.
The tokens are Obtained in the ERAS Support Services section of ECFMG’s OASIS. From this link
The purchase start date is usually on June 25th. It usually costs around 130$.
Once you purchase the token you can create your username and password.

ERAS Application
The application consists of three sections:
1. Application section
2. Documents upload
3. Program application

3
 The first section (Application) requires the applicant to fill simple biographic and personal
information and information about your education (achievements, work experience, volunteer
experience, research experience, and publications).

 This information will be autogenerated into a document that represents your C.V, which will aid
program directors, coordinators and interview committees to decide whether to send you an invitation
or not. In addition, a fair amount of interview’s questions will be about your CV in which you will be
asked about the things that PDs and interviewers find interesting in your application.
The sections of the application are:

1. Personal information:
Includes name, AAMC number, address, citizenship, USMLE ID, Alpha Omega Alpha status, Gold
Humanism Honor Society Status

2. Biographic information:

Includes self-identification (Hispanic, Asian, African American, etc), Language fluency, military
information

3. Education:

Includes the name of your medical school, degree awarded, whether you had post graduate education
or not, medical school awards, membership in honorary/professional societies, other
awards/accomplishments

4. Experience:

Includes Work, Research, and Volunteer experiences. Please see details below

5. License:

Questions about your medical license (if applicable), misdemeanor/felony convictions

6. Publications:

Please see details below

7. Others:

Hobbies, language fluency.

notes on filling the application:

4
Experience:

Consists of the following sections (Volunteer experience, Work experience, Research experience)

For the volunteer and work experience section you don’t simply write were you have done them, but you
need to fill in more details like (duration, average work hours, name of the supervisor and the institution,
and a concise description on your role).

Work experience includes anything you have done, including the electives and observer-ships you have
done during medical school.

Make sure to write a concise and interesting description, to make the descried experience more legit and
apealing for discussion during the interview.

Here is an example on both the volunteer and work experience and the related information needed to be
filled in the application.

Example of the volunteer Experience

10/2018 - Present (start and end date)

Amboss, Amman, Jordan (Institution name and location)

Ambassador, Karim Abdelmotaleb (Position and supervisor name)

• Took part in introducing Amboss medical library and Qbank for students at The University of Jordan.

• Organized events for the providence of offers and reasonable group discounts for Amboss library and question bank
subscription for the students of The University of Jordan.

• Assisted in various suggestions for the company to improve its website platform. (description)

Example on the work experience

03/2019 - 04/2019 Average Hours/Week: 60

University Hospitals: Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States of America

Visiting medical student, Neurology acting internship, Bashar Katirji, M.D., F.A.C.P

• Participated in direct patient care in both inpatient and outpatient services. Took prime responsibility for patient care
by taking medical history, performing neurological examination and writing orders under direct supervision from the
house staff and the attending physicians. • Attended daily noon conferences and weekly neurology grand rounds and
participated in presenting seminars.

Research experience:

It’s something different than the publications. In this section you can fill in a work experience related to
research like (lab assistant, research assistant, post-doctoral research fellow, etc…). In addition to that
you can write the project you have worked on, the description of your work, and a briefing of the results/
achievements of you work. Here is an example.

5
 11/2017 - 12/2018 Average Hours/Week: 4

Medical Student Research Club University of Jordan, Jordan

Research assistant, Mamoun Ahram

Objective: Implementation of a spectrophotometric Biotinidase assay using dried blood spots.

Method: collecting dry blood spots from normal adults and neonates to establish a reference range of enzyme activity
for normal controls and compare the enzyme activity level between controls and patients diagnosed with Biotinidase
deficiency, by using Spero-photometric assay to calculate the enzyme activity.

Role: Preparing proposal; Recruiting participants; taking dried blood spot samples, Laboratory work; Data
management.

Achievement: The idea was presented as a poster presentation by me at a local research forum. The assay was
implemented to be used as a routine screening test for neonates at Jordan University Hospital (JUH).

