Dear aProgDirector:
Thank you so much for your thoughtful and thorough reply. This was helpful, informative and some of it new to me. I have previously pored over manuals/documents/FAQs that the official USMLE/ECFMG websites maintained through the years. Alternative is to be content with six figure income career that has not much soul/meaningfulness. Just perspectives!
I agree that I was not the most stellar candidate or the street smart one - one program director got into a psychological interview and he asked how I would manage a brutal schedule and child rearing with no support in a foreign country. I did not enlighten him that I studied hidden in the basement, hiding books from an abusive spouse. And still managed those scores but had applied late in the game (December) and only applied to a few spots and just that one year (unaffordability). The only use for my ECFMG certificate was during the divorce court hearing when I was asked to produce it - for the spouse to establish my career potential and rather I give him palimony. He had never seen it before because I did the exams in secrecy.
Competition in the eyes of the beheld: All just hearsay from an older era -
2002: I was working at a specialty office (but not the field I was applying for). The attending was the program director for the hospital program. I remember his secretary getting deluged by applications. While helping her, we noticed a lot of the applicants had 98 and 99 percentile on scores (which automatically discouraged me, since mine was in the 80s). Then they came for the interviews - the FMGs with 98/99 scores spoke almost no English. The USMLE paragraph questions would have needed a lot more language grasp (in our humble opinions). I have come across a variety of these over the years - like the FMG who washed beakers at the lab, one that made a break-though to get published in NEJM - and she had her name in the article as the lab assistant... granted her residency position over more qualified FMGs... this was quoted by her peer in the lab who did the major work.
2006: A chance meeting with a FMG who also never made it, raised red flags whether to report to ECFMG. Her rumor/feedback/gossip was that there were (certain specific countries) folks in 90s - early 2000s who would appear for the exam for others for a fee (fraud). This was during the 'only twice a year exams offered' era offered at their country's designated centers and before prometrics, electronic/photo etc. Around that time, GRE test leak (time zone difference) was in the news.
Thank you again and God bless. You have that special something - sagacity, patience to advise others and above all the depth of knowledge to ably guide. Please try do not ever get jaded/ burnt out by the forum questions or in your career. <3
