The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a grouping of twenty countries: fifteen Member States and five Associate Members. It is home to approximately sixteen million citizens, 60% of whom are under the age of 30, and from the main ethnic groups of Indigenous Peoples, Africans, Indians, Europeans, Chinese, Portuguese and Javanese. The Community is multi-lingual; with English as the major language complemented by French and Dutch and variations of these, as well as African and Asian expressions. Stretching from The Bahamas in the north to Suriname and Guyana in South America, CARICOM comprises states that are considered developing countries, and except for Belize, in Central America and Guyana and Suriname in South America, all Members and Associate Members are island states. For more details please contact OEG helpline no

ECMFG CAREER HOLDERS OFFICE (ECHO) is committed to providing support and service to ECFMG-certified physicians as they plan their careers. To pursue a career as a physician in the United States, you need to identify the medical specialty or specialties that are a good fit for your skill set, your personality, and your career objectives. You need to apply to the U.S. graduate medical education (GME) programs that are right for you. And, because the number of U.S. residency positions is limited, it’s essential that your residency applications represent your qualifications as effectively as possible

Once you are through with USMLE 3, and you begin to think about an unrestricted license, ECHO is there to help you with the rest. It helps you to access ECFMG’s decades of experience in areas such as international medical education, physician credentials, assessment of physicians, U.S. GME programs, immigration options for U.S. GME, and medical registration/licensure. ECHO will also connect you with other organizations and experts that are important to the next phase of your medical career. And through ECHO, you can connect with other ECFMG-certified physicians at different stages of their careers to share experiences, both successes and challenges.

EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION FOR FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADUATES (ECMFG) was founded in 1956 to assess, through a program of certification, whether international medical graduates (IMGs) are ready to enter residency or fellowship programs in the United States that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). ACGME requires IMGs who enter ACGME-accredited programs to be certified by ECFMG. ECFMG Certification is also one of the eligibility requirements for IMGs to take Step 3 of the three-step United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). Medical licensing authorities in the United States require that IMGs be certified by ECFMG, among other requirements, to obtain an unrestricted license to practice medicine.

ECFMG Certification is an effective screening mechanism for ensuring that IMGs in patient care situations have met minimum standards. Each year, thousands of IMGs in the certification process apply to ECFMG for USMLE. During the 20-year period from 1991 through 2010, more than 295,000 international medical students/graduates applied to take their first examination with ECFMG; of this number, 60.7% have achieved certification.

FAIMER is a non-profit foundation committed to improving world health through education. It was established in 2000 by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG®). In partnership with ECFMG, FAIMER promotes excellence in international health professions education through programmatic and research activities.

It concentrates its efforts in low-income regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and focuses on three specific strategies: faculty development, targeted research that informs health workforce policy and practice, and development of data that advances educational quality improvement decisions.

The Federation of State Medical Boards represents the 70 state medical and osteopathic regulatory boards—commonly referred to as state medical boards—within the United States, its territories and the District of Columbia. It supports its member boards as they fulfill their mandate of protecting the public’s health, safety and welfare through the proper licensing, disciplining, and regulation of physicians and, in most jurisdictions, other health care professionals.

GMC majorly controls the arena of doctors and health professional-activities by ensuring only those doctors with the right knowledge skills and experience can practice medicine in the U.K. They do it in several ways-

• By controlling entry to and maintaining the list of registered and licensed medical practitioners
• By setting the standards for all stages of medical education and training and ensuring that those standards are met
• By determining the principles and values that underpin good medical practice
• By taking firm but fair action against doctors’ registration where the standards of Good medical practice have not been met

The Medical Board of California is a state government agency which licenses and disciplines medical doctors. The Board provides two principal types of services to consumers: public-record information about California-licensed physicians, and investigation of complaints against physicians

It is to protect health care consumers through the proper licensing and regulation of physicians and surgeons and certain allied health care professionals and through the vigorous, objective enforcement of the Medical Practice Act, and to promote access to quality medical care through the Board's licensing and regulatory functions.

The Medical Council of India established under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1933, establishes uniform standards of higher qualifications in medicine and recognition of medical qualifications in India and abroad. Its main objectives are

• Maintenance of uniform standards of medical education, both undergraduate and postgraduate
• Recommendation for recognition/de-recognition of medical qualifications of medical institutions of India or foreign countries.
• Permanent registration/provisional registration of doctors with recognized medical qualifications
• Reciprocity with foreign countries in the matter of mutual recognition of medical qualifications

The NATIONAL BOARD OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS (NBME) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that serves the public through its high- quality assessments of healthcare professionals. It develops and manages the USMLE. The NBME and the Federation of State Medical Boards co- sponsor the USMLE, and the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates is the third collaborator in the USMLE program.

The NBME and the Federation also co-sponsor the Post-Licensure Assessment System, which medical licensing authorities can use to evaluate physicians who are already licensed. A new exam program, the International Foundations of Medicine, extends the concept of common standards to an international arena.

Medical specialty boards, other healthcare professions, and academic institutions call on the NBME to develop customized assessments, while online assessments help students and professionals identify their own strengths and weaknesses. Organizations can draw on the NBME’s expertise as consultants for their own assessment programs, test administration, and scoring.

The New York State Education Department(NYSED) is part of the University of the State of New York (USNY), one of the most complete, interconnected systems of educational services in the United States. Any use of the title "Physician" or practice of medicine within New York State requires licensure. (However, under specified limitations defined in Section 6526 of New York State Education Law, you may be exempt from licensure.)

• To be licensed as a physician in New York State you must
• be of good moral character
• be at least 21 years of age
• meet education, examination and experience requirements

TO APPLY FOR LICENSE , you must file an application for licensure and the other forms indicated, along with the appropriate fee, to the Office of the Professions at the address specified on each form. It is your responsibility to follow up with anyone you have asked to send us material.

The fee for licensure is $735. The fee for a limited permit is $105 (the limited permit fee is not refundable). Fees are subject to change. The fee due is the one in law when your application is received (unless fees are increased retroactively). You will be billed for the difference if fees have been increased.

NYSED -THE BOARD OF REGENTS is empowered to confer the M.D. degree on New York licensees who meet specific requirements. To be eligible, you must:

• have completed a medical education program in a foreign medical school, satisfactory to the department, which does not grant the degree doctor of medicine (M.D.) and in which the philosophy and curriculum were equivalent, as determined by the department, in accordance with the policy of the Board of Regents, to those in programs leading to the degree of doctor of medicine (M.D.) at medical schools in the United States satisfactory to or registered by the Board of Regents and the department
• hold a license to practice medicine in New York State in accordance with provisions of section 6524 or 6528 of the Education Law or their equivalent as determined by the Regents pursuant to their authority under section 6506 of the Education Law
• complete the application and submit the entire form along with the required fee of $300 to the New York State Education Department at the address at the end of the form. Be sure to sign and date item 13

The Board of Regents, on the recommendation of the Commissioner of Education, appoints a State Board for each licensed profession to advise and assist the Board of Regents and the State Education Department on matters of professional regulation. The Board of Regents also appoints a Committee for Professional Assistance to advise them on matters relating to practice by professional licensees with alcohol or other drug abuse problems. The 29 State Boards for the Professions and the Committee for Professional Assistance are comprised of professional members and one or more representatives of the general public. The composition of each board and the Committee is specified in Title VIII of Education Law. In addition, Board and Committee composition should reflect the State's regions, cultural diversity, and the various aspects of the professions.