DIS (Diplôme Interuniversitaire de Specialisation)

This diploma is not available anymore. The last applications were received in 1999. It had the same theoretical content as the State Diploma of Medical Studies (DES) of the same speciality. To apply for this diploma, you had to pass selection tests. Application requests were handled by the cultural sections of French embassies or by French medical universities.

The AFS and the AFSA

These programs were created in 1992 and share some of the same theoretical and practical content as the corresponding DES and the Specialised Studies program (DESC). They do not lead to a qualification and do not allow you to practise in France.

The AFS (Specialised Training Certificate) is for young overseas practitioners who are looking to specialise. It gives them the possibility of spending between one and two years (from two to four terms) in France. Your university of origin’s agreement is necessary for this training. The AFSA (Further Specialised Training Certificate) is for overseas specialised practitioners who want to increase their knowledge in a specific field of their speciality. It is similar to the AFS but is shorter in length (one or two terms).

Registration is not done centrally but at your chosen university. The agreement of teacher who coordinates the DES or the DESC which corresponds to your chosen speciality is required. The existence of a local coordinator does not necessarily mean that the DES or DESC will be taught at the university in question. But the coordinator is a great source of information about local training opportunities in your chosen speciality. Moreover, information exchanges between your university of origin and the French university are strongly encouraged. You are also advised to complete all administrative procedures before your arrival in France. Taking the AFS and the AFSA will not mean that hospital internships are automatically remunerated.

The Ministries of Health and of Higher Education are currently working on a reform package to offer better conditions and to improve the quality of specialised training for overseas students (including new qualifications and a new organisation based on a partnership between the universities and the teaching hospitals (CHU)). Like the AFS/AFSA, these will not lead to an EU qualification, nor will they allow you to practise in France.

« Internat » (third cycle of specialised medicine) for overseas doctors.

This annual exam is for non-EU doctors. It is divided by subject. The exam is modelled on the French « internat » exam.

Council Directive 93/16/EEC of 5 April 1993 aims to facilitate the free movement of doctors and mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other qualifications. It was repealed and replaced by Directive 2005/36/EC as of 20 October 2007. You will find a summary of this directive on the Europa website at: http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l23021.htm

To register and ask for your diploma to be recognised, you must contact the “Conseil National de l’ordre des Médecins” (National council of the order of physicians). You will find all the necessary information at: http://www.conseil‐national.medecin.fr/?url=qualif/pgraphe.php&offset=5

You will need to provide two documents to the « Conseil départemental » with which you wish to register:

- a certified copy of your qualification
- a document of compliance by the competent authority in your country of origin certifying that you are the holder of the qualification which falls under the EC directive (currently, Directive 93/16/EEC modified by Directive 2001/19/EC).

While it is easy for EU doctors to establish themselves in France, this is not so for non-EU nationals. The subtleties of the French language can raise false hopes for overseas doctors: indeed, successfully passing an exam does not mean that you will be able to practise in France.

Once you have had your qualification recognised in France (which can mean starting all over again), you will still have to practise for three years in a public hospital or public-private hospital (PSPH), under the supervision of another doctor, before you can enter private medicine. However, each case is different and legislation continues to evolve.

I highly recommend that you get all the necessary information before you ask for your qualification to be recognised. You must contact the Ministry of Health and make sure all your qualifications and evidence of your previous medical experience are translated into French.

An information sheet about the « procédure d’autorisation d’exercice (PAE) » (the authorization to practise procedure) for non-EU doctors is available at: http://www.anemf.org/IMG/pdf_PAE_information-2.pdf

On 1 June 2002, Switzerland and European Member States signed bilateral agreements which allow mutual recognition of qualifications.

Council Directive 93/16/EEC of 5 April 1993 aims to facilitate the free movement of doctors and mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other qualifications.

The Agreement on the Free movement of persons (ACLP) allows Swiss nationals to work in France. http://www.bag.admin.ch/themen/berufe/00406/index.html?lang=fr