To help high school students pass the fateful milestone of the first year of medicine, the Auscitain high school is setting up a two-year option, to prepare candidates to take the competition in the best conditions.
Francis Trimbur, the principal of the Pardailhan high school in Auch, is setting up an option to prepare students for the medical competition. Interview.
Francis Trimbur, this Tuesday evening, an information meeting presented to parents and students of Second the future option “Parda Prépa Pass”. What is it about ?
I had discovered this option in an establishment in the Lot, and the format seemed relevant to me. Medical studies have been profoundly modified since 2020, with a very low rate of passage to the 2nd year: between 15 and 20%, even 12% sometimes in the PASS course, which conditions entry. There, the objective is to reach 28%. The elevation of the numerus clausus simplifies the situation a little, but medical studies remain among the most selective.
How to train high school students for such a difficult competition?
Our students are poorly prepared. It is however high school students who have good or very good mentions in the baccalaureate, who present themselves in medicine, but we realize that this is not enough. We are opening a heavy option, 2 to 3 hours per week in Première and Terminale, with a disciplinary contribution in SVT and physics modeled on the program of the 1st year of medicine. A 2nd part concerns support for the preparation of tests: stress management, how to learn better, sophrology… The teachers of Pardailhan got in touch with their colleagues from Lot, who benefit from 2 years of experience. For high school students, this represents an important commitment. In Première, the EDS Maths, Physics-Chemistry, SVT or EPPCS are compulsory, and in Terminale, it will be necessary to follow the EDS Physics, SVT or EPPCS, and Complementary Maths as a compulsory option. A very demanding course. At the moment, we are opening 24 places.
Francis Trimbur, the principal of Pardailhan high school.
This option is not only based on the usual financing.
No, and that requires finding funds: once you’ve finished paying for gas and electricity in a high school, you don’t have much in your own funds! The cost of the option is estimated at €22,000 over two years. Here, SVT-Physics courses benefit from rectorate credits. For support, which will be provided by external staff, I contacted partners last Wednesday: the Region, the Department, local authorities, but also associations such as the Legion of Honor, Amopa, Rotaract … They were thrilled.
What interest do the institutional partners find in this option?
It is an additional means of combating medical deserts. Interventions are planned to encourage future professionals to settle in the Gers. The students will go to Auch hospital, Toulouse University Hospital, meet local professionals, doctors, physiotherapists, dentists, nurses, etc. They will also have to complete an internship in a professional environment.
Do you think you have a high demand?
This option will be the only one in the Gers. Its first 24 places will no doubt be quickly filled. Access to this option will probably be conditioned in the long term by a folder and a selection, but not for this launch. The start of the 2023 school year will see the 1st year, 2024 the 2nd, for 1st feedback on the success of the students in 2025. It is a very beautiful project that requires a lot of work.
Equal opportunities
The leaders of establishments such as the services of the rectorates note that the vast majority of candidates for the medical entrance examination – MMOPK (for medicine, midwifery, odontology, pharmacy, physiotherapist) – have recourse to paid courses. “These are tutorials, or preparation, but their price prohibits access to certain high school students, says the headmaster of the Pardailhan high school, Francis Trimbur. The objective is to offer upstream preparation, free of charge, and valued on Parcoursup: the aim here is to ensure a form of equal opportunity. This option aims to increase the chances of success for future healthcare professionals, regardless of the profession targeted. The most advanced establishment in this area, the Lycée de Saint-Céré in the Lot, sees this year its first students thus trained attempt the MMOPK.