FCVS and gap between med school graduation and start of residency

[letmeinwillya]

Hello folks,
So I'm thinking of applying to TX and just that fact alone means I may have to wait a little longer.. Let see how it turns out.

I'm starting the FCVS application online, it asks info on gaps between end of medical school graduation and start of residency. The options it provides don't necessarily fit my situation.

The drop downs mentions the type of Activity one can choose:
Employment, PGT/Education, Vacation, Seeking Employment, Health Issue, Military Service, Vacation

• How do I go about reporting time that I spent raising kids or preparing for USMLE exams or doing observerships?

• Do I have to go granular in terms of reporting activities or can I simply combine say few of them and report them together ? For example 10/1/2005 - 10/1/2010 - Misc. Raising Family, Preparing for exams, looking for observerships etc

11/1/2010 - 11/1/2012 - Family Reasons (Do I need to elaborate more on the application or can I simply leave it at that? Say if I was taking care of a sick parent?)​

I wish there was an option to designate 'Other' or 'Misc' in the drop down.

• Which types of the activities are going to receive the scrutiny from FCVS? If I mention taking care of sick parent, am I required to provide proof of such activity?

• If I mention observerships, will I be required to provide proof or letter from the attending or hospital where I was an observer?

• If it's all personal reasons for taking time off after med school to raise a family and there's a long gap, is this something frowned upon by the medical boards when granting license?

There's no gap between completing the residency to applying for the license though..does that make it better..

• The CID (Certificate of Identification) and affidavits and release forms need to notarized and can be done online using NotaryCam service or may be sent via regular mail. It requires original passport or certified birth certificate to be mailed so using online notary will not require sending the passport or birth certificate. I assume the mail would add more delay in processing?
• I've recently gotten my name changed by court order, should I add the new name in my FCVS profile even though I've not changed it in my driver's license or any other official documents (SS card, passport etc). Or should I simply use the current name as it appears consistently in all documents and let FCVS not get confused and inform them of the new name later with the court order as the proof? What do you suggest in terms of timing this?

I would appreciate your advice on FCVS and how to go about my situation. If you've gone through similar situation, please share your thoughts!

For context, I'm an IMG who went to medical school overseas, a US citizen and will be graduating from residency in June 2019.

Reading through some older threads, it appears that FCVS relies on ECFMG for med school verification which is good news as my overseas med school is dead beat and things don't move there unless they are prodded with a sharp stick!!!

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[Piebaldi]

Hello folks,
So I'm thinking of applying to TX and just that fact alone means I may have to wait a little longer.. Let see how it turns out.

I'm starting the FCVS application online, it asks info on gaps between end of medical school graduation and start of residency. The options it provides don't necessarily fit my situation.

The drop downs mentions the type of Activity one can choose:
Employment, PGT/Education, Vacation, Seeking Employment, Health Issue, Military Service, Vacation

• How do I go about reporting time that I spent raising kids or preparing for USMLE exams or doing observerships?

• Do I have to go granular in terms of reporting activities or can I simply combine say few of them and report them together ? For example 10/1/2005 - 10/1/2010 - Misc. Raising Family, Preparing for exams, looking for observerships etc

11/1/2010 - 11/1/2012 - Family Reasons (Do I need to elaborate more on the application or can I simply leave it at that? Say if I was taking care of a sick parent?)​

I wish there was an option to designate 'Other' or 'Misc' in the drop down.

• Which types of the activities are going to receive the scrutiny from FCVS? If I mention taking care of sick parent, am I required to provide proof of such activity?

• If I mention observerships, will I be required to provide proof or letter from the attending or hospital where I was an observer?

• If it's all personal reasons for taking time off after med school to raise a family and there's a long gap, is this something frowned upon by the medical boards when granting license?

There's no gap between completing the residency to applying for the license though..does that make it better..

• The CID (Certificate of Identification) and affidavits and release forms need to notarized and can be done online using NotaryCam service or may be sent via regular mail. It requires original passport or certified birth certificate to be mailed so using online notary will not require sending the passport or birth certificate. I assume the mail would add more delay in processing?
• I've recently gotten my name changed by court order, should I add the new name in my FCVS profile even though I've not changed it in my driver's license or any other official documents (SS card, passport etc). Or should I simply use the current name as it appears consistently in all documents and let FCVS not get confused and inform them of the new name later with the court order as the proof? What do you suggest in terms of timing this?

