Adrenaline weekend, sports coaching: how Aveyron seeks to attract young doctors ?

Here is the new class of interns welcomed at the beginning of November. Adat

We often hear that young doctors shun rural areas. In Aveyron, we seem to have found the right recipe to convince them to come and settle. In particular, by relying on the Toulouse Faculty of Medicine to offer them the opportunity to come and do their internships there and by creating multi-professional health centers.

In 2023, Aveyron recorded 58 arrivals of doctors, all specialties combined, for 26 departures, a positive balance of + 32. Proximity and exchange would therefore be the keys to a successful installation. In the department, although the sea and the nearest metropolis, Toulouse, are two hours away by car, young practitioners still put down their stethoscopes.

Limiting the evils of medical desertification

If the department does not escape the medical divide, it succeeds in limiting its ills. How ? By “building loyalty”, say in unison Jean-Luc Calmelly and Chrystel Teyssedre, respectively president of Aveyron attractiveness tourism (Adat) and in charge of medical attractiveness within the structure. 21.6% of young doctors established between 2013 and 2021 And it works. Of the 160 interns (80 per semester) who come to Aveyron each year (155 were welcomed in 2023), 9% remain (21.6% of doctors established between 2013 and 2021), while in other equivalent rural areas, it is on average 2 to 3%, according to the Order of Physicians.

Quality of life, group work, incentive aid, etc., Aveyron is one of the pioneering territories in this area, multiplying initiatives to attract young doctors to neglected areas. “We are a rural but lively territory”, insists Jean-Luc Calmelly, also mayor of Bozouls. “We reacted very quickly, in 2011, when we realized that the medical network was going to be under strain”.

In particular, with the construction of health centers that were able to benefit from European funds. “Of course, Adat contributes to all of this, but it is also thanks to the Aveyron doctors, who in general medicine, are extremely involved in this approach. There are 250 general practitioners in Aveyron, half of whom are internship supervisors. There were six more than ten years ago”, continues Chrystel Teyssedre. A long-term work carried out with the Department, the ARS, the Order of Physicians, the firefighters, etc. which is therefore bearing fruit.

“In 2023, there were more doctors setting up than stopping their activity in our department,” says the president of ADAT. “Medical attractiveness is a determining factor for the life of a department. Our job is to make people want to go to Aveyron, to make a lifestyle choice in favor of the department,” insists Jean-Luc Calmelly. Here, we have chosen to promote “human support” to achieve this. Ophélie, 29, is from Bozouls. She completed her medical internship at the Faculty of Toulouse in November 2023. And had the opportunity to land a position as a general practitioner in the health center of her native village at the beginning of 2024. “It's a job creation.”

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“I won't go back to an urban environment”

She is also a firefighter doctor in her free time. An opportunity that the young woman was able to seize during her internships in Aveyron by benefiting from training as a firefighter doctor with the firefighters. “The management of emergencies was one of the first obstacles to setting up that we had identified in Aveyron”, they also specify from ADAT. Also, the unit has entered into a partnership with the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis). “A real plus”, assures Jean-Luc Calmelly.

“Firefighter training, a specificity of Aveyron”

“It's a success and it's a specific feature of Aveyron”. In total, 270 interns have followed the firefighter doctor training on a voluntary basis and 114 interns have participated in the emergency training evenings organized in parallel. “I always planned to settle in Aveyron but I didn't know where. My entry into the firefighters at the Bozouls barracks was the trigger”, reports Ophélie. “I enjoyed all my internships, whether in cardiology or dermatology, but I thought it was a shame to limit myself to just one specialty”, says the young woman. “Then, I really like the contact with people, the patient follow-up”. General medicine therefore imposed itself on her.

She welcomes the initiatives carried out by Aveyron attractiveness tourism. “You have to like working in a rural environment, but we have such a quality of life. You have to like getting involved in everything. My training with the firefighters helped me a lot, especially in emergency management. We do everything, pediatrics, gynecology, geriatrics. For nothing in the world would I go back to an urban environment. It's a vocation.”

Making people want Aveyron. Pauline, from Brittany, didn't even know where Aveyron was when she came to do her first internship. “She did a first semester, then a second and a third, her fifth and sixth. She finished her course on November 1st and she decided to stay!” rejoice Chrystel Teyssedre and Jean-Luc Calmelly. Nicolas, 27, is a biologist in Rodez. A native of Montpellier, after pharmacy school, he wanted to do his internship in Toulouse. Wanting to perfect his learning in a rural environment, he chose Aveyron for his third and final year. “At the end of my last semester, there was a position open at the Rodez hospital that I took. And I plan on staying here for a while.”

An adrenaline-fueled weekend to build relationships between 200 interns

For many years, the department has been mobilizing to encourage young doctors to settle in Aveyron in order to maintain the medical coverage necessary for the attractiveness of our territories. Among the promising initiatives, the adrenaline weekend organized in September. This year, it took place on the 14th and 15th. Caving, via ferrata, canoeing, canyoning, stand-up paddle, bungee jumping, mountain biking, climbing, orienteering… Discover Aveyron through a unique experience! Organized by the Accueil médecins Aveyron platform, the adrenaline weekend is reserved for young doctors and interns, for whom the department rolls out the red carpet. “The internship is a crucial moment. “This is where we build relationships and create our network,” explains Chrystel Teyssedre, head of the platform, with figures to back it up. In addition, throughout the year, Manu de Roc et Canyon offers sports coaching to interns. Since 2020, 650 have benefited from it.

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