According to a decree published in the JO on Sunday, osteopathic schools must comply with stricter rules to obtain their approval. More teaching hours will be needed.
Marisol Touraine, Minister of Health, has just decided to strengthen the supervision of training in osteopathy. In a decree published this Sunday in the Official Journal (JO), the government wanted to harmonize and improve the quality of the training provided. The text will come into force at the start of the 2015 school year.
A training period of 5 years
In detail, this decree fixes in particular the duration of training at five years, ie 4,860 hours excluding personal work, divided into seven main areas of education and divided between theoretical and practical training. That is to say 150 consultations and 1,500 hours of clinical training, with more precise pedagogical supervision.
Developed after consultation with all the representatives of professionals and students, the new regulatory framework also contains more demanding approval criteria for the establishments with which they will have to comply for the start of the September 2015 school year. For example, teachers should have at least 5 years of experience.
By this new device, “the Government reaffirms its desire to guarantee the quality of the teaching and schools of osteopathy throughout the territory in order to secure the care of people resorting to osteopathy”, it is written in the press release.
The number of osteopaths has exploded in France
As a reminder, the number of osteopaths has exploded in France in recent years, going from 4,000 in 2002 to around 20,000 today. Half of them are health professionals (8,000 physiotherapists, 1,800 doctors, a few nurses, chiropodists or even midwives), who have completed their course with osteopathic training.
The other half have taken initial osteopathy training in one of the 30 schools in France. The number of these non-healthcare osteopaths continues to increase. 7-8 years ago, they were less than a thousand, whereas today they are almost 10,000.
However, according to a report by the Igas of 2012, the teaching of osteopaths falls short in terms of quality and quantity.
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