Publications:

In this section you are eligible to add all the publications you have done (Abstracts, posters, oral
presentations, and even unpublished ones that are either submitted or accepted for publication).

Hobbies:

This section is usually underrated by applicants and overrated by program directors. You will be
surprised that a lot of interviewers will break the ice at the beginning of the meeting by discussing your
hobbies. Take this section seriously, make it interesting and don’t underestimate its importance

Keep in mind not just to write your hobby, but also to write a brief description on how you learnt it and
what you like most about it. Etc.… just to make it more interesting.

Here is a link for a C.V sample for a past match applicant

C.V

Documents:

The second section to be filled in Eras, as said earlier this section includes the following:

1. USMLE transcripts.

USMLE transcripts refers to your USMLE scores, in this section the only thing needed is press
“authorize release, in which your transcripts will be visible to the programs you are applying to

2. Personal statement.

6
 From its name it’s something personal, so whatever videos or things you read online. You won’t
find a standardized way to write it. But there is a few tips that you can take into consideration in
writing it.

It must talk about your experience in the desired specialty you are applying to not about the
specialty or the qualities you like in the specialty you are applying to.

It’s not recommended to write about something that happened to one of your family members. I
know that you may find it special but think of it this way: you have lived for 25 years and it’s
only natural to experience death/ disease of a loved one (mother, brother, father, uncle, friend,
etc.…).

Consider the personal statement as the document where you write things that couldn’t be
mentioned or justified in your application (C.V). For example: Low step scores, failed attempt,
a story of a publication that has not been submitted/ accepted yet.

Don’t try to copy form others.

The personal statement is really important, and it has substantial weight on you application. Don’t
look at it as the cheery on top of the cake. It’s part of the cake. It might take much time than
you anticipate so don’t delay it till the last days of the application

The last paragraph is usually a closure to write you are interest in a program. Since IMGs usually
apply to many programs, they write a generic one that fits all programs. But if you are super
interested in a specific program. Try to write a personalized paragraph about the qualities you
find in this program and how it’s related to your ambitions and why you are a perfect fit for this
program.

Attached here a sample of a generic personal statement and a specific one.

3. MSPE and medical school transcript:

 MSPE or Dean’s letter:

This refers to the medical school evaluation, in this document all the departments that you have
rotated in are supposed to write an evaluation about your performance. In Jordan the MSPE has
always been written by the students and then sent to the medical school to be stamped, singed
and uploaded. Here is a sample MSPE that can be used for students applying for the match. Few
edits and notes can be added, like your rank and percentile at the summary in the end. Sample
MSPE

 Medical school transcript:

Basically, your grades.

7
4. LORs.

It’s much better to have US LORs. Most matched applicants had 2-3 US LORs.

There are two types of LORs (Waived and Uploaded). Waived LOR are the ones you “waive”
your right to see it contents and ask the author of the LOR to upload it for you.

Waived LOR usually have more weight than the unwaived ones.

Although having your LOR waived. If you suspect that your author might write you a generic
LOR or one that contains something that harms your application, in this case it’s better to upload
it yourself and since you can see it and decide whether to upload it or not.

If you are asking for a waived LOR, what happens is the following:

In ERAS you will write you LOR author name, his job title (PD, chief of department, assistant
professor), and his email. There is an option to send an email for him. When you click it an email
from ERAS will be sent to him requesting a LOR. He replies to the email by uploading it and then
a notification will be sent to you by ERAS that the LOR is being processed and it will be uploaded
to your residency application soon.

Important note: Keep in mind that the LOR processing takes time and it varies (might take up to 2
days), this depends on how busy the server is. So, as an advice, it’s better to upload them early
and before the deadline. The earlier they are uploaded the less time it takes for their processing.

It’s advised to ask for them as soon as you buy the ERAS token. Since its something the applicant
don’t prepare but the LOR author, and sometimes LOR authors require a long time to respond
and write the letter.

