Residency (medicine) - France

France

In France, students attending clinical practice are known as "externes" and newly-qualified practitioners training in hospitals are known as "internes". The Residency, called "Internat", lasts from three to five years and follows a competitive national examination. It is customary to delay submission of a thesis. As in most other European countries, many years of practice at a junior level may follow. French Residents cannot be called "Doctor" during their residency. They are still considered as students and become M.D. only at the end of their residency and after submitting a thesis.