Medical Deserts: "Faced with proposals to further regulate practitioners' choice of practice, the anger of the medical profession is misplaced, even shocking."

At a time when the issue of medical deserts is once again a hot topic, solutions aimed at encouraging, or even forcing, young doctors to cover more of the national territory immediately provoke indignant comments from those concerned. The medical lobby is taking action and finding effective intermediaries among political leaders who have no problem supporting them while lamenting the shortcomings of healthcare coverage in their territories. It is time to be factual about the training provided to future doctors and the medical profession.

The entrance exam for the second year of medical school has a selectivity rate of 12% to 33% depending on the medical school. Other entrance exams are equally, or even more, selective: National School of the Judiciary, National Higher School of Police, National School of Civil Aviation, engineering schools, business schools, national veterinary schools, BTS (Brevet de France)…

Up until the internship, medical studies (six years) are virtually free, with students required to pay tuition fees that do not exceed 500 euros per year. In the United States, a year of medical school costs $35,000 to $80,000 (€30,000 to €70,000); in Canada, the United Kingdom, or Australia, this represents $10,000 to $25,000 per year for a native student, and double that for a foreign student.

The internship competition was replaced in 2004 by the national ranking examinations (ECN), offering all medical students a position as an intern to prepare for a medical specialty, including general medicine. Enrollment in a private preparatory course is not required to pass these ECNs.

Once passed these tests, the medical intern receives university hospital training to become a specialist after four or five years, during which time he or she receives compensation above the minimum wage for his or her work in a hospital. Tuition fees for this highly specialized postgraduate training are less than 1,000 euros per year.

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