Home university LOR: ERAS permits the using for 4 LOR at max for each program. It’s always
preferred to upload one of them from your home university, preferably from the head of
department of the specialty you are applying for. Since this LOR is usually the first and in most
of the cases the only thing that the PD and the interviewing committee will read from the other
documents that are from your medical school (MSPE. School transcript). Most likely if you ask a
physician from your home school to write you a letter, he will ask you to write it yourself and
then sent it to the medical school secretary to upload it (Ms. Haifa in case of UJ).

So you write the LOR, sent it to the physician (Author) to sign and stamp it. Then you write his
name on ERAS, add the secretary email (careful) so she can upload it to you as a waived LOR
and email her/him with the LOR request. Then you scan it and send it to the him/her to upload it
for you.

Here is an LOR sample that you can use to write you home school LOR.

5. Personal Photo:

A photo of you, needs to be taken in a white background and neutral facial expression.

8
 Applying to programs:

You simply search for programs you are applying to. Then beside each program there is the word
assign documents (LOR., MSPE, etc.). Simply by clicking this button you will automatically assign
these documents to these programs.

Important questions:

1. How to choose my programs.

2. The preferred number of applied programs
3. Are my documents visible.

How to choose my applied programs.

Depends to the applied specialty:

Some specialties have limited number of programs, so it won’t be hard to apply either to all of them
or filter out form this list of available programs (extremely prestigious programs, extremely poor
programs).

In cases of specialties that contain very high number of programs (internal medicine +500 program).
This requires a good screening process in order to filter out and create a list that guarantees that you
will receive a good proportion of interviews from the programs list that you created.

How to filter programs:

The best possible way is to gather all the programs that your seniors have interviewed at and apply
to them (most of the interviews you have received are usually form places where your seniors have
matched/interviewed). I think this is the possible way.

Add to this list places where you have done your electives/ observer-ships.

Useful websites:

1. Frieda website:

 This is a search engine for residency programs. You can filer the programs according to their
visa sponsorship, IMG percentage, and other features. This site is a bit outdate and the next one
(AAMC) is much more updated and uses a screening criterion according to your scores,
experience, etc.…

2. AAMC residency explorer

3. Doximity:

9
 This website also filters the programs according to their reputation and it contains reviews on
programs from previous and current residents. This website might be more valuable during the
ranking as well.

These are the ground rules to select your programs. Although deciding the best programs with the
highest chance of getting an interview from. Usually IMGs applies to 100-150 program. But still
it’s better to choose your programs wisely as this will severely affect your total number of
interviews and your matching opportunities.

Once you make your mind about your programs, you can apply to them. Your application and
documents won’t be visible to them until the application deadline, usually on September 15th.

Important note: While assigning your documents to the applied programs. Keep in mind that
some of these decisions can’t be edited. For example, when you assign a LOR to a program, you
can withdraw it and assign another one. So, be careful.

Receiving invitations and asking for them:

In the Match 15th of September is an important date. This is the date when you are supposed to
finish your application and the date when programs can see it.

Now interview invites usually starts on the last week of September till the first half of
November. Depending on the specialty you are applying to. Some specialties can start as early as
Sep the 16th like neurology. So you need to be aware of this.

Any way between Sep 15th and the day when invitations are sent there is a window period of 10-
14 days. What to do in it? Sending emails to any faculty that you think he can help in sending
you an invite. Preferably you can send him a concise email that shows your achievements and
attached with it your C.V. Here is an example:

Dear Dr.

I hope this e-mail finds you well. I’m Mohammad Aladawi a graduate from the University of
Jordan class of 2019. I’m writing this email to express my sincere interest
in xxxxx neurology residency program. I hope that you can consider my application for an
interview at your respected department.

My credentials are (2xx/2xx) step 1 & 2 scores, step 2 cs first attempt pass, X US clinical
experiences in neurology, and X publications in neurology.

Kindly note that I’ve attached my C.V for more information, my AAMC ID (xxxxxxx).

Best regards
Xxxxxxxxx,

10
Email physicians as much as you can, if it didn’t help you it won’t harm you. So, don’t worry.
What to do after reviewing an invite:
Answer: book/ reply as soon as possible: There are too many applicants that have received an
invite the same time you did, so you need to book your interview date the minute you receive the
email, or you will be waitlisted.

