IMG Facing Political Instability at Home: Protecting Credentials and Records

If your country is unstable and you’re an IMG, you cannot afford to be casual about your documents.

I’ve seen careers destroyed not by exams or visas, but by missing transcripts, closed universities, bombed record offices, or a dean who “disappeared.” If you’re in a politically unstable or conflict-prone country and planning US residency, you’re in a higher‑risk category whether you like it or not.

Let me be blunt: your degree, your license, your logbooks, your internship certificate—these are more fragile than you think. Systems crash. Offices burn. People flee. You need to act like the sole guardian of your professional identity. Because in many cases, you are.

Here’s exactly what to do, step by step, to protect your credentials and records for the Match and beyond.

---

Step 1: Identify What You Must Protect (And What’s Replaceable)

You cannot back up your life if you don’t actually know what you have—and what absolutely must not be lost.

Start with a written list. Not in your head. On paper and in a text file.

Core categories:

1. Education

   • Medical school diploma
   • Final medical school transcript (with grades/years)
   • Dean’s letter / graduation certificate
   • Internship/house job completion certificate
   • Any additional degrees: MSc, MPH, PhD, etc.

2. Licensing / Registration

   • Permanent / provisional medical license
   • Registration with national medical council / authority
   • Specialty board certification (if any)
   • Good standing letters from licensing bodies

3. Exams and US-Specific Stuff

   • USMLE Step transcripts and score reports
   • ECFMG ID, confirmation emails, EPIC/ECFMG primary source verifications
   • TOEFL / IELTS scores (if relevant)
   • Any NRMP/ERAS account confirmations

4. Training and Work

   • Residency or fellowship certificates (if you trained locally)
   • Employment contracts or letters from hospitals/clinics
   • Procedure logs, case logs, call schedules
   • Letters of recommendation (LORs), especially from key mentors

5. Identity and Travel

   • Passport
   • National ID
   • Birth certificate
   • Marriage certificate (if name changed)

Now mark these categories:

• Critical and irreplaceable: things that would be very hard or impossible to reissue if the institution closes, records are destroyed, or officials flee (e.g., internship certificate from a small provincial hospital).
• Critical but possibly re-obtainable: documents from big universities or national boards that may have redundancy (but still not guaranteed in conflict).
• Useful but non-critical: conference attendance certificates, small local awards.

Your priority is critical + irreplaceable. Protect those first.

---

Step 2: Create a Redundant Digital Archive (Not Just “Photos on Your Phone”)

If your plan is “I’ll just take pictures of my certificates and keep them in my phone gallery,” you do not have a plan. Phones get stolen. Confiscated at borders. Wiped.

You need a structured digital archive with multiple backups.

2.1. Scan properly

Do this now, not “when things calm down.”

• Use a scanner if available. If not, use a scanner app (e.g., Adobe Scan, Microsoft Lens, CamScanner with export to PDF).
• Save as PDF, not just jpg photos. Combine front and back pages where relevant.
• Make sure:
  • Entire document visible
  • Legible stamps and signatures
  • No heavy shadows / cut corners

Name files in a consistent, searchable format:

• Surname_Firstname_DocumentType_Year.pdf
  Example: Ali_Sara_MedDiploma_2019.pdf

2.2. Organize by folders

Do not dump 100 files into one folder called “Documents.”

Create a hierarchy:

• /01_Identity/
• /02_Medical_School/
• /03_Internship_and_Training/
• /04_Licensing/
• /05_USMLE_ECFMG/
• /06_Employment_and_LORs/

You should be able to find your internship certificate in under 15 seconds even under stress.

2.3. Back up in at least three places

Minimum redundancy for someone in an unstable environment:

1. Local encrypted storage

   • External hard drive or USB, encrypted (BitLocker, VeraCrypt, FileVault).
   • Keep it physically separate from your computer.

2. Cloud storage #1

   • Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, or iCloud.
   • Use strong password + two-factor authentication (2FA).

3. Cloud storage #2 or trusted person abroad

   • Second cloud provider or
   • Encrypted zip folder shared with a trusted person outside the country (family, friend, mentor).

If internet is unreliable, batch upload during stable periods. Don’t wait for the “perfect connection.”

---

Step 3: Get Ahead of ECFMG / EPIC / Primary Source Verification

The single best thing you can do while your systems are still functioning: push your credentials through official verification pipelines now, before the situation worsens.

3.1. ECFMG and EPIC

If you haven’t started:

• Create an ECFMG account and get your ID.
• Initiate EPIC (Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials) for primary source verification of:
  • Medical diploma
  • Final transcript
  • Post-graduate training certificates (if applicable)

Many schools in unstable countries have sporadic or unpredictable responses. EPIC requests can sit unanswered for months. So:

• Submit early, long before you absolutely need it.
• Confirm with your school’s dean’s office or registrar that they:
  • Know what ECFMG/EPIC is
  • Have a functioning email and mailing address
  • Actually respond to these requests

If your school is at risk of closure or staff displacement, this is urgent. Once your credentials are verified and stored with ECFMG/EPIC, you’re much safer long-term, even if the school later collapses.

