do you need the usmle to do a fellowship in california?

Hi Carmela. As far as I know, you do need the usmle:

Education Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates - ECFMG, was established to assess the competence of Foreign Medical Graduates (FMG) to enter medical residency and fellowship programs in the U.S. In order to join a medical residency program, you will need a ECFMG certificate. All foreign medical graduates are required to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) to get ECFMG certified. By issuing this certificate, ECFMG certifies that you have completed all requirements to begin your internship, residency or fellowship.

I just attended a Kaplan USMLE event last night. They have a bunch of free events for Int'l medical graduates in the month of June, and free medical advisors on hand to talk about stuff like you addressed in your question. www.kaplanmedical.com is where you go to sign up for a free medical event. My friend took Kaplan and referred me there and so far, so good.