What are the qualification in working as a nurse in France?

So what does it take to be a French nurse? According to Danielle Cosquer, Cadre Infirmer, an employee of L'Hộpital Avicenne, nursing in France is very similar to the United States but with some notable differences. French nursing school consists of 10 months of didactic training, which prepares the students to be nursing assistants. The students must then work for three years in a hospital environment and take an entrance test. Nursing coursework through a university or institute combined with clinicals for two years is then required. If all classes and standardized tests are passed, students get certified as a nurse, similar to our BSN.

French nurses do not have state licensure and no continuing education hours required by the state. Education for nursing certification is free and after students are certified they may work at any hospital, public or private, in any area of France and in other countries in Europe. If promotion within the hospital system is desired, the nurse must work for a year or two to gain experience and enroll in additional training for specialty nurse. A specialty nurse may then advance in training to a nurse manager, or a high level nurse manager. The high level nurse manager position is similar to our director of nursing position. There are fewer privately employed nurses than publically employed nurses in France.

Nursing is held in high esteem in France, even though it is a civil service job. A beginning nurse's salary ranges from approximately $1,300 to $1,400 per month, after taxes. The standard work week for nurses is 35 hours and they earn five weeks of vacation per year. To cope with the nursing shortage, many nurses work more than 35 hours per week, but get compensatory time off. Shifts are 7am to 3pm, 2pm to 9pm and 9pm to 7am and all employees must work shifts as needed on a rotational basis. There are no set shifts in this hospital, however, shifts may vary from one hospital to another.

New nurse orientation lasts one month long. However Cosquer admitted that this time period is often cut short, due to the staffing shortage. French nurses are being recruited by other countries and the nursing shortage is affecting France, just as it has in the rest of the world.

Staffing is accomplished similar to team nursing in the United States. In France, a nurse and one or two assistants are responsible for approximately fourteen patients, with staffing adjustments made according to the acuity of the patients. On a typical medical-surgical floor of L'Hộpital Avicenne, thirty-seven patients are managed by three nurses and two aides. In the cardiac unit or intensive care unit, staffing will consist of two nurses and one or two nurse's assistants for seventeen beds.

Similar to a nurse in the United States, French nurses are responsible for assessing patients, giving medications, training and supervising nursing assistants and employee education. Shift report on the patients is given verbally and their daily routine resembles that of an American nurse.