How the invitations are sent:

1. Either on the ERAS messaging and calendar: In this case ERAS will show you the available
interview slot and you need to pick one from them.
2. Through personal email: You need to reply to the Program coordinator ASAP. Usually they
ask you to send three options and list them according to your preference.
3. Through other websites and applications: In this case you click on the calendar on the website
and It will book the date for you. Examples of these websites are (Interview broker,
thalamus)
Once you book your interview, wait until you receive a confirmation email which might takes
hours to days. The program should always send a conformation, in cases they didn’t email them
back and ask.
Important note: Don’t plan a rigid date for the (arrival, departure) as you might plan to have
interview X as your first interview and then a program that you are interested in sends you an
invite on an earlier date. So, you need to be flexible.

Interviews:
In the interviews there is few important points to have a positive interview experience:
1. Plan & Logistics.
2. The interview day.
3. Post interview communication.
4. Step 3

Interview logistics
(By: Omar Alqaisi)

The MATCH process is quite costly, but you can do many things to reduce these costs, it starts from
applying to the appropriate number of programs, in this section the focus will be on during the
MATCH season.
Picking your staying place: there are many options, but the best is Airbnb, rotating rooms, expedia,
and the hotels provided by the program you are interviewing at (usually for free or for a discounted
rates).

11
 Rotating rooms is recommended over Airbnb, as most of the time they are cheaper especially if you
are alone and staying for some time in one place.
You can also organize your interviews as much as possible with your friends who share the same
interviews as you, and so you can share the cost, you can also contact your friends, Jordanian
residents or relatives in these places as they may be able to accommodate you for your time there.
Try to book a place close to grocery stores/restaurants. So that you can by your essentials easily, and
of course close the hospital you are interviewing in.
Try and organize your interviews by their geographical location i.e. Schedule interviews for programs
that are near each to make booking options easier. Though since the availability of the interviews is
not ideal. This might not work.
If you are applying for internal medicine, most of the IMG friendly programs are in the East coast
region, so bear that in mind as you will be spending some time in that area. having the perfect
schedule can be challenging, but as you receive more interview invitations, your schedule will start to
become clear.
The key to getting the best place and prices is scheduling early, so don’t leave booking to last minute.
It’s a personal preference picking travelling either vis buses or flights, sometimes it will be more
convenient picking buses over planes, especially for travelling up to 7-8 hours
If travelling by bus takes more time than that, it’s better to choose flight. You don’t want to be tired
the whole time during your season
Sometimes the buses overheat or stop for maintenance. This might cause a significant delay on you
time of arrival and might cause you to miss the pre-interview dinner or the interview itself. So, if
you are going by bus keep in mind to arrive at least the morning before the per interview dinner.
You can use public transportation or uber/lift for commuting, some cities especially big ones like
NYC have a well-established public transportations system that are even faster than uber, and of
course way cheaper!
Naturally, you will reduce your costs if you cook your own food or buy some good frozen food,
compared to ordering your meals from restaurants the whole time.

The interview day

The interview day consist of the pre-interview dinner and the interview day.
1. The pre-interview dinner:
Is just an informal dinner were all the applicants and the residents gather in a friendly way around the
dinner table, to hear the applicant thoughts about their MATCH season and specific question about the
program.
The usual dress for this dinner is business casual (Shirt and a decent pants “No jeans”).

12
This day is important in many ways:
 It helps you in breaking the ice between you and the applicants so you can have a relaxing and
smooth interview day.
 It’s your chance to ask many questions to the residents that you might not have the chance to ask
during the interview day.
 You can ask the type of questions that you might hesitate to ask the formal interview committee.
Questions that mainly concerns your life as a resident (Housing, cost of living in the city, details
regarding he academic schedule, resident’s satisfaction about the program).
 You have the best chance to observe the relationship between the residents, the residents’
demographics (are there a good percentage of IMGs of the residents).
 You can ask the residents about their future plans and see if program provided them with the
support and guidance need to satisfy their goals.
 This dinner is important as some residents may push for you and put few good words about you
during the ranking.