3.2. Track your verification status

Keep a simple tracker:

Document	Submitted to EPIC	Verified (Y/N)	Date Verified	Notes
Med Diploma	Yes	Yes	2024-06-10
Final Transcript	Yes	Pending	School slow to reply
Internship Certificate	Yes	No	Will resend request
Specialty Certificate	No	N/A	To upload later

Look at this table every month. If something’s stuck, you push again. Email. Call. Ask a friend near campus to physically visit the registrar.

---

Step 4: Plan for Worst-Case Institutional Scenarios

Let’s talk about the ugly possibilities:

• University shut down or occupied
• Records office destroyed or inaccessible
• Dean / registrar unavailable, fled, or deceased
• National medical council not functioning or split between factions

You don’t prepare for this by optimism. You prepare by getting signatures and letters while people and systems are still reachable.

4.1. Get “over-documentation” now

If your hospital/med school is still open and operating:

• Ask for multiple originals (if culturally and legally acceptable):
  • Internship certificate
  • House job completion letter
  • Good standing letter
  • Specialist training confirmation (if applicable)
• Get letters on official letterhead that:
  • Confirm your enrollment dates
  • Confirm graduation date and degree
  • Confirm completion of internship/house job with dates and departments

You want more documentation than feels necessary. Because in a conflict, “I’ll just get a new copy later” can become impossible.

4.2. Collect personal verifiers

Write down a list of people who can vouch for you if documentation is lost:

• Former dean or associate dean
• Department heads
• Program directors
• Senior colleagues

For each:

• Full name
• Position/title
• Personal email (Gmail, etc., not just institutional)
• Phone/WhatsApp (with country code)
• Current city/country (if you know it)

Store that list in your digital archive. If institutions fail, these people become your only bridge to proving training and graduation.

---

Step 5: Protect Yourself While Traveling and Crossing Borders

Unstable countries often come with messy borders, checkpoints, and searches. If you’re fleeing or even just traveling for exams, you have another problem: you’re carrying the most valuable paper you own.

5.1. Do not travel with your only originals if you can avoid it

If you’ve already scanned and uploaded everything:

• For many visa / exam / ECFMG processes, scanned copies + later institutional verification are enough.
• If you must show originals at some point (e.g., visa interviews), plan that as a controlled exposure: bring them, present them, and bring them back to a safe place.

If you’re leaving the country potentially for good, different equation: you may need to evacuate with originals. In that case, protect them like passports:

• Waterproof, fire-resistant document pouch
• Keep in your carry-on, never in checked luggage
• Don’t hand them to random “officers” without some form of receipt or confirmation if at all possible

5.2. Separate physical and digital risk

If border officials or militias are hostile to people leaving or to “Western” plans:

• Keep your physical originals in one place
• Keep your external drive / USB separate and hidden
• Your cloud backups should still be accessible from another country if everything local is lost

If your laptop is confiscated or damaged, your future should still live in the cloud.

---

Step 6: Managing Letters of Recommendation in Unstable Settings

LORs from your home country can be tricky if:

• Your recommenders may leave or lose institutional email
• Hospitals shut down
• Internet becomes unreliable

Here’s how you stay ahead.

6.1. Get LORs early and in ERAS-ready format

If you’re within 12–18 months of applying:

• Ask for LORs now, not “closer to application season.”
• Give your writer:
  • Your CV
  • Your personal statement draft (or goals summary)
  • A bullet list of your work with them

Ask them to:

• Use hospital/department letterhead if available
• Sign with blue ink (scans show better)
• Include:
  • Specific dates they worked with you
  • Your role and performance
  • Explicit statement recommending you for US residency

Then:

• Have them scan and email the letter directly to you or upload to ERAS via the LOR portal (best).
• If direct upload isn’t possible yet, store the signed PDF and later guide them through the ERAS LOR upload process when application season opens.

6.2. Have backup contact methods

Tell your recommenders explicitly:

“If our hospital email system goes down or things worsen here, can I still reach you via this personal email or WhatsApp to coordinate ERAS uploads?”

Get explicit yes. Save that info.

---

Step 7: Time-Sensitive Actions Before Things Get Worse

If you’re in that uneasy middle zone—things are “okay for now, but who knows” — you should treat this like a countdown.

