More than 10,000 interns are expected to join hospitals in November.

Between 10,000 and 10,500 new medical interns are expected to join hospitals in November, the Conference of Deans of Medicine estimated on March 3, 2026, welcoming a significant increase over the past two years, after a drop caused in 2024 by the reform of the internship competition.

Residents are postgraduate students (from their seventh year onwards) who work full-time in hospitals or outpatient clinics. To gain admission to a residency program, students take a competitive exam in their sixth year to choose their future specialty and the city where they will complete their residency.

A reform implemented in 2024 introduced, for the first time, a failing grade on the written exam as well as an oral exam, and significantly reduced the number of new residents: some students strategically decided to repeat their fifth year to avoid being the guinea pigs for the new exam. Only 8,500 residents were then assigned to hospitals, compared to the usual 9,500, amidst persistent staffing shortages of physicians in hospitals. For the 2025 intake, 8,961 residency positions were subsequently made available.

This year, 10,590 students (94.21 TP3T of the class) were " admitted "They will pass the written exam and will take the practical exams, called OSCEs, in June," indicated Isabelle Laffont, president of the Conference of Deans of Medicine, on Tuesday. The number of those admitted to the OSCEs, and therefore of future interns, is " difficult to assess " but " The figure will likely be between 10,000 and 10,500." she rejoiced.

Read moreI was nervous: Shivam Dube opens up on bowling nerve-wracking last over in seeding

Read alsoPrime Minister Sébastien Lecornu wants 130 million for the France Santé centers by 2026

“ Our medical schools are full.

We are training more and more doctors and today " Our medical schools are full: between 2018 and 2025, (…) the number of students has increased by approximately 20% » who enter at the beginning of the course, in the second year of medicine, to reach 12,000 students.

According to several unions, interns represent 401 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in hospital medical staff, and their reduction in 2024 had increased the workload and on-call duties of practicing physicians. Interns play a significant role in the smooth running of services, particularly emergency departments, and work more than 50 hours per week, according to the union that represents them, ISNI.