2. The interview day:

The interview day is the day you get to meet the faculty. In this day there are too many activities and
that’s what makes it a long day.
The activities include (grand rounds, program director presentation, morning interviews, tour, and
then lunch).
The applicants are usually divided into two groups those who interview in the morning and the others
who interview in the afternoon. While you are not interviewing, you will usually have a tour around
the hospital.
The most important and might be stressful for the applicant is the interviews:
The interviews are usually four periods in each one you will interview with one faculty member and
each one lasts for 15 -20 minutes.
Think of the interview as a chat, because that how it is.
Don’t except to be the one who is always asked, and the one who needs to impress the interviewer.
You might carry the burden that you need to MATCH and secure a residency position. But keep in
mind that the PDs and the interviewing committee are as stressed as you are since they need to get
the best possible applicants for their program as well. So, don’t walk in with the “Please take
me!!” mentality. But instead, ask questions during the interview, be genuine and proud of what you
have done so far.
In this file I have gathered all the common and mostly asked questions during the interview.
During the interview, there is a part where the interviewer asks you “What questions do you have for
me”. So, you need to be prepared for that. There are few important points here:
1. Read about the program the day before the interview.
2. Ask questions that really matters, not just fancy questions e.g. (How many calls you should do a
month, fellowship opportunities, funding, etc.)

13
Don’t consider this part of the interview as a chance to show your interest in the program, you have
already done that by coming to the interview. This part of the interview should be used to know more
about the program.

Post interview communication

When you finish the interview, just for curtesy you can send the program coordinator and the
interviewing committee an thank you email to since they have taken the time to read and review
your application. There is no need to do more than that (like sending a thank you card or a letter -
please don’t embarrass yourself by doing so-).
As said before it’s just about being polite. It won’t affect your chances at all in matching.
Even if you receive a reply from the PD. Don’t have any impression about it. It means nothing.
Here is an example on an email that has been sent to an applicant form a PD and in the end, he didn’t
match at their program.
The email can either be generic or personal. It depends on how you interviewed and what did you
discuss during the interview.
Send the email few days after the interview, preferably before the program interviews the next set of
applicants.

Letter of intent
During the MATCH season you will hear about a term called letter of interest. It’s something that you
can write at the end of the MATCH season (late January, early February) when the programs are
about to start the ranking.
As we have pointed earlier, post interview communication doesn’t carry much weight on the ranking,
but if you think that you want to write one, It’s advised to only write an email for your top program
that you have ranked him as your number one choice.
Please to send emails to all programs that you have ranked them HIGH. As such emails have no
meaning and they won’t help you at all.

USMLE step 3
It’s advisable to take step 3 during your interview season, your CK knowledge is still quite fresh, and
just to get it over before the start of your residency.

14
But, the most important reason is getting the H1b VISA, as it’s a requirement of this VISA, you may
be not considering this visa, but it’s always advisable to have the luxury of choosing especially if
your program offers both.
In addition, doing step3 and getting your passing score during the interview season might push you a
little in the ranking especially if you are applying to a specialty other than internal medicine.
For now, the score of your step 3 exam is of no significant value, but this might change in the future
due to the recent decisions regarding the step 1 score.
A drop of 20 degrees from your average step 1 and ck scores is totally anticipated in step 3.
For more information about the booking and the exam preparation, please refer to the step 3 section.

NRMP & ranking

Overview:
The ranking: is to rank the program you have interviewed at in a list with an order according to your
preference.
There are two ranking lists that decides which program you will match in: the one you submit and
another one the programs submit; in which they rank all the applicants they have interviewed.
After that an algorithm is preformed to match you and the program that had ranked you. Here is a
video that shows how the ranking algorithm works.

