Residency in France

[kaw]

Question: Is it possible to do your med school in the states and then do your residency in France? I am a US citizen, but might want to work in France.

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[nyskindr]

As far as doing a residency in France,there are several issues to consider.If you are going to France to live permanently it may not be a concern but US specialty boards generally will not count a foreign residency towards eligibility for board certification and may require the residency to be repeated. If you plan on returning to the US to practice at some point then this could be a major problem.France has many regulations regarding the ability of non citizens or non ECU nationals to obtain employment in France.This will likely affect ones chances of getting an acceptable training program and a license.You have a lot of homework to do before pursuing a residency in a foreign country!

 

[kaw]

It seems to me that to come back to the US, you just need to take the board tests. Isn't that why you see so many foreigners here?

 

[sbb7]

No, you have to take all 3 steps of the boards and complete a residency + your specialty's board exam to practice here.

 

[nyskindr]

The foreign MDs who come to the US do so to pursue residency training and become board certified and generally stay here to practice.
Some of them have already completed residency training in their own country but come here to do another residency altogether.Passing steps 1,2,3, of the boards entitles one to enter a residency and obtain a provisional license depending on the particular state.Practicing a specialty requires completion of an approved US or Canadian residency.There are only rare exceptions to this if at all.It is not that unusual however for an American grad to complete basic internship and residency qualification training in the US and then go to a European hospital to do research and perhaps an additional subspecialty fellowship.

 

[kaw]

Thanks so much for this valuable information. I realize that I am a little naive about the prospect of doing a residency and practice in another country. My goal (though that changes frequently) is to practice in France. There is an American hospital in Paris, and I am sure there are Embassy doctors in France that are American. My real dilemma is then, how to do this? In case you are wondering why? My future wife is French.

 

[Spudster]

I would certainly check into this idea more before you make too many plans. I lived in France for a couple of years and knew an American physician who now practices over there (French spouse, same as you). He finished his MD in the states before his wife decided she couldn't stand the states any longer and moved. He had to repeat some of Med School in France. I don't know how much you know of their system, but from what I recall, it is a 6- or 7-year program, and at least for this particular man, he had to repeat selected years of that program (3, I think) before he could continue with his training and practice.

This may have changed since, but it is certainly something that would motivate me to check into the current policies.