Outcome assessment of the French internship graduate programme

In 1995, the first dental postgraduate residency programme was established in France. Selection of the applicants was performed by means of a selective national competitive examination among dental students in the final year of the undergraduate studies. The main objective of this 3-year general practice internship was to provide a clinical training for future academic dentists. This study describes the characteristics and the professional outcome of the student population enrolled in this programme. The French internship programme represents a new and welcome modification on the training of future dental academicians and establishes similarities with other programmes in Europe.