For a thoughtful and sustainable review of entry procedures into medical studies
April 14, 2026
The reform of entry to medical studies in France, known as PASS/LAS1, under which several pathways have replaced the joint first year of health studies (PACES) (including a PASS with a minor in another discipline and several LAS programmes with a health minor part is excessively complex. This reform is not understood by high school students, their parents or society as a whole. It was motivated by the legitimate desire to diversify the profile of future doctors and to break out of a spiral of failure caused by the PACES.
The “Cour des Comptes” called for an evolution of the system, including a simplification of the process for entering medical school, through a single-entry2ers
The French Academy of Medicine supports this development, but considers that implementation of this reform in 2027, as envisaged in the government’s plan is premature. The failure of the PASS-LAS system is largely due to the fact that the project was insufficiently developed, lacked consensus, was based on a pre-established model imposed on all universities, and was rushed through. Let us not repeat the same mistakes; students and their families have already been sufficiently unsettled and dissatisfied with the PASS-LAS system.
The proposed reform must involve merging the PASS and LAS schemes into a single entry year for medical studies in the relevant MMOP disciplines (medicine, midwifery, odontology and pharmacy); it must be led by the concerned Faculties of Medicine or Health Sciences, respect the autonomy of universities and accompanied strictly by additional resources, in particular human resources in the form of academic staff and administrative support staff (IATS): the number of medical students increased by 18.5% between 2019 and 2022, while the number of teaching staff decreased.
Let us be careful not to make the situation worse, let us listen to those first concerned, students and teachers, so that the remedy is not again worse than the disease.
The French Academy of Medicine:
– supports a single-entry route into medical studies
– considers that implementing this reform at the start of the 2027 academic year would be premature, difficult to sustain and potentially detrimental to both students and educational institutions
– recommends, therefore, that its implementation be postponed until the start of the 2028 academic year to allow for adequate and safe preparation.
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1 Specific Health Access Pathway (PASS) and Health Access Degree (LAS)
2“Access to healthcare studies: Four years after the reform, simplification is essential”. Report by the Court of Auditors, December 11, 2024. https://www.ccomptes.fr/sites/default/files/2024-12/20241211-Lacces-aux-%C3%A9tudes-de-sante.pdf
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