Application Requirements
Application Deadline
USMLE Requirement
Foreign medical graduates – additional requirements
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Application Requirements
The following application materials are required and should be submitted through ERAS or ECFMG-ERAS (for FMGs):
- Brief personal statement
- Curriculum vitae (ERAS version is acceptable)
- Three letters of recommendation:
- One of which should be from the chairman, chief, or program director of orthopaedics (not required but preferred)
- Additional letters accepted but not required
- A standardized Letter of Recommendation Form (SLOR) is acceptable but not required
- USMLE/COMLEX (steps 1 & 2; passed within three attempts; no minimum score requirement)
- Medical school transcript
- MSPE/Dean's letter
- ECFMG Certificate (applicable to FMGs)
- Preference signaling is not required. It is strictly optional.
The following materials are not required—please do not submit the following: Curriculum vitae (in addition to ERAS version); Undergraduate transcript; SAT Scores; MCAT scores; Hard copies (of materials already submitted via ERAS).
Please use the ERAS Applicant Document Tracking System to track the receipt of application materials to our program.
Application Deadline
The application deadline is when Residency programs may begin reviewing MyERAS applications and MSPEs in the PDWS system. For important dates, search online for the ERAS Residency Timeline.
USMLE Requirement
To be eligible for ACGME-accredited residency training, you must adhere to the following application requirements (no exceptions):
- You must prove that you have taken and passed the first two parts (within three attempts) of appropriate medical licensure examinations (USMLE/COMLEX). The North Carolina Medical Board requires this and is a Duke institutional policy for all appointees to Duke for all graduate medical trainees—whether United States or international medical graduates—as well as qualify for a resident training license in the state of North Carolina to be eligible for employment at Duke University Hospital.
- If you haven’t taken part II of the USMLE/COMLEX and are not scheduled to take part II before the interview season starts, you may still apply to our program. However, once you have taken and passed part II and updated ERAS with the results, please email Wendy Thompson so your ERAS application can be updated.
Although not required, we suggest you notify us that you passed part II before the NRMP rank order list deadline. If you match Duke, we must be notified of your part II passing by May 31, and scores must be uploaded to ERAS (before the system closes).
Please schedule your examination early so that you are notified of your results well before your potential residency start date.
Foreign Medical Graduates: Additional Requirements/VISA Sponsorship
Foreign medical graduates must hold a valid and current ECFMG Certificate and meet the above requirements. Your ECFMG Certificate must be valid as of the program's start date. For foreign nationals who are medical graduates of LCME-accredited schools in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, copies of the diploma will suffice in place of an ECFMG Certificate. We are aware that ECFMG certificates are not issued until students officially graduate from medical school; however, this information must be made available ASAP if you’re matched to Duke University Hospital.
The training program is prepared to sponsor J-1 clinical house staff visa's for incoming Residents who have taken and passed (within 3 attempts) the first two steps of the USMLE. For H-1B visa, physicians must have taken and passed step 3 of the USMLE. Generally step 3 is taken after starting residency during the first year of training. This means that most often, students are not eligible for an H-1B in the beginning.
Contact Us
Wendy Thompson, C-TAGME, Senior Program Coordinator, Medical Student Sub-Internship and Residency Training
Tyranicia Green, Program Coordinator, Residency Training and CME Associate for Orthopaedics
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
DUMC Box 104002 | IPE – 311 Trent Drive, Durham, North Carolina 27710
(919) 684-3170