Part four: Health professions

The health service contributes to health promotion, particularly prevention, in all environments and throughout life. It responds to the public health challenges of promoting healthy behaviours and environments and helps to reduce social and territorial inequalities in health. It provides training for future healthcare professionals and raises their awareness of these issues by ensuring that they have mastered the necessary knowledge and skills.

Students enrolled in a course of study giving access to the health professions governed by part four of this code carry out a health service when the text organising their course of study so provides. The aim of the health service is to train these students in the challenges of primary prevention and health promotion, in all its components, in all environments and throughout life, by taking part in carrying…

The actions carried out as part of the health service focus on themes relating to priority health promotion issues, including prevention, defined and implemented as part of the national health strategy. The educational objectives, the skills to be acquired, the general organisation and the procedures for implementing and monitoring the health service are set by order of the ministers responsible for health, higher education and defence.

The health service may exceptionally include supervised participation in screening activities, in compliance with the conditions mentioned in the second and third paragraphs of article D. 4071-2, and guaranteeing students an equivalent amount of theoretical and practical training time and encouraging interprofessional ́ and interdisciplinary ́ theoretical and practical learning.

The director general of the regional health agency and the rector of the academic region chair a regional health service strategy committee. This committee, which brings together representatives of the players involved in health service, is responsible for defining the strategy for implementing health service, including : drawing up a list of preventive action themes based on the priority themes defined and implemented as part of the national health strategy…

An agreement is signed between the students’ educational establishment and each host structure where the health service is carried out, for each health service activity. A copy of the signed agreement is sent to each student, who must read and sign it before carrying out the health service activity in which he or she is involved. A standard agreement is established by order of the ministers responsible for health, higher…

To carry out the health service, 1° Students enrolled in nursing and physiotherapy training institutes benefit from the reimbursement of transport costs under the terms and conditions laid down by the regulatory provisions relating to the completion of placements during their training; 2° Medical, pharmacy, odontology and midwifery students are entitled to reimbursement of transport costs in accordance with the terms and conditions laid down by order of the ministers…

A national steering and monitoring committee for the health service is co-chaired by the ministers for health and higher education, or by a qualified person appointed by them. This committee meets at least once a year. The national committee is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the health service and evaluating the scheme.