Dental Internships

After successfully completing the 5th year of studies (D3) and the CLINICAL AND THERAPEUTIC CLINICAL SYSTHESIS CERTIFICATE (CSCT), the students enter the third cycle of dental studies which include 2 possible options:

 - The short cycle: lasting one year and corresponding to the 6th year (T1). The student defends the thesis of Doctor in Dental surgery at the end of the year. 

 - The long cycle: lasting three years and corresponding to a dental internship.

To be eligible to do an internship the student must take a competitive national exam either at the end of the 3rd year of, the 2nd cycle (D3) or at the end of the 6th year (T1).

The questions on the exam are "multidisciplinary" as the student must do a synthesis of the knowledge acquired in each specialty, which is necessary to resolve clinical cases.

The competitive internship exam includes 2 tests: 
 - An admissibility test in the form of 9 short questions, for the most part clinical, to be finished in 2 hours 15 minutes (15 minutes per question). Some questions are based on clinical photographs and x-rays. 
 - An admission test including 3 questions which must be answered in the form of a synthesis, to be completed in 4  hours (1  hour per question).

The Lyon Dental Faculty offers students the possibility to take courses to prepare the competitive internship exam.

Depending on the student's ranking on the competitive exam, s/he can choose where they wish to be sent (city and dental service), thus offering the possibility of leaving the city where they studied. In certain cases, the interns may be able to go to the C.E.C.S.M.O. (Orthodontics) or the D.E.S.C.B. (Oral Surgery). The number of spots is in function of the number of places available and the ranking at the exam.

 

Why is it an opportunity to be an intern ? 

  • To deepen one's knowledge and experience in the discipline of one's choice without immediately having to take the plunge in private practice.  To care for patients in a global fashion and with a certain autonomy, while still being able to take advantage of the teaching structure.   
  • To be able to prepare at the same time as the internship, a Masters or Maîtrise certificate, as the internship offers the possibility to obtain an equivalence of one certificate.   
  • To prepare scientific conferences with one's own illustrations and adjoining bibliography.
  • To gain optimal clinical competences.

Four paths are possible after the internship:
A hospital-university career.
A career in a hospital by becoming a hospital practitioner non-CHU (city hospital) in the Dental Services. In the majority of cases, these services collaborate with a Faculty and welcome T1 students or interns (e.g. the Dijon hospitals for the Lyon Faculty).
 -  The Orthodontics specialty (CECSMO). 
-  Private practice.

In all of the above cases, the intern must also defend his/her Doctoral thesis in Dental Surgery.

At present, a large number of former interns, either former assistants or not, are moving towards either: 
- A full-time hospital position. 
- More generally a part-time hospital post in a hospital's dental service. 
- Today, half are MCU-PH in their faculty of origin. 
- A few are in private practice.