- Medicine
- France, Montpellier
- Université de Montpellier
- 09/2023 – 12/2023
- Application/Finding an internship
Having grown up in France, I had known for a long time I wanted to experience the French healthcare system first-hand. I wanted to find a hospital with a pediatric surgery department, since this was a speciality I was interested in finding out more about and which is not available in Aachen. Since the RWTH medical faculty recommends we spend half of the four-month surgical rotation in general surgery, I applied for two months in ‘chirurgie digestive’ at St Éloi hospital and two months in ‘chirurgie pédiatrique orthopédique et plastique’ at Lapeyronie hospital, which are both part of the CHU de Montpellier (Montpellier University Hospital). I chose Montpellier because of its good reviews on PJ Ranking and because I thought it would be nice to spend the winter in a warmer part of Europe.
© Olivia Constanze Peel
To apply for a placement (‘stage’) in at the University of Montpellier, you first must contact the head of the relevant department (‘chef de service’) directly sending your CV and cover letter. I did this about a year and a half beforehand, although I know others applied at a much later date. Since there is a considerable amount of paperwork to sort out, I recommend applying far enough in advance. If your application is accepted, you then send the ‘chef de service’ the so-called ‘formulaire unique’ which can be found on the university’s website. Once signed, you send the document to the person responsible for international relations at the University of Montpellier. He then informs you of the next steps to take.
- Accomodation & Living expenses
I found my accommodation privately after going through all the websites (e.g., https://www.leboncoin.fr, https://www.seloger.com, https://www.lacartedescolocs.fr, https://www.appartager.com, etc.) the person responsible for international relations
sent me by email. University accommodation (‘résidence universitaire’ or ‘logement CROUS’) should be available if you express interest early enough. This is much cheaper than private accommodation, which is difficult to find for under 500 euros per month.
© Olivia Constanze Peel
ESN (Erasmus Student Network) has helpful housing advice and information on their Instagram page on how to plan ahead and avoid scams.
Living expenses are similar to those in Germany, although I would say food shopping was more expensive. I chose to buy a second-hand bike to be more flexible, and because it was a cheaper option than to use public transport. I travelled between Aachen and Montpellier in September and December by train, which only takes between 6.5 and 7.5 hours depending on the connection in Paris.
- Everyday life/ the internship
I spent September and October at St Éloi hospital in general surgery, and November and December at Lapeyronie hospital in pediatric surgery. The day started at 8:00 and 7:45 in general and pediatric surgery respectively and ended on average between 4 and 5pm. In general surgery there was a ‘staff’ (handover meeting) every Monday at 8am. In pediatric surgery there was a daily meeting at 7:45 with the pediatric orthopedic surgeons and every Monday at 16:30 with the pediatric plastic surgeons (speech therapists, a psychologist and members of the dental and maxillofacial departments were also present to discuss patients as a team) and the meeting often included teaching for students. I sometimes worked longer hours depending on the operating plan.
In both rotations students (‘externes’) could assist in the operating theatre, follow the junior doctors (‘internes’) on ward rounds or take part in consultations. Students were asked to organise a rotation plan each week to ensure there was a least one student per operating theatre. If you showed enough interest, you were often able to do the sutures at the end of an operation,and even carry out small procedures under supervision.
There was also the opportunity to follow the on-call doctor as part of their 24-hour shift. This involved seeing patients in A&E (‘aux urgences’), assisting in emergency operations, and in pediatric orthopedic surgery learning how to do plaster casts. I particularly enjoyed my second placement working with children and the variety of cases and surgeries I saw. These included various fractures, craniosynostoses, haemangiomas, cleft palates, dermal naevi, syndactyly, hexadactyly, clubfeet, hip dysplasia etc. Like the French ‘externes’ we were able to have lunch for free at the ‘internat’ (a separate building where some junior doctors lived, most doctors had lunch and lots of coffee was consumed when there was time to rush over between two operations). I really enjoyed the variety of the work and was lucky to work with great teams in both hospitals, which was a massive bonus.
- Free time/tips
There is so much to do in Montpellier, and the Erasmus community is huge. Since I spent most of my free time training with a local triathlon club I cannot say much from experience, but I know from the daily (at times hundreds of) messages in the Erasmus WhatsApp group (they had to create a second one because there were so many international students!) that there was a wide variety of events organised for students including pub nights, sports events, volunteering opportunities, cookery classes etc. On their Instagram page they publish a calendar every month with events pretty much every day, some of which are free. If you buy an ESN card, you can get some of the events at a discount. The card also gives
© Olivia Constanze Peel
you discounts for sport, food, bars and travel (e.g., Ryanair and Flixbus).
As of 21st December 2023, public transport was made free for residents in Montpellier (you have to apply for a card with TaM https://www.tam-voyages.com/index.asp and justify residency). However, I would recommend buying a second-hand bike either through the ESN Facebook or WhatsApp group, or on https://www.leboncoin.fr and selling it when you leave. Investing in two locks is a good idea since there is a lot of bike theft in Montpellier (it is quite common to see bikes around town missing various parts). I never used the tram, but they always seemed very full even before public transport was made free.
© Olivia Constanze Peel
Most of my free time was spent training with a triathlon club I had contacted before arriving. I went swimming most mornings before work, took part in running training a couple of times a week in the evenings and at the weekend there were always club rides organised. I personally really enjoyed cycling with the group and discovering the countryside and villages north and east of Montpellier. I would recommend visiting the Pic St Loup – if you can’t cycle there then I think the ESN group organised a day trip there for a hike. The views are amazing! Another ride I really enjoyed was to the Col des Lavagnes and the Pont du Diable.
At the beginning of September there was an event called ‘Antigone des Associations’ in the Antigone neighbourhood where all sorts of different clubs and societies were on site representing their organisation and to answer questions. These included sports, culture, philosophy and religion, health, education, dancing, animal welfare, the environment and much more. I went with a friend I met on my placement, and we both thought there was basically a club/society for almost everything you could think of doing in your spare time!
- Conclusion
I would absolutely recommend Montpellier University Hospital for an Erasmus internship. As well as gaining practical skills in surgery, I learnt a lot hearing from doctors’ experiences in different medical specialties and countries, which made me reflect on which path I wish to pursue and consider certain aspects of my future career differently. Being confident and a having a good level in French is an advantage to manage the fast-paced day in surgery, to fit in with the team and to take away as much as possible from the experience.
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