Special Instructions and FAQs for Applicants to the Health Professions Councils of Namibia

Special Instructions

ECFMG partners with the Health Professions Councils of Namibia (HPCNA) to primary-source verify medical credentials of internationally educated physicians who are applying for registration to practice medicine in Namibia. If you are applying for registration with the HPCNA and you completed your medical education in a country other than Namibia, you must have certain required credentials verified through EPIC.

If you submitted an application to the HPCNA prior to September 1, 2016, and your medical credentials were submitted for verification through ECFMG’s International Credentials Services (EICS), your credentials will continue through the EICS process until either they are verified or attempts to have them verified have been exhausted.

To have your credentials verified through EPIC in support of an application to the HPCNA, complete the following steps:

Step 1 – Establish an EPIC Account.

See Getting Started for complete instructions. Once ECFMG has processed your request and established your EPIC Account, ECFMG will e-mail you login information so you can access your EPIC Account.
Step 2 – Confirm your identity with EPIC.

See Confirming Your Identity with EPIC for detailed information. Confirming your identity with EPIC requires you to submit an EPIC Identification Form (EIF). Once this form has been accepted by ECFMG, you will be able to upload credentials required by the HPCNA to EPIC for primary-source verification.
Step 3 – Upload each credential required by the HPCNA and select the Health Professions Councils of Namibia to receive an EPIC Report once the credential is verified.

Log in to your EPIC Account and upload the following credentials for primary-source verification:
- Final Medical Diploma
- Final Medical School Transcript
- Postgraduate training certificates
  (upload to EPIC as Postgraduate Medical Education Credential)
- Medical licensure/registration certificates in other jurisdictions
For more information on the credentials verified through EPIC, see Using EPIC.

As you upload each credential, be sure to select the Health Professions Councils of Namibia to receive an EPIC Report once the credential is verified. Because the HPCNA has requested to be notified when their applicants' credentials have been sent for verification through EPIC, a notification will be provided to the HPCNA when your credential is sent for verification. This notification will include a copy of the credential that you have submitted for verification.

Please note: It is very important that you select the HPCNA to receive an EPIC Report for each required qualification, as you upload it. If you do, the HPCNA will be notified when your credential is sent for verification and an EPIC Report on that credential will be automatically sent to the HPCNA when the credential is verified. If you do not select the HPCNA to receive an EPIC Report on a credential at the time you upload it, you will be required to send an EPIC Report to the HPCNA once your credential is verified.

If your credentials have already been primary-source verified by ECFMG for ECFMG Certification or through ECFMG’s International Credentials Services (EICS), you do not need to upload the credentials that were previously verified by ECFMG. These credentials will be added to your EPIC Portfolio at no cost. Simply provide your ECFMG/USMLE ID and/or EICS ID when you establish your EPIC Account. ECFMG will review your file typically within 10 business days; if your file is acceptable, ECFMG will add your previously verified credentials to your EPIC Portfolio.
Step 4 – Ensure reports on all required credentials have been sent to the HPCNA.

If you selected the HPCNA to receive an EPIC Report when a credential was uploaded, that report will be sent to the HPCNA automatically when the credential is verified.

If you did not select the HPCNA to receive an EPIC Report at the time you uploaded a credential, you must go to the “My Reports” tab in your EPIC Account and request an EPIC Report for the HPCNA. Be sure to select Health Professions Councils of Namibia from the drop-down list when sending your report or your request will be rejected.
Step 5 – After all required credentials have been verified, and EPIC Reports for those credentials have been sent to the HPCNA, submit your application to the HPCNA.

Once Reports on all of your required credentials have been sent to the HPCNA, you can submit your application to the HPCNA. You should not submit your application to the HPCNA until all of your required credentials have been verified and EPIC verification reports on those credentials have been sent to the HPCNA. The HPCNA will not consider your application until all required credentials have been verified and all EPIC Reports on your verified credentials have been sent to the HPCNA.

For more information on applying to the HPCNA for registration to practice medicine in Namibia, please visit www.hpcna.com.

If you have any questions regarding EPIC and the EPIC verification process, please contact EPIC at info@ecfmgepic.org or +1 (215) 966-3900. Telephone assistance is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States.

If you have questions regarding the HPCNA’s application processes, please contact Ms. U. Hoveka at the HPCNA by phone at +264615586, or by e-mail at uhoveka@hpcna.com.na.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please also read the general Frequently Asked Questions in the For Physicians section of the website.

About Applying to the Health Professions Councils of Namibia (HPCNA)

I am applying to the HPCNA for registration; do I need to use EPIC?

Medical graduates applying for registration to the HPCNA who completed their medical education outside of Namibia will need to create an EPIC Account and have the credentials (qualifications) required by the HPCNA verified through EPIC.

When do I need to start using EPIC?

If you completed your medical education outside of Namibia and wish to apply for registration with the HPCNA, you will need to create an EPIC Account and have the credentials (qualifications) required by the HPCNA primary-source verified through EPIC beginning September 1, 2016.

