New cross-disciplinary sleep medicine residency in France: Results after five years

The new cross-disciplinary sleep medicine residency program (SMR) was created in 2017 in France and effectively implemented beginning in 2019. This first French specific sleep medicine residency program aims to train specialists in sleep medicine by complementing the knowledge from their original Specialized Studies Diplomas (SSD). The SMR lasts one year, offering comprehensive theoretical cross-disciplinary training and two practical internships of six months each. This study, based on a standardized questionnaire, aims to provide an initial assessment of this training and its impact on the professional careers of physicians who completed the SMR, five years after its implementation. The 42 participants in this study, with an average age of 30.3 years, primarily came from Paris (21.4%) and Strasbourg (16.7%), followed by Bordeaux, Dijon, Lille, and Marseille (7.1%), Besançon, Caen, and Toulouse (4.8%), and Angers, Grenoble, Lyon, Martinique, Montpellier, Nancy, Poitiers, and Reims (2.4%). Psychiatry and pulmonology were the most represented specialties among nine specialties, with the other seven being general medicine, neurology, geriatrics, otolaryngology, cardiology, occupational medicine, and public health. Regarding practical training, combined internships (paired with SSD internship) and internships outside the subdivision were popular, highlighting the importance of diversified training. The majority of participants (76.2%) had defended their medical thesis, with 66.7% of them related to sleep medicine. Additionally, 52.4% worked in a sleep center, and 81% had activities related to sleep medicine. For participants who did not have a permanent position (residents, junior doctors, chief residents, assistants), 72.5% considered a hospital career, and 45% considered an academic career. Regarding research trajectories, 69% of participants had already published at least one scientific article, and 38.1% held or were enrolled in a master's degree in research. The survey revealed a high level of satisfaction among participants (97.6%). In conclusion, the SMR is perceived as enriching and has a direct impact on the academic and professional career paths of its participants. These results highlight the significant role of this new innovating transversal training in the development of sleep medicine in France.