Medical care in France has traditionally been hospital oriented. Most specialist doctors in France are employed in the state owned hospitals. The remainder work in the private sector in clinics, as company physicians, doctors working in research and development, or practitioners running their own private surgeries.

In the public sector salaries and general terms of employment are negotiated between the recruiting hospital and the doctors according to national salary grids. This leaves room for negotiation only in cases in which the hospitals have a great need for a certain type of specialist.

All doctors working in France need to become members of the French Medical Association (Conseil National de l'Ordre des Médecins). The CNOM represents its members in collective bargaining regarding salaries, working hours, working conditions etc, but the Association is also deeply involved in a wide range of professional issues, e.g. medical education, medical ethics, health care politics, quality assurance and international relations.

For more information on what it is like to work as a hospital doctor in France, please see Conseil National Medecin, or the mission statement. 

Working hours are regulated by national law and consist of 10 half days per week with a maximum of 48 working hours. In addition most specialties have night and week-end duty, for which you will receive financial compensation, time off in-lieu (TOIL), or a combination of both.

Employment for foreign doctors from the EU usually starts with the status of "contractual practitioner". This status implies a contract of maximum two years and starts with a two month trial period. The goal thereafter for the hospitals and the practitioners is to pass an exam and become a "hospital practitioner". After becoming a hospital practitioner all the previous years of experience will be counted and the status graded between 1-13. The step from contractual to hospital practitioner usually takes no less than six months and no more than two years.

The career of a hospital practitioner follows a linear development and increases incrementally; it takes 24 year to reach the 13th grading starting from grade 1. If a doctor is able and willing to participate more in the service plan and on-call schedule of the department, the salary will increase in accordance with the general scale set by the state hospital (by the state or by the individual hospital?) for doctors currently employed by the hospital. After 6 months to a maximum two years when contractual doctors become hospital practitioners the salary will depend on your seniority (grading), the amount of extra duties and teaching tasks.

Doctors can on average count on having 1 weekday duty every week and 1 Saturday or Sunday/month. If a doctor is on an on-call duty, every trip to the hospital will be compensated and compensation is given even if no consultation has been carried out.

Doctors have the right to continuous training (continuing professional development, CPD) and are by law entitled to 14 days of training per year, paid for by the hospital, to participate in congresses (national and international), courses and other training events.

The hospital doctors' duties involve tutoring of doctors undergoing specialisation. They also participate in educational activities.

Typical tasks for a hospital practitioner are:

• Medical activities at the hospital or other hospitals under contract with your hospital
• Night duties
• Activities of general interest, management and institutional contributions
• Training and research contracts
• Activities in collaboration with other hospitals
• Private practice at the hospital (two half days maximum)
• Continuous training (continuing professional development, CPD)

Future prospects for doctors are considered to be very bright. There are already shortages of doctors in many specialist fields and in certain parts of the country; demand is expected to increase as many doctors will be retiring within the next 10 to 15 years; demand is expected to increase as many doctors will be retiring within the next 10 to 15 years.