Doctors in France : Training and accreditation

Medical studies in France are very long and intense.  It takes eight years to become a general doctor and 11 years to become a surgeon.   Medical studies are available at three program levels.  The first year (the undergraduate level) incorporates compulsory subjects of physics, chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry, biology, cytology, embryology, histology, physiology, anatomy, biostatistics, humanities and a social science module.  After completing the first-year and passing the knowledge tests at the end of the second year, students then enter the third year which is also known as the first year of the Masters Program (DCEM 1). 

 

The DCEM 1 program focuses on understanding the hospital functions while the second part, which lasts three years, is devoted to instruction in pathology and therapy including theory and clinical training (internships in hospitals).  A certificate is granted in the second year of the master's program after successfully passing two annual examinations.  The certificate is the entry requirement for the Doctoral Program.  

 

The Doctoral Program can take two and a half to five years to complete.  A general medicine or residency program takes two and a half years while a medical specialist program for a surgeon takes four or five years.  Full-time general residency lasts two and a half years and includes hospital functions, extramural functions with a certified practitioner or in a certified organization or laboratory.   Once qualified, specialists can work in the private or public sector and doctors are given the title of Docteur en Medicine (MD).

Doctors should be registered with the French Medical Council, known as The Ordre National des Médecins (CNOM), which is the French equivalent to the UK's General Medical Council and regulates the profession in a similar way.  The Agence National d’Accreditation (ANAES) is the national agency run by the French Ministry of Health which evaluates and accredits the health service, ensuring that that each hospital adheres to very strict procedures for the highest medical standards. It is the equivalent of the UK’s National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE).

 

The French Society of General Medical (Société français de médecine générale) optimises the organisation of the French health system.  Other bodies include the French Union of Surgeons, (the Union Francaise des Chirugiens de France, UCDF), the French Association of Surgery (Association Française de Chirurgie, AFC) and the Fédération des Médecins de France (FMF).  Bariatric Surgeons are usually members of organisations such as the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO), and the French Society of Gastrointestinal Surgery.

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