Test Time in France

My best friend in Amiens, France went to college this year just as I did. But my little genius of a friend wants to be a famous doctor, or at least jokes about it, but Camille really does want to be a doctor. Over break she kept texting me completely freaked out because before Christmas break she and all of her class had to take this huge test that decided their future, and the results were coming out the first week of the New Year. I asked her about the details of her program to see how it differs from our own doctor and nursing programs here in the USA.

In France, in Medical studies, the first year is common to several things: doctor, midwife, dentist and physiotherapist (and also pharmacist but only in a few colleges and just for the first year).

The first semester was from September to December (without break at all), Camille had : physics and chemistry, cellular biology, embryology, histology, math and her big test was early December (the French word is Concours) over all these subjects, this was only multiple-choice question paper (QCM), and it took 2 days.

And in the middle of January, we had a big 'grading' (like a list) with the students in the program, over a thousand, from the 1st to the last people, and 15% of the end of this list was out of this year, they failed the semester, and cannot come back to medicine next year. Camille and the people she works with, were in the first 100 people, so, they succeeded the semester well. This made her very happy, and her friends and she partied.

I remember the week climbing up to the day they heard the news. She and her friends kept going out to the movies and such every night to distract them because they were all so very nervous.

Then, the test results let them follow the second semester (with anatomy -a lot, things on medicines, physiology). And they’ll have another test in May, and its result. Their mark will be the average of both, and only the 197 first will follow for the two years.

And after, there is five years of medicine studies, then the 6th year : a big big big test for all French students of medicine together, then a list, and function of their place, they can choose the way they'll go (like : surgery, emergency, doctor... etc.).

So our medicines are somewhat similar but the school is really intense. Camille is almost always working and studying all day long. But I know she will continue doing great and will be the famous doctor one day just as she jokes about.

Until next time...