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Tutorat NMO: ANEMF-France University of Versailles, France audrey.larnaudie@anemf.org quentin.degez@anemf.org
Quentin Degez
Audrey Larnaudie
In each medical faculty of France, only about 13% of the 1st year medical students are able to continue to the 2nd year. Also, a student is not allowed to repeat the 1st year more than twice. For a lot of them, the dream of practicing as medical doctors will never come true and demotivation levels start rising. This measure was made to control demography impact of the number of medical doctors in the country. The 13% that are lucky enough to go on to the 2nd year are selected from the results of two exams and, as a result, a huge competition among medical students occurs. Therefore, some private companies have proposed supplementary classes in parallel to the university. Obviously, these courses are incredibly expensive, around ten times more in a semester than students have to pay in a whole academic year. Years ago, the common thought was that students wouldn’t be able to succeed their first year of medical studies without these classes. Slowly, our public system was being forced into a private one in front of our eyes. Created in 1976 by the faculty of Saint Etienne, ‘Tutorat’ project helps medical students of the 1st year by providing them with academic preparation for free or at a very low price. A local committee team made by students, with a coordinator and some tutors, all in 2nd and 3rd years of medical studies, was in charge of this project. Now, it runs in each of the 37 local committees and has become even more relevant. At least one mock exam is done every week and all disciplines are covered by the ‘Tutorat’. Every year, more than 4.000 tutors guide about 55.000 medical pupils. ANEMF-France coordinates the project at a national level and provides trainings in its national General Assemblies for local committees. We’re very satisfied to see that the team of tutors is getting bigger and bigger:
in University of Versailles, there are more than 100 tutors in the 2nd year. The ‘Tutorat’ project is obtaining even more recognition, with some departments of the Medical Council and universities requiring their professors to be involved and giving us materials for free. By creating a free preparation, accessible to every student of the 1st year, the chances to continue with the dream are equal to everyone. Selection for the 2nd year of medical studies will not be based on economic power but rather on individual performances. This project started as a little one but has now changed the stereotype of the future medical doctors the French system is able to select. Medical Students Worldwide | Taiwan AM 2014