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Graduate Medical Education

Appointment Process for New Clinical Fellows

The Cincinnati Children’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) office uses the following process for incoming clinical fellows as well as residents in pediatric dentistry and the O’Grady Psychology Residency Program. You may also review a diagram of the process.

Recruitment and Selection

Each program recruits, interviews and matches with their fellows.

The GME office will send an “institutional letter of offer” on Cincinnati Children’s letterhead to all clinical fellowship positions. The letter will be signed by the appropriate program director. Prospective fellows must accept or decline the offer in writing.

International Medical Graduates

An international medical graduate (IMG) is a physician who completed medical school outside of the United States or Canada. All IMGs must have a valid ECFMG certificate to be accepted for training in a graduate medical education program in the United States. The ECFMG certificate is issued by the Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates after an IMG has passed USMLE Step 1, Step 2-CK and Step 2-CS. An ECFMG certificate is required to obtain an Ohio license or training certificate. A copy of the ECFMG certificate must be provided to the GME office.

Citizens of the United States are international graduates if they completed medical school outside of the United States or Canada.

International Medical Graduates recruited for residency or fellowship positions will be contacted by the GME office to begin the appropriate visa process.

For more information, contact the GME Office at gmeoffice@cchmc.org or 513-636-8567.

Contract Packets

In late March, the GME office will send each incoming fellow an electronic contract packet via the Cincinnati Children's MedHub system.

Ohio License / Training Certificate

Clinical fellows must have a valid Ohio license or training certificate by their start date.

This process takes considerable time; the application should be completed at least two months before the start date. Fellows starting on July 1 should apply any time after Jan. 1 of their start year if they are applying for a training certificate. Fellows applying for full licensure should apply as early as possible.

In general, Residents and Clinical Fellows only need a training certificate which is much less expensive and has a quicker processing time than applying for a full Ohio license.

Residents and Clinical Fellows only need a full/permanent license if the following circumstances apply:

If they plan to take their Pediatrics or other boards in the upcoming year, they will need a full license.
If they plan to moonlight, they will need a full license.

Residents/Fellows who will need a full license should initiate the application process as early as possible.

Ohio training certificates are valid for 3 years with one renewal after 3 years. New Residents and Clinical Fellows must complete an application online for a training certificate or full license at license@med.ohio.gov. The initial application fee for a training certificate is $130.00; for full licensure, the fee is $305.00 (plus a fee to FCVS). Fees are payable online by credit card.

Foreign Medical Graduates
Graduates of foreign medical schools who are applying to the State Medical Board of Ohio for a training certificate need not complete the ECFMG status report form. The state gives you the option of completing the ECFMG status report form and paying a $25 fee, or Form 3, “if the hospital at which they are pursuing training obtains verification directly from the ECFMG.”

We will obtain verification from the ECFMG on all our foreign medical graduates. Therefore, fellows simply need to fill in the top of Form 3 of the Ohio training certificate application, and send it to the GME office. We will complete the remainder of the form, attach the ECFMG verification of status and send it to the Ohio Medical Board.

New Fellows Orientation

Fellows and subspecialty residents starting July 1 are required to attend a two-day orientation coordinated by the GME office.

All new trainees must bring two forms of identification to orientation (e.g., driver’s license, passport). Physicians coming to Cincinnati Children’s on a J-1 or H1-B visa must also bring their visa documents.

For fellows who have an off-cycle start date (other than July 1), their orientation will be scheduled by their department.

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Appointment Process for New Clinical Fellows

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