Special Instructions and FAQs for Applicants to the Sint Maarten Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports

Special Instructions

ECFMG partners with the Sint Maarten Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports to primary-source verify medical credentials of internationally educated physicians who are applying for registration to practice medicine in Sint Maarten. Beginning March 1, 2017, if you are applying for registration in Sint Maarten and you obtained your basic medical qualification from a medical school located outside of Sint Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Saba, or the Netherlands, you must have certain required medical credentials verified through EPIC.

To have your credentials verified through EPIC, 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.

Please note: You may establish your EPIC Account either before or after you have begun the process of applying for registration in Sint Maarten.
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 to EPIC for primary-source verification the credentials required by the Ministry.
Step 3 – Upload each credential required by the Ministry and select the Sint Maarten Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports to receive an EPIC Report once the credential is verified.

Log in to your EPIC Account and upload the required credentials for primary-source verification. See Credentials Required by the Ministry, below, to determine which credentials you need to upload. As you upload each credential, be sure to select the Sint Maarten Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports to receive an EPIC Report once the credential is verified. Because the Ministry has requested to be notified when their applicants' credentials have been sent for verification through EPIC, a notification will be provided to the Ministry 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 Ministry to receive an EPIC Report for each required credential as you upload it. If you do, the Ministry will be notified when your credential is sent for verification and an EPIC Report on that credential will be automatically sent to the Ministry when the credential is verified. If you do not select the Ministry 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 Ministry 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 Ministry.

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

If you did not select the Ministry 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 Ministry. Be sure to select Sint Maarten Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports from the drop-down list when sending your report or your request will be rejected.

Credentials Required by the Ministry

The following credentials are required by the Ministry in support of your application for registration to practice medicine in Sint Maarten:

Final Medical Diploma
Final Medical School Transcript
Postgraduate Training Certificates
Specialist Qualifications
Medical Licensure/Registration Certificates in other jurisdictions

For more information on the credentials verified through EPIC, see Using EPIC.

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 Ministry’s application processes, please contact Monique Rollings at Monique.Rollings@sintmaartengov.org.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

About Applying to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports

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

Beginning March 1, 2017, medical graduates applying for registration to the Ministry who obtained their basic medical qualification outside of Sint Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Saba, or the Netherlands will need to create an EPIC Account and have their credentials primary-source verified through EPIC.

When do I need to start using EPIC?

If you obtained your basic medical qualification outside of Sint Maarten, Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, Saba, or the Netherlands and wish to apply for registration with the Ministry, you will need to create an EPIC Account and have the required medical credentials primary-source verified through EPIC beginning March 1, 2017.

Which credentials do I need to submit to the Ministry through EPIC?

The following credentials are required by the Ministry in support of your application for registration to practice medicine in Sint Maarten:

Final Medical Diploma
Final Medical School Transcript
Postgraduate Training Certificates
Specialist Qualifications
Medical Licensure/Registration Certificates in other jurisdictions

If you have questions regarding the credentials you are required to submit, please e-mail Monique Rollings at Monique.Rollings@sintmaartengov.org at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports.

How far in advance of applying for registration to the Ministry do I need to upload my credentials to EPIC?

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 Ministry. 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 after I apply to the Ministry?

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 Ministry have access to my EPIC Portfolio?

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

I requested that an EPIC Report be sent to the Ministry. How do I know that the Ministry received this report?

When a report is sent to the Ministry, the Ministry will have access to the report and a copy of your credential through the EPIC Report Portal.

If you need to confirm whether the Ministry has accessed your report through the EPIC Report Portal, e-mail Monique.Rollings@sintmaartengov.org at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports.

Can I select the Ministry 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 Ministry for that credential. You should request an EPIC Report for the Ministry for each credential required by the Ministry.

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

If you are applying to the Ministry on or after March 1, 2017, and 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 Ministry. 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.

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

If you have questions regarding EPIC’s services—such as creating an EPIC Account, uploading your credentials, 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 Ministry—such as necessary documentation, required credentials, or registration categories—please e-mail Monique.Rollings@sintmaartengov.org at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports.