Which date is considered as the Date of Graduation by Residency programs?

[winner123]

Question to aProgDirector Sir,
What is the Date of Graduation?Is it the last day of attendance at a medical School or the Date of Issuance of a Medical School Degree Certificate( Diploma)?
I am an IMG . I attended my medical school from 05/1999 to 02/2006,but my Medical Degree Certificate was issued on 09/2007.
So ,which date will the Residency Programs consider as my Date of Graduation?
Different people gave me different answers.
This my question to aProgramDirect.
Please reply as soon as possible .I shall be grateful.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[kristing]

As an American DO, my med school gave my grad date as the day we walked at graduation. Look at your diploma. That's the official date.

 

[winner123]

As an American DO, my med school gave my grad date as the day we walked at graduation. Look at your diploma. That's the official date.

The date of Issuance written on my Medical diploma is 09/06/2007.
Also,there is written that my session is Nov-Dec.2004 and that I completed a period of compulsory internship for one year right after it.As I mentioned earlier that I completed my compulsory internship in 02/2006.
No other date is mentioned.
So, what is my graduation date?
Thanks for replying.
Waiting for your reply.

 

[kristing]

I really don't know. There must be others who went to your school, or graduated from your country who have this issue??? Sorry. I thought the answer would be easier.

 

[winner123]

I really don't know. There must be others who went to your school, or graduated from your country who have this issue??? Sorry. I thought the answer would be easier.

Thanks for trying your best,Sir

 

[Winged Scapula]

The date of Issuance written on my Medical diploma is 09/06/2007.
Also,there is written that my session is Nov-Dec.2004 and that I completed a period of compulsory internship for one year right after it.As I mentioned earlier that I completed my compulsory internship in 02/2006.
No other date is mentioned.
So, what is my graduation date?
Thanks for replying.
Waiting for your reply.

Your graduation date is the date upon which you were conferred the degree which allowed you to enter into further training.

If your school required a compulsory internship to be awarded the diploma, your graduation date is 9/6/07.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Your graduation date is the date upon which you were conferred the degree which allowed you to enter into further training.

If your school required a compulsory internship to be awarded the diploma, your graduation date is 9/6/07.

Agreed. Although in some countries dates are displayed dd/mm/yyyy rather than the US standard of mm/dd/yyyy. So, you graduated either Sept 6 or June 9, 2007. Presumably, you'll know which is correct.

 

[Ice dude]

iam confused man,
If the date of degree is the graduation date e.g 2007, but if ur medical school transcript says year of graduation to be e.g 2004, then which is to be considered as the graduation date?
P.S. I put everywhere 2004 as my graduation date.

 

[Winged Scapula]

iam confused man,
If the date of degree is the graduation date e.g 2007, but if ur medical school transcript says year of graduation to be e.g 2004, then which is to be considered as the graduation date?
P.S. I put everywhere 2004 as my graduation date.

Why is your diploma dated 3 years after you finished medical school?

Again, the date of graduation is the date upon which you finished the requirements to enter specialty training/generalist training in the country in which you were educated.

 

[winner123]

Agreed. Although in some countries dates are displayed dd/mm/yyyy rather than the US standard of mm/dd/yyyy. So, you graduated either Sept 6 or June 9, 2007. Presumably, you'll know which is correct.

aProgDirector Sir,

The date in our country is put as dd/mm/yyyy and on my degree certificate it is 06/09/2007.So mine is Sept.2007.
Also, my medical school requires a compulsory internship to be awarded the Diploma.
Sir,I did a mistake already by not applying to the programs
which needed graduation within two years thinking that I am already more than two years after graduation.I DID A BIG MISTAKE.
Any advice for me ,Sir.
Thanks indeed for your reply.

 

[Winged Scapula]

aProgDirector Sir,

The date in our country is put as dd/mm/yyyy and on my degree certificate it is 06/09/2007.So mine is Sept.2007.
Sir,I did a mistake already by not applying to the programs
which needed graduation within two years thinking that I am already more than two years after graduation.I DID A BIG MISTAKE.
Any advice for me ,Sir.
Thanks indeed for your reply.

Go ahead and apply to the programs. Its still early in the application cycle.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I don't understand why there is a gap of 18 months between when you finished your internship (2/2006) and your diploma date (9/2007).

I agree with WS, you can still apply. However, you've probably already finalized your application, and filled in your date of graduation which can't be changed.

You may not have made a "huge mistake". Programs that require less than two years from graduation to application might look at that 18 month gap between finishing your internship and getting your diploma, and disqualify you anyway.

And, although WS and I are defining your graduation based upon getting your diploma, other PD's might not and might start counting from when you actually stopped with your "medical school".

