The résidanat is the Moroccan specialist training pathway followed after the doctorate in medicine. Residents are trained in a university hospital under supervision, in a specialty obtained through a competitive examination. The duration depends on the specialty, and the programme leads to the national specialist qualification.
From French résident, one who resides, referring to the physician in training attached to a hospital department; the Maghreb usage résidanat names the specialist training period itself.
Formation spécialisée; concours de résidanat; internat de spécialité
Medical residency (Morocco)
After the doctorate in medicine, a physician who wishes to specialise enters the résidanat. Access is competitive: candidates sit an examination and are ranked, and the specialties available depend on the places opened in each university hospital. Training takes place in hospital departments attached to a faculty of medicine and pharmacy, under the responsibility of senior physicians, and combines clinical duties with theoretical teaching and assessments. The length of the programme varies by specialty, and completion leads to the national specialist qualification.
Holding a European medical degree does not in itself open the résidanat. The qualification must first be covered by the recognition procedure, which is what places the foreign diploma on the same footing as the national one for the purposes of access. Candidates should check the conditions of the competition for the year concerned, since eligibility rules, the documents required and the registration calendar are published by the competent authorities. Registration with the Ordre National des Médecins is the parallel step that governs practice itself.
The alternative is to complete specialist training in the European country of study and to return to Morocco as a qualified specialist. In that case the recognition procedure concerns two documents rather than one: the basic medical degree and the specialist qualification, each assessed against the corresponding Moroccan reference. This route tends to require careful documentation of the specialist years, including a logbook of procedures and rotations where the training country uses one. Both routes are legitimate, and the choice usually depends on where you intend to build your career.
In France, specialist training is organised through a national ranking examination at the end of the second cycle, followed by a third cycle in which the resident holds a hospital post. Functionally the two systems are close: competitive access, hospital-based training under supervision, a duration set by specialty and a final qualification. What differs is the legal framework for entering them. For a holder of a diploma issued outside the European Union, access to specialist training in France is linked to the authorisation procedure and to the status of practitioner with a non-EU diploma, which should be examined case by case.
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