How to register to the NRMP:

NRMP sends an email to those who applied to the match using ERAS, they give you a deadline to log
in and register. Deadline is usually on November 1st and the fees are 80$. Late registering costs
additional fees
Once you register you will receive and account and an NRMP ID. You will need it for your access to
the ranking list. Usually you are eligible to start ranking the programs at the end of January when
most of the programs have finished their interviews. The deadline for the rank list is usually Feb 26th.

Few tips on ranking:

Rank only according to your preference and your feeling about the program the day you have
interviewed.
Ranking and choosing your preferred program is a life choice, so it’s something that can’t be
standardized. You are the one who decide what matter the most about a program.
Don’t forget to click certify and submit button in the website. If you don’t do that your ranking list
won’t be uploaded and it will look like you haven’t interviewed at all. So, this is very important.

15
The website we mentioned earlier {Doximity} contains review about each program from current/ past
resident. It can be used to see more impressions about a program, in case you aren’t sure how to
rank.
If you feel like there is a program that you completely hated in and you would like to un match rather
than matching in this program you have the option of not adding it to your ranking list.

MATCH Week
MATCH week is the week when the match results are announced. This week is usually during mid-
March.
At the beginning of this week “Monday” you will receive and email stating whether you
MATCHED of not.
And at the end of the week you will receive an email stating at which program did you MATCH.
For those who didn’t MATCH, they are eligible to participle in SOAP. To apply for programs that
still have an unfilled position.
SOAP takes place during the MATCH week period as well. “Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday”
Keep in mind that its always better to do everything you can to secure a residency spot. But for
SOAP, the chances are usually slim as all programs at this stage will favor US seniors and IMGs
with a green card.
After you know where you did MATCH, the program will send you a welcoming email, followed
then by the documents you need to fill to (visa application, licensure, background information, etc.)

SOAP
(By: Mohammad Akkawi)

SOAP stands for Supplemental offer and acceptance program.

The Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP) is the process through which unmatched
residency positions are filled by unmatched residency applicants during Match Week.
Unmatched applicants can access the list of unfilled programs through the NRMP website.
The application process is done through the ERAS, and applicants must re-assign their documents,
transcripts and personal photo to the saved programs once again.
Each applicant can apply up to 45 programs.
If an applicant has already applied to the NRMP match, then there is no Fees to participate.
Otherwise, he/she will have to pay ERAS base fees (99$) to participate

16
 Soap has three rounds in which applicants can accept or reject offers, and each round is 2-hours
long.
Applicants can`t contact unfilled programs through emails, phone, or fax unless the program contacts
them first. However, applicants can contact the remaining programs after Soap ends after the third
round.
For more details, you can refer to the webinar that was made by ECFMG for SOAP 2020.

This concludes all needed information for the MATCH. The rest of the documents will talk about the
following separated topics.
I. ECFMG certification
II. USMLE step 3 booking and sources
III. Visa sponsorship
IV. Few notes and the Feedback form

ECFMG certification
To be ECFMG certified there are two requirements:
1. Doing all the steps (1, CK, CS)
2. Having your credentials verified: (uploading and verifying your medical school transcripts and
diploma)
This section mainly concerns those who have done their steps before graduation and are applying for the
match cycle right after their graduation.
A minority of students apply for the match the at the year of graduation, right after they take their step 2
CK exam {usually in August}. That is being said they have a short time to get their credentials verified
{school transcript and the medical diploma}.
For those who are taking their steps after graduation this is not a problem, since they need to get their
credentials verified before booking for the exam.
So, if you are a fresh graduate who is applying for the match, here is a list of tips on how to do and to get
your ECFMG certificate on the time of your application.
 First after you have booked your CK exam {as a student}, even though your exam is on August.
It’s better to purchase the ERAS token. Ask for your LORs and start working on your
credentials
 After the graduation ceremony (the day you will receive the diploma). Do the following: Ask
for an English translation for the diploma either for your medical school, or have it translated
from a professional translator.