 

[Ice dude]

Why is your diploma dated 3 years after you finished medical school?

Again, the date of graduation is the date upon which you finished the requirements to enter specialty training/generalist training in the country in which you were educated.

well, it goes that if u need ur degree earlier like right after completing your school, u need to apply for it, otherwise u will be awarded the degree whenever the next convocation/ a ceremony to hand over the degrees to graduates takes place, which is usually after every 3 yrs or 5 yrs.but i did receive it in Oct 2005 but it had a spellin mistake n i had to apply for its correction n that took time.

 

[winner123]

I don't understand why there is a gap of 18 months between when you finished your internship (2/2006) and your diploma date (9/2007).

I agree with WS, you can still apply. However, you've probably already finalized your application, and filled in your date of graduation which can't be changed.

You may not have made a "huge mistake". Programs that require less than two years from graduation to application might look at that 18 month gap between finishing your internship and getting your diploma, and disqualify you anyway.

And, although WS and I are defining your graduation based upon getting your diploma, other PD's might not and might start counting from when you actually stopped with your "medical school".

I have filled in my Degree date as 09/2007 in the ERAS application not as 02/2006.
But,I think it is too late to apply now.
Sir,it is not my mistake it is the mistake of my medical school.
Also,there must be a single policy about what program directors consider as graduation date .
Off course ,there must be a single rule and not dependent on a Program Director's personal interpretation.
So, what is your advice for me now,Sir.

 

[winner123]

well, it goes that if u need ur degree earlier like right after completing your school, u need to apply for it, otherwise u will be awarded the degree whenever the next convocation/ a ceremony to hand over the degrees to graduates takes place, which is usually after every 3 yrs or 5 yrs.but i did receive it in Oct 2005 but it had a spellin mistake n i had to apply for its correction n that took time.

I also had a spelling mistake in my name on the Medical Diploma when it was issued first,but I got it corrected in two weeks.Moreover,this is to say that the Medical School kept the Date of Issuance of my Medical Diploma same as was on it when it was first issued .They did not change it .They kept it 06/09/2007 according to the format dd/mm/yyyy.
I don't know why they changed it in your case.

 

[winner123]

Go ahead and apply to the programs. Its still early in the application cycle.

Ma'am,most people say that one should apply by 15th of september otherwise it is of no use.
But,I will go by your advice and apply.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Sir,most people say that one should apply by 15th of september otherwise it is of no use.
But,I will go by your advice and apply.

Those "people" don't know what they are talking about. Some programs haven't even started reviewing applications in full yet. September 15th is only 2 weeks after the application cycle opened.

 

[dragonfly99]

"Also,there must be a single policy about what program directors consider as graduation date ."
You should listen to aprogramdirector, who is trying to help you.
You are acting obtuse and little bit rude. Why MUST there be a single policy about what program directors consider a graduation date? No, there is not - not for the education system you came out of. Here in the US all the students would have attended med school for 4 years (or 6-8 years if it is a combined degree program with college/undergraduate combined with medical school). Shortly after finishing their 4th year of medical school (within a month or two at the most) they have a graduation ceremony and receive a diploma/MD degree. That would be the date of graduation for the US medical students - it's the date listed on their diploma/degree. You're saying that all program directors in the US must have some system set up to understand your graduation system and what the requirements are to graduate from medical school in your country. Why would US program directors have a system set up to do that? It's your responsibility to explain to them what your training is, and tell them the date your medical degree was issued. I'm sure they will have questions about why your degree date is >1 year after you are saying you finished training, but you should be able to answer those for them.

 

[winner123]

"Also,there must be a single policy about what program directors consider as graduation date ."
You should listen to aprogramdirector, who is trying to help you.
You are acting obtuse and little bit rude. Why MUST there be a single policy about what program directors consider a graduation date? No, there is not - not for the education system you came out of. Here in the US all the students would have attended med school for 4 years (or 6-8 years if it is a combined degree program with college/undergraduate combined with medical school). Shortly after finishing their 4th year of medical school (within a month or two at the most) they have a graduation ceremony and receive a diploma/MD degree. That would be the date of graduation for the US medical students - it's the date listed on their diploma/degree. You're saying that all program directors in the US must have some system set up to understand your graduation system and what the requirements are to graduate from medical school in your country. Why would US program directors have a system set up to do that? It's your responsibility to explain to them what your training is, and tell them the date your medical degree was issued. I'm sure they will have questions about why your degree date is >1 year after you are saying you finished training, but you should be able to answer those for them.

