Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates
Selecting a Residency Program
Before you begin the MyERAS application process, consider your career path by researching one or more medical specialties. Selecting a medical specialty is best done with the help of advisors and mentors. It may be helpful to consult physicians practicing in the specialties you are considering. You should also consider the degree to which a given specialty would be professionally rewarding. For each specialty, it may be useful to research the overall number of positions available, the degree of competition typically experienced in obtaining a position, and the experience of prior international medical graduates, particularly graduates of your medical school, in obtaining residency positions. Detailed information on the number of positions by specialty, offered and filled by the NRMP, is available on the NRMP website .
After you have selected a specialty or specialties, you must decide to which programs within those specialties you will apply. There is no limit on the number of programs to which you can apply. Factors that you may wish to consider in selecting programs include the location of individual programs, their hospital affiliations, program and institution accreditation status, and the performance of their graduates. For more information about specialties and programs that participate in ERAS, refer to the ERAS Participating Specialties and Programs on the AAMC's website.
The AAMC has also worked collaboratively with nine other organizations, including ECFMG, to develop Residency Explorer , a tool that allows applicants to research residency programs across 23 specialties. Applicants can use Residency Explorer to compare their own characteristics to those of applicants who previously matched to those programs. Please note that Residency Explorer does not advise applicants on where they should apply or to which programs they may match. However, it may help applicants identify programs worth researching further.
The American Medical Association (AMA) also provides a free on-line Residency/Fellowship Training Program Search through FREIDA™ .
Obtain a Residency Token
Log in to ECFMG’s OASIS and select ERAS Support Services from the menu. You will then see the option to Request a Residency Token.
When will Tokens for ERAS 2024 be available?
Tokens for ERAS 2024 will become available in late June 2023.
How much does the Token cost?
There is a $165 non-refundable fee for this service.
How can I pay the Token fee?
When you request your Token using OASIS, you can pay on-line using a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express). You can also pay by electronic check from a checking account at a U.S. bank.
Once I request the Token, when will it be issued, and how long will it be available?
After your payment is approved, click Continue on the payment confirmation page for immediate access to your Token. Your Token will remain on the ERAS Token Request page in OASIS and may be accessed at any time during the ERAS season.
Can I use my ERAS 2024 Token to apply in future seasons?
No. The ERAS software will not recognize a Token issued for previous ERAS seasons. You need one Token per ERAS season, and you can use that one Token to apply to as many specialties and programs as you want during the ERAS season. You can also use your 2024 Token to apply for both a clinical year (PGY-1), which begins in 2024, and for an advanced position (PGY-2), which begins in 2025 (e.g., Radiology, Neurology, etc.).
I am not a residency applicant. How do I request a Fellowship Token?
Fellowship Tokens must be requested through the ERAS Fellowships Documents Office (EFDO) . Tokens requested through ECFMG’s OASIS are for residency applications only. If you are currently enrolled in a residency program and require a Token for a fellowship application, you must request your Token through EFDO.
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[Last update: May 17, 2023]
