Archive for residency
congrats, Dr. Robert!
Posted in Books, Kids, Statistics, University life with tags Department of Internal Medicine, Elsevier, first publication, Fort-de-France, internal medecine, Martinique, Martinique University Hospital, medical thesis, myopathy, publication, residency, Semin Arthritis Rheum, Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism on December 25, 2025 by xi'an
is there a doctor on board?!
Posted in Kids, pictures, Travel with tags Air France, Basse-Terre, doctor on board, Doctors without Borders, Guadeloupe, internship, medical doctor, Orly, oxygen, playmobil, residency on November 9, 2025 by xi'an
When our daughter flew back from Guadeloupe during her residency, a few weeks ago, she heard midway (i.e. in the middle of the Atlantic) the dreaded (?) call from AF flight attendants for doctors in the plane to contact them. She did and, since she was both the most senior intern and with specialty the most suited to handle emergency cases, she ended up caring for a passenger suffering from respiratory issues. Fortunately, the flight was carrying medical oxygen tanks that proved enough to support said passenger all the way to a Paris airport. Once landed, an emergency team evacuated the (mostly recovered) patient in priority (but not Doctor Robert!). Amusingly, since she had purposely (!) left her doctor card in her blouse at the Basse-Terre hospital, she first needed to have a colleague on duty there to send a picture for the flight attendants to let her handle the patient!
“les études médicales sont financées par l’argent public”
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures, Statistics, Travel, University life with tags François Bayrou, France, French hospital, French politics, French universities, Le Monde, Libé, medical deserts, medical studies, medically undeserved area, night shift, online harassment, overtime, residency, tuition fees on May 6, 2025 by xi'an
A recurrent debate in French politics is on how to address medically underserved areas (called medical deserts in France) where locals cannot find a general practitioner nearby and even less a specialist. This primarily impacts inhabitants from rural areas and from deprived suburbs. This is due to both a decreasing number of hospitals, the smallest ones being the first ones to vanish, and a general preference of (private practice) health professionals to work in larger cities. Most Western countries face the same issue, despite having hugely different health systems.
Last week, the Bayrou government was faced with a new Parliament proposal to address the issue by increasing the duration of medical studies by one year de facto spent in a medical desert. They suggested instead to have all health professional spend two working days per month in a deprived area. Which (obviously) led to a fiery debate between (cross-party, minus the extreme right) proponents and (professional) opponents of the scheme. I find it difficult to imagine how this can be implemented with any dose of efficiency, but observed fairly disingenuous arguments in the media (incl. Le Monde and Libé that I read every day). Namely that, since medical studies are supported by the French State, practitioners had a debt to said State and the society altogether. The argument is quite fallacious. First, almost all university cursus(es) are equally supported by the French State, be it a specialisation in paediatric surgery, or a PhD in medieval philosophy, or again a professional master in quantitative finance, in that the registration fees are symbolic. Why should there be more a debt for medical studies than for other fields?! Second, the “long and expensive years of training” mentioned in these papers include three to six residency years where residents are working full-time in hospitals and private practice, where they are essential components to get these hospital running, while and because being paid close to the minimum wage, hence much less than a regular doctor. With limited social protections against overtime, harassment, and night shifts… Not mentioning the resulting limited number of teaching hours per student when compared with other fields.
off to Martinique [#2]
Posted in Kids, Mountains, pictures, Running, Travel with tags Caribean sea, family, Fort-de-France, Martinique, medical thesis, Montagne Pelée, outremer, pitons, residency, thesis defence, trail running, volcano, West Indies on October 18, 2023 by xi'an
off to Martinique
Posted in Kids, pictures, Running, Travel with tags Caribean sea, Fort-de-France, Martinique, Montagne Pelée, outremer, residency, volcano, West Indies on January 25, 2023 by xi'an