I apologise if I seemed to be rude.I did not intend to be rude.I just was asking whether there is any such rule.
Off course,one gets confused by the different comments different stuents have regarding the graduation date.
aProgDirector Sir did really help me.
I cannot even think of being rude to him.

 

[Ice dude]

Don't u have a transcript winner!! it must be mentioned in ur transcript your year of graduation, simple. y worry about stuff and dont try to b so polite man, it's annoying.

 

[escape78]

Winner123, As an IMG, I too had to complete a compulsory internship to graduate. My date of graduation was the day after I completed my internship even though my convocation was held on another date.
As aProgDirector mentioned your graduation date may be interpreted to be 09/2007 by some PD's and 02/2006 by some others. Anyway, you have graduated pretty recently compared to most IMG's so you should definitely give it your all for this match cycle. I am yet to receive an interview and some programs have still not even downloaded my application! Good Luck!

 

[winner123]

Don't u have a transcript winner!! it must be mentioned in ur transcript your year of graduation, simple. y worry about stuff and dont try to b so polite man, it's annoying.

Thanks a lot ,my friend.Thanks a lot for your genuine concern.

 

[winner123]

Winner123, As an IMG, I too had to complete a compulsory internship to graduate. My date of graduation was the day after I completed my internship even though my convocation was held on another date.
As aProgDirector mentioned your graduation date may be interpreted to be 09/2007 by some PD's and 02/2006 by some others. Anyway, you have graduated pretty recently compared to most IMG's so you should definitely give it your all for this match cycle. I am yet to receive an interview and some programs have still not even downloaded my application! Good Luck!

Good luck to u as well.

 

[winner123]

"Also,there must be a single policy about what program directors consider as graduation date ."
You should listen to aprogramdirector, who is trying to help you.
You are acting obtuse and little bit rude. Why MUST there be a single policy about what program directors consider a graduation date? No, there is not - not for the education system you came out of. Here in the US all the students would have attended med school for 4 years (or 6-8 years if it is a combined degree program with college/undergraduate combined with medical school). Shortly after finishing their 4th year of medical school (within a month or two at the most) they have a graduation ceremony and receive a diploma/MD degree. That would be the date of graduation for the US medical students - it's the date listed on their diploma/degree. You're saying that all program directors in the US must have some system set up to understand your graduation system and what the requirements are to graduate from medical school in your country. Why would US program directors have a system set up to do that? It's your responsibility to explain to them what your training is, and tell them the date your medical degree was issued. I'm sure they will have questions about why your degree date is >1 year after you are saying you finished training, but you should be able to answer those for them.

The program I interviewed at referred to me as a graduate of 2007 instead of 2006.They did not have any questions at all regarding this issue.
I was interviewed by the Director of Medical Education of the program and he specifically pointed out the fact that he really liked my being a very recent graduate of the year 2007.

 

[Ice dude]

Hey Winner,
I was just going through your attendance dates, you almost attended school for 7 years. I started my school in 1999 too but I was done in Oct 2003 and had my result reported in April 2004. Anyway good luck and hey did you receive any emails from the chief residents at the program you interviewed?

 

[winner123]

Hey Winner,
I was just going through your attendance dates, you almost attended school for 7 years. I started my school in 1999 too but I was done in Oct 2003 and had my result reported in April 2004. Anyway good luck and hey did you receive any emails from the chief residents at the program you interviewed?

Do u have to do a compulsory rotatory internship for one year before u graduate?We have to do such an internship in our medical school.

The interview went really well ,but I have not recieved any E.Mail from the program yet.Is this something I should be concerned about?

Good Luck!

 

[Femtochemistry]

I am applying for the match this year and I know my diploma will have a graduation date sometime in July even though we do the oath in early June. Will the date being in July kick me out of the match? Does the NMRP know your graduation date?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I am applying for the match this year and I know my diploma will have a graduation date sometime in July even though we do the oath in early June. Will the date being in July kick me out of the match? Does the NMRP know your graduation date?

You will need to graduate from medical school before starting residency. A copy of your diploma is required for ECFMG certification (if you need a visa). It might be required for a training license, depending on the state. The NRMP will not know about this, AFAIK. You should check -- if you match somewhere and cannot work Jul 1 due to a visa / grad issue, they are free to fill your slot if they want.

 

[Femtochemistry]

Thanks again aPD. No visa issue here. My school is preparing my diploma early so I can get the ECFMG certifcation--which I am aware will take some time 🙁

 

[Ice dude]

No, we donot need a year of internship. I don't think so you should be concerned about it, I was just asking by the way. Actually I just wanted to know is it usual for chief residents to send out follow up letters to all the candidates or it's unusual and means something?