17
  If you had your diploma translated by a professional translator, you need to ask the translator
to put this stamp, to make this document certified as being translated by a professional translator.
 Have all the following (Medical diploma and medical school transcripts in both the original
language and the English language) stamped by the ministry of high education for both offices
(The main one and ‫)مكتب الخارجيه‬
 Download (My ECFMG) application
 Then in the app go the credentials section and upload the four documents mentioned above
 After that you will wait a period of 10-14 days to get them verified, once that is done the ECFMG
will send your school an email asking them to re-upload those documents. You will receive an
email from the ECFMG as well.
 Once you have this email you have your (medical school transcripts and diploma in English only
for this time) and go to the school secretary office (Ms. Haifa in case of UJ) and send her the
documents so she can upload them for you
 After that the status of the application will change that your credentials are being verified by the
ECFMG.
 The process will ideally take 10-14 days Keep in mind if you are doing this process at the end of
August, it will take more time and your documents might be ignored by the ECFMG since
they are being super busy at this period {As you know this is the time were the website receives
too many documents as the deadline for the ERAS application is approaching}
 So, in this case you need to call the ECFMG and ask them about your documents to hasten the
process and to get your certification on time.

USMLE step 3
(By: Mohammad Aladawi & Omar Alqaisi)

Step 3 is the last step in the USMLE

Importance of step 3:
1. Step 3 is one of the requirements to practice medicine in the united states and for the eligibility to
take the boards
2. Step 3 is required to be eligible for the H1B visa
3. Step 3 can give you a boost on your application if you have the score ready at the time of the
application

Booking for step 3:

Step 3 is booked from the Federation state of medical boards (FSMB) website
In the website you need to fill the application and pay the exam fees.
After that you need to fill a notarization letter and mail it to the FSMB.
There are two ways to be notarized:
1. If you are still in Jordan, you can do that through the US embassy by booking a notarization
appointment. This service will cost you around 50 JDs.

18
 2. The other way is while you are in the US, it’s more convenient since you can do it at any post
office like UPS or from anyone who can provide a notarization service. Just type “notary
republic” in google maps and you will find many places near you that can do it. In the US it
usually cost 7$. After that you mail it to the FSMB.
Keep in mind that FSMB won’t start processing your application until they receive the notarization letter.
Once they receive it the processing will take only 3-4 days.
After your application has been approved, FSMB will email you the exam permit. Then you can book
your exam through Prometric.

Few tips on booking:

 In Prometric even if you don’t have a permit. You can check seats availability. Don’t count on
that, you find many available seats by that, but after you receive your permit, you will find out
that these seats are not available. So due to this issue the only way to find available seats is after
you receive your permit and starting to choose a testing center to take the exam. I know this is
weird but it’s true and many applicants has been troubled due to this problem.
 If you haven’t received your permit and you want to check seats availability. You can ask a friend
who has a permit and tell him to check available spots. Another way is by contacting the testing
center you are planning to take the exam at.
 If you are in the interview season and you want to get your results after three weeks. i.e. while the
ranking is still open you need to take your exam before Dec 31. If you take your exam later than
that, a score reporting delay is expected. So, you should expect to get your score on March!
 Keep in mind that cancellations due to technical issues, or whether are expected. So, the best
thing you need to do if you want to do the exam on Dec is to book it at a place with a warm
climate, where snowstorms aren’t expected.

Studying material:
Step 3 is an extension for CK, nothing more nothing less with an emphasis on biostatics. That’s why
you don’t need to do a book or a Qbank cover to cover like step 1 or ck.
If your CK is quite fresh, then this is a great news since you got 80% of the testing material fresh.
The best strategy to study is by going through the topics that has been tested for step 2 ck and
skimming through them. If there is any topic that you find yourself week in something revise it from a
reliable source like UTD, Amboss, UW step 2 ck notes, etc.
You can also do UW step 3 Qbank to be on the safe side and to revise the biostatistics. Remember as
stated earlier, you don’t need to do a whole Qbank for the test. If you feel that you are weak on the
biostatistics, just do their questions.
There is a unique section for step 3 “The cases” in which you treat a virtual patient. You can think of
this section as a game more than a test question.
For the cases there are two important sources:
1. CCS cases: website
2. UW case: They come with the Qbank
Few notes on each one:

