MAINTENANCE. For several years, the number of doctors with foreign qualifications practicing in France has been increasing. In the city or the hospital, they fill the lack of doctors trained in France.
In 2017, more than 22,000 doctors practicing in France obtained their diplomas abroad. More than half were trained in a country outside the European Union, reports the new mapping of the National Council of the Order of Physicians (Cnom).
Compared with 2010, the number of these doctors graduating abroad has increased by 4 points. An increase that made up for the shortage of doctors in certain regions and the retirements not replaced.
Nevertheless, Dr Patrick Bouet, president of the Cnom, stresses that these living forces of the French health system do not represent a solution to medical deserts. They simply maintained the illusion that the number of doctors was increasing.
Why do we use foreign doctors?
Dr Patrick Bouet: There is no approach from France to seek doctors with foreign diplomas. It is not like Canada, which comes to recruit general practitioners or anesthetists in France. It is our health system that is attractive to these practitioners with foreign qualifications. It should also be remembered that among these doctors, there are French people who went abroad and then returned to practice in the country. The expansion of the European Union has also increased this influx of medical graduates abroad. No one had anticipated this situation and we did not expect to register so many foreign doctors each year on French territory.
Dr Patrick Bouet, president of the Cnom
In which sector and specialties can we find them?
Dr Patrick Bouet: Most of them work in the salaried and hospital sector, a bit like the new graduates registered in France. They are also found in the liberal world in ophthalmology, gynecology or psychiatry. But also in general medicine since a certain number hold a diploma in general medicine or equivalence.
And where do they settle?
Dr Patrick Bouet: They will settle where the young doctors with French diplomas are settling. Or in large cities, close to the hospital system, which need doctors to strengthen their teams. Eventually, they settle where there is already an important medical fabric. And although a certain number settle in rural areas, they do not represent today a solution to desertification in a certain number of regions, basins of life or communities of communes.
They nevertheless represent a temporary solution to desertification …
Dr Patrick Bouet: This flow of doctors has allowed us to maintain a quantitative illusion. Ten years ago we had a numerus clausus set at 4,000 medical graduates each year. The arrival of these doctors with diplomas abroad compensated for this very low numerus clausus. So it gave the illusion that the number of doctors continued to increase. And indeed today, France has more than 200,000 practicing doctors, of which more than 20,000 have been trained abroad.
Will this upward trend continue?
Dr Patrick Bouet: For the moment, nothing indicates to us that this will decrease, in particular because of the general policy of the European Union and the conflicts which exist in myof and push doctors and their families to take refuge in France. So we think that this flow will remain stable or even increase a little because there are countries in Europe which produce a lot of doctors.
In addition, there are now new sectors opening up in which young French people are getting involved to do their first two cycles of medical studies. They go to Romania, Belgium, Spain, Italy, soon to Croatia or Poland before returning to France to be trained in their specialty. This other “variety” of professionals who have gone abroad for the start of their studies will not, to really speak, represent graduates from abroad.
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