I would appreciate your advice on FCVS and how to go about my situation. If you've gone through similar situation, please share your thoughts!

For context, I'm an IMG who went to medical school overseas, a US citizen and will be graduating from residency in June 2019.

Reading through some older threads, it appears that FCVS relies on ECFMG for med school verification which is good news as my overseas med school is dead beat and things don't move there unless they are prodded with a sharp stick!!!

That's why FVCS is not the greatest thing to use. But as an IMG I understand why it's necessary. If you are already in residency and will be graduating soon it's not that big of a deal. It's hard to know exactly what type of proof they will ask for. I would say just be truthful in what you say. If you were raising family or preparing for steps, that's what you say. I don't know how you can "prove' that per se. I think they simply want to know what you were doing in certain timeframes to ensure there was no criminal activity/jail etc.

 

[letmeinwillya]

That's why FVCS is not the greatest thing to use. But as an IMG I understand why it's necessary. If you are already in residency and will be graduating soon it's not that big of a deal. It's hard to know exactly what type of proof they will ask for. I would say just be truthful in what you say. If you were raising family or preparing for steps, that's what you say. I don't know how you can "prove' that per se. I think they simply want to know what you were doing in certain timeframes to ensure there was no criminal activity/jail etc.

Yes, it's a necessary evil to go through FCVS especially for IMGs who in some cases have med schools are not the most responsive. I don't have any activity that would be detrimental to getting a medical license. It's simply a long gap with periods of study, USMLE prep and observations.

I had to account for all the time by filling up forms when starting residency. I broke down times in detail in terms of months for each activity. I don't want to go into that level of details if I don't have to. That's why I was asking if I can keep it simple in the FCVS.

 

[rokshana]

That's why FVCS is not the greatest thing to use. But as an IMG I understand why it's necessary. If you are already in residency and will be graduating soon it's not that big of a deal. It's hard to know exactly what type of proof they will ask for. I would say just be truthful in what you say. If you were raising family or preparing for steps, that's what you say. I don't know how you can "prove' that per se. I think they simply want to know what you were doing in certain timeframes to ensure there was no criminal activity/jail etc.

And,well, the states that require it for getting a license...

 

[letmeinwillya]

Spoke to FCVS customer service, the Activity section that captures the time from end of medical school to start of residency is not verified. It's not for the use of state boards. In case of non-employment activity (preparing for exam, taking care of family members etc), choose the closest option. She suggested to choose Vacation and provide brief description. No need to provide granular details on smaller time durations..ok to provide 5 years in one entry of that applies to you ..say you were at home preparing for exams and raising kids, you could use Education as one entry and Vacation as second entry and provide brief description of activity.

I'm planning to be as brief as possible and still cover all the duration.

According to the customer service person, it takes 45 business days for them to complete the process from the time applicant releases information meaning submit the application and pays the fee. FCVS verifies the information with ECFMG and not the actual medical school.

For name change, ok to provide the new name and mark it legal (there's a drop down for that in the Name section) and then upload the relevant document (court order etc). Hope this helps someone in similar shoes!

 

[Ketamine123]

Spoke to FCVS customer service, the Activity section that captures the time from end of medical school to start of residency is not verified. It's not for the use of state boards. In case of non-employment activity (preparing for exam, taking care of family members etc), choose the closest option. She suggested to choose Vacation and provide brief description. No need to provide granular details on smaller time durations..ok to provide 5 years in one entry of that applies to you ..say you were at home preparing for exams and raising kids, you could use Education as one entry and Vacation as second entry and provide brief description of activity.

I'm planning to be as brief as possible and still cover all the duration.

According to the customer service person, it takes 45 business days for them to complete the process from the time applicant releases information meaning submit the application and pays the fee. FCVS verifies the information with ECFMG and not the actual medical school.

For name change, ok to provide the new name and mark it legal (there's a drop down for that in the Name section) and then upload the relevant document (court order etc). Hope this helps someone in similar shoes!

How did it turn out? Were you able to get your license without a problem considering the gaps? I am in the same boat and not sure how to proceed. Do they do any sort of verification?
Thanks