I already submitted an application to ECFMG’s International Credentials Service (EICS) in support of my application to the HPCNA; do I need to have my credentials (qualifications) primary-source verified through EPIC?

If you submitted your credentials to ECFMG for verification through EICS prior to September 1, 2016, you do not need to create an EPIC Account and have your credentials primary-source verified through EPIC. Your credentials will continue through the EICS process until either they are verified or attempts to have them verified have been exhausted. Verification through EICS includes the initial request for verification and up to three reminders, as needed. If attempts to have your credentials verified through EICS are unsuccessful after all attempts have been exhausted, you will need to create an EPIC Account and upload the unverified credentials to EPIC if you wish to have them verified.

Which credentials (qualifications) do I need to submit to the HPCNA through EPIC?

Credentials required in support of your application to the HPCNA include:

Final Medical Diploma
Final Medical School Transcript
Postgraduate training certificates
(upload to EPIC as Postgraduate Medical Education Credential)
Medical licensure/registration certificates in other jurisdictions

If you have questions regarding the credentials you are required to submit, please contact Ms. U. Hoveka at the HPCNA by phone at +264615586, or by e-mail at uhoveka@hpcna.com.na.

When should I upload my credentials (qualifications) to EPIC?

Applicants intending to register with the HPCNA must have the required credentials primary-source verified through EPIC before submitting their application to the HPCNA.

We recommend that you create an EPIC Account and upload your credentials to EPIC as soon as possible after you have decided to apply to the HPCNA. Through EPIC, your credentials are verified directly with the issuing institution. The time required to complete the verification of credentials varies and depends on a number of factors, including the time it takes for the issuing institution to respond to our verification requests.

About Using EPIC

Will I have access to my medical credentials (qualifications) after I apply to the HPCNA?

Yes. The credentials that you upload to EPIC remain available to you as part of your EPIC Portfolio. You can use EPIC to send copies of these credentials along with reports verifying their authenticity to organizations worldwide at any time throughout your career.

Will the HPCNA have access to my EPIC Portfolio?

No. The HPCNA will not have direct access to your EPIC Portfolio. The HPCNA will have access only to the credentials (qualifications), notifications, and verification reports that you make available to them through EPIC.

I requested that an EPIC Report be sent to the HPCNA. How do I know if the HPCNA received the verification report and copies of my credentials?

When an EPIC Report is sent to the HPCNA, the HPCNA will have access to the report and a copy of your credential through the EPIC Report Portal. To confirm that the HPCNA has received a report for your credential, you must contact Ms. U. Hoveka at the HPCNA by phone at +264615586, or by e-mail at uhoveka@hpcna.com.na.

Can I select the HPCNA to receive EPIC Reports only once, or should I do it for every credential individually?

An EPIC Report will only be sent for a credential if you indicate a report should be sent to the HPCNA for that credential. You should request an EPIC Report for the HPCNA for each credential required by the HPCNA.

Can verification of my credentials (qualifications) already submitted through EICS be completed using EPIC?

If you submitted your credentials to ECFMG for verification through EICS prior to September 1, 2016, you do not need to have your credentials verified through EPIC. Your credentials will continue through the EICS process until either they are verified or attempts to have them verified have been exhausted. Verification through EICS includes the initial request for verification and up to three reminders, as needed. If attempts to have your credentials verified through EICS are unsuccessful after all attempts have been exhausted, you will need to create an EPIC Account and upload the unverified credentials to EPIC if you wish to have them verified.

Do I need to use EPIC when applying to the HPCNA if my credentials (qualifications) have already been verified by ECFMG for a purpose other than applying to the HPCNA?

If your credentials have already been primary-source verified by ECFMG for ECFMG Certification or through ECFMG’s International Credentials Services (EICS), you will need to create an EPIC Account and use EPIC to provide your credentials and verification reports to the HPCNA. However, you will not need to upload the credentials that were previously verified by ECFMG; they will be added to your EPIC Account at no cost. Simply provide your ECFMG/USMLE ID and/or EICS ID when you establish your EPIC Account. ECFMG will review your file typically within 10 business days; if your file is acceptable, ECFMG will add your previously verified credentials to your EPIC Portfolio. You can then use EPIC to request that verification reports on the required credentials be provided to the HPCNA.

If I have questions or problems regarding EPIC, should I contact EPIC or the HPCNA?

If you have questions regarding EPIC’s services—such as creating an EPIC Account, uploading your credentials (qualifications), managing your portfolio, the verification process, sending verification reports, or fees—please contact EPIC at info@ecfmgepic.org or +1 (215) 966-3900. Telephone assistance is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States.

If you have questions regarding applying to the HPCNA—such as necessary documentation, required qualifications, or registration categories—please contact Ms. U. Hoveka at the HPCNA by phone at +264615586, or by e-mail at uhoveka@hpcna.com.na.