Here’s how I’d prioritize over the next 4–6 weeks:

Priority Areas for Document Protection

Category	Value
Scanning & Backup	90
ECFMG/EPIC Verification	80
Extra Originals/Letters	70
[LORs for ERAS](https://residencyadvisor.com/resources/img-residency-guide/the-soft-signals-pds-look-for-in-img-recommendation-letters)	60
Contact List of Verifiers	50

Interpretation (rough “urgency” score out of 100):

1. Scanning & backup (90/100)
   If your house is raided or burned tonight, do you still have your credentials? That’s the baseline question.

2. ECFMG/EPIC verification (80/100)
   Getting your degree “locked in” with ECFMG can compensate for later chaos at your school.

3. Extra originals & official letters (70/100)
   Multi-signed letters and multiple originals are your insurance against destroyed offices.

4. LORs for ERAS (60/100)
   They matter a lot, but if the choice is between verifying your diploma and getting an extra letter, verify the diploma first.

5. Contact list of verifiers (50/100)
   Still critical. But do it as you go while handling the other tasks.

---

Step 8: Mental Framing—You’re Building a “Portable Professional Identity”

Think of your identity as a doctor in two layers:

1. Paper-based, location-bound identity

   • Stored in your med school’s basement or your ministry’s archive.

2. Portable, cloud-backed, internationally verifiable identity

   • Stored with ECFMG/EPIC, USMLE, and your secure digital archive.

Your goal in an unstable environment is simple: shift as much as possible from layer 1 to layer 2 before anything breaks.

That means:

• Every document that exists only in one office in your home city = risk.
• Every document scanned, backed up, and, where possible, verified through ECFMG/EPIC = much safer.

You cannot fix the political situation. You can absolutely control how vulnerable your professional documentation is to it.

---

Step 9: Concrete To-Do List for the Next 7 Days

Do not just “understand” this. Convert it into actions.

Within 24 hours

• Make a complete list of all credentials you currently have and those you still need to obtain.
• Set up or secure your primary cloud storage with 2FA.
• Create your folder structure for documents.

Within 3 days

• Scan and upload:

  • Passport
  • Medical diploma
  • Transcript (if you have it)
  • Internship/house job certificate
  • Medical license and good standing letter

• Save all USMLE and ECFMG-related PDFs and confirmation emails into /05_USMLE_ECFMG/.

Within 7 days

• Start or log into your ECFMG/EPIC account. Upload your diploma and any available transcripts.
• Email or visit your med school/registrar:
  • Confirm their contact info and procedure for responding to ECFMG/EPIC.
• Ask for at least:
  • One additional official letter confirming graduation
  • One additional letter confirming internship/house job details

If things worsen suddenly, you’ll be very glad you did this now and not “after Step 1” or “after I finish my observership.”

---

FAQ (Exactly 4 Questions)

1. If my medical school is destroyed or closed later, will I still be able to get ECFMG certified?
If your diploma and transcript have already been primary source verified via EPIC/ECFMG, you’re in much better shape. ECFMG keeps that verified record even if your institution later collapses. If you haven’t completed verification and the school no longer functions or cannot respond, certification can become very difficult or in some cases impossible. That’s why early EPIC submission and active follow-up while systems still work is non-negotiable in unstable regions.

2. Are scanned copies of my documents enough for US residency programs?
Scanned copies are usually fine for application review through ERAS because most documents are uploaded as PDFs anyway. But behind the scenes, ECFMG still needs primary source verification from your school for certification, and certain processes (like some visas or state licenses) can require original documents or institution-issued letters. Think of scans as the first line of defense and ECFMG/EPIC verification as the second. Originals remain important, but if you lose them after they’ve been verified by ECFMG, you’re far safer than if you never completed verification.

3. I’m worried that keeping my documents in the cloud is unsafe. What if my account is hacked?
Cloud risk is real, but manageable. Set a very strong, unique password and use two-factor authentication (ideally app-based like Google Authenticator, not just SMS if your phone network is unreliable). Do not reuse passwords from email or social media. For an extra layer, you can encrypt especially sensitive PDFs (like passport scans) with a password before uploading. Compared to the risk of documents being physically destroyed or lost in conflict or migration, a properly secured cloud account is usually the lesser risk.

4. My recommenders may leave the country or lose access to their institutional emails. How do I handle LORs for ERAS?
Get ahead of this. Ask for letters now, on official letterhead, signed and scanned. Ideally, have them upload directly to ERAS when the season opens. At minimum, store the signed PDF securely yourself and keep their personal contact info (Gmail, WhatsApp). When ERAS opens, you can contact them wherever they are, even if the hospital email server is gone. If they’ve already left and you’ve lost contact, that’s when your procrastination comes back to punish you—so do not wait.

---

Open a folder on your computer right now called Medical_Credentials_Backup. Then grab the single most important document you own—your medical diploma—and scan it into that folder before you do anything else today.