19
  As historically has been known UW always concise on the material has been tested on the
USMLE so many of the cases that will show up on the exam are from UW.
 UW evaluation system for the cases is not educational and it won’t give you an assessment of
what you are doing. On the other hand, CCS has a numerical evaluation that is based on the
steps you should do.
 If you are doing CCS cases don’t care much about the mark you get on each case because
sometime their evaluation is not reasonable, but the really organize your mind and make you
think systematic “when to transfer the patient to the ward, when to treat before doing
additional diagnostic tests, etc.”
 To be more organized here is a typical mindset on how to encounter the cases
Studying for step 3 won’t take much time, it ranges from 3 weeks to 2 months max.

Notes on the exam day:

 The exam is two days
 When you schedule your exam day, at the beginning you book for day 1 and then available dates
for day 2 will show up. The interval between the two are 10 days max.
 In day 1 you will encounter many biostatics questions, but none on day 2
 On day 2 you will encounter the cases question we talked about earlier
 For more details about the exam day, please check this website.
If you are on the interview season and you have received your step 3 score. To contact programs, you do
two things: first go to the ERAS and resend your USMLE transcripts “No fees this time” and email the
programs you interviewed at.
Keep in mind that 20 degrees drop in your score is anticipated for step3 so don’t panic.

Visa sponsorship
(By: Ahmad Alarmouti)

IMGs requiring visas have two options in the visa sponsorship: the exchange visitor visa (J1)
and the non-immigrant visa (H1B)

In this table there is a comparison between the two.

Visa sponsorship H1B J1

Purpose of Visa Intent to find temporary work and Intent to get temporary medical or
maybe intent to stay (Dual intent). research training
First step for green card.

20
 Path H1b (About 5 years) -----Green J1(About 8 years) ----H1b( About
Card 2 years to do the waiver)----Green
Card

Sponsorship Residency program ECFMG

Statement of Need Not required Required

It’s a formal letter from the

ministry of health at your country
of origin or country of permanent
residence in which it states that
they need physicians of the
specialty that you are applying
for.
Step 3 Required Not Required

Fellowship options Restricted (very few programs Wide (almost everywhere)

still sponsor H1B for fellowships)
most H1B holding residents do
their fellowships at the same
programs

Waiver Not required Required

J1 visa holders agree to go back to

their original countries for at least
2 years after finishing residency
training. that’s why the letter of
need is required for this visa. In
some states there are underserved
areas where physicians are needed
in certain specialties, in such
areas you can practice as
hospitalist or specialist for 3 years
to waive the aforementioned
requirement

Renewal Takes time, usually residents Faster process, most residents can
can’t leave the US in vacations travel back home for 2 weeks a
due to probability of visa renewal year
delays and inability to proceed
with residency training schedule
on time

Few notes:
21
  Those who choose the H1B visa, to counter the downside of having minimal fellowship options.
They usually do a period of 1-2 years of working as a hospitalist till they are eligible for the green
card. Once they obtain it, they apply for fellowship as they now have the edge on fellowship
options since they don’t need visa sponsorship at this stage.
 For specialties other than the internal medicine the waiver can be easy to find and most of the
time in an academic institution, so the waiver is not problematic for them.
 Overall, choosing your visa sponsorship is according to your preference in the end and what
matters to you according to the benefits of each one.

Few notes and the feedback form

If you are applying for neurology, if you need any personalized advice on the application and a list of
contact information for neurology physician. I’m happy to help, please contact me on either my email:
mohammad.aladawi360@gmail.com or my fakebook account.
Me and my colleagues did this work in order to provide guidance for new applicants. We are totally sure
that there is might be a room for improvement on this document and maybe additional sections that needs
to be added.
If you have any comment or suggestion, please fill this feedback form. We will do our best to reach-out to
you.
On Jordanian American physicians (JAP) Facebook groups there is also a good source of information.
Like lists of IMG friendly programs and an annual MATCH statistic done by Dr. Baha Altamimi and
Dr.Rami Alahamd.
(Good luck)

22