There is currently a dispute going on in France about a young lad, age 14, from Cameroon who is already in his first year of medical school because he is very bright – surdoué. His father is on the verge of being thrown out of France and of course the boy would have to leave too. Now, leaving his immigrant status aside, I consider that it is absolutely ludicrous for someone of that age to have started a medical degree in any country. He will be with students at least four years older than he is, who will necessarily have more experience of life and dealing with other human beings. However bright he is, he will be lacking in savoir vivre. I know that British medical schools stopped accepting very bright students without an interview some years ago, having discovered that great intelligence did not necessarily produce well-rounded human beings who could empathise with patients. I have no idea whether French medical schools also insist on an interview for would-be medics. Many older patients are convinced that young doctors are “too young” anyway. Imagine their feelings if a teenager turned up at their bedside. And a teenager is what this lad is going to be for the next six years.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Sheona, during my teacher incarnation, 10-ish years ago, I gave private Latin lessons to a shy lad of 16 who had secured a place at Oxford to read medicine from age 17. One of the problems these days is that colleges are no longer regarded as ‘in loco parentis’ (in my day they were, until undergrads reached 21) so newcomers have to be 18, unless they live independently with parents/guardians. My lad’s whole family planned to move with him!
I agree Sheona. Emotional maturity is an essential part of being a doctor, (or a nurse)
I would have thought it rather depended what speciality he followed.I can see that it would not work as a GP or psychiatrist but if he went into research no one would ever meet him. Likewise a brainsurgeon which takes at least ten years.
Medicin sans frontiers would take him I’m sure.
Frankly the existing medical profession is hardly that impressive these days, would it really matter that much? I’m sure he/they would find a niche somewhere.
I’m thinking not so much of his final specialty, Christina, but of the time he must spend on the wards as part of his training. He can’t just jump into research and even neurosurgeons have to deal with patients. It’s his current age that seems inappropriate not what he will do after he’s qualified.
Janus, there’s still a difference between 14 and 17 years of age. I feel sorry for that lad you mention having his whole family breathing down the back of his neck.
sheona, how long is the training in France before he gets to interact with patients?
In the Uk is it 4 years? I don’t know, I avoid doctors like the plague!
So he would be 18 or so.
I really do feel it so depends on the individual. I’ve known 18 year olds that were more mature than most 40 year olds. Some people just seem to be born old! The boy and current spousal unit are both that type, maybe he is the same.
Surely they will interview the boy and if he is deemed suitable by the profession who is anyone else to argue?
I’d rather have a competent 20 year old be he black as your hat rather than some scion of some wealthy family who attended medical school because that is what the family ‘does’! With the proviso that he speaks the lingo of where he practises.
We have one a bit like that in this neck of the woods, one could be forgiven for thinking he is straight out of the jungle, literally shining blue black, huge like a gorilla and with rather strange language. BUT if you want a knee job, he’s your man, best knee surgeon in the State! He is no longer young but obviously was not born here in the USA, but everybody goes to him anyway, he has the reputation.
I really don’t think the brilliant should be put off because they do not fit the social mould and mores of the time. Too much hidebound PC crap these days in my book.
Medical training in the UK varies. Some universities, like I think Nottingham, introduce their students on to the wards very early in their training. Others like Cambridge do three years pre-clinical, then the clinical for two and a half at the end of which you must do your probationary year. The only French medical school I really know, Marseille, has students on the wards after the first two years, I think. This means this bright lad could be among patients well before the age of 18. While it’s true that some young people are very mature, I still think 14 is too early to start. The French system, like the German, used to give university entrance to anyone who had passed the “bac” or the “Abitur”. This is why I’m not sure whether they interview would-be medics in France or not. It is, as Pseu says, the emotional maturity that is needed . I’m sure the current “PC crap” would consider this 14 year old should be let loose on the wards. I don’t.
Tend to agree 16 is too young, 18 maybe.
Perhaps they could let him loose in the loony bin where they may not notice!
I must say the thought of not interviewing medical students for suitability is particularly unsound. I presume they must in the UK. I know my nephew was interviewed and he is now 40ish. So they must have done so 20 years ago or longer.
Yes, he was clearly the victim of his parents’ ambitions for him. How much better if he’d been allowed to wait and do uni when he could spread his wings a bit.
CO, “We have one a bit like that in this neck of the woods, one could be forgiven for thinking he is straight out of the jungle, literally shining blue black, huge like a gorilla and with rather strange language. BUT if you want a knee job, he’s your man, best knee surgeon in the State!”
A very decent, human story, imho! 🙂
Sheona, in principle, I can’t see why all the rush. If he’s so bright, he’ll enjoy doing something else for a few years and be better for it in every way. There are no prizes, as far as I know, for being the youngest anything! In the sporting world, the same thing happens but there, so often, the youngsters suffer injuries because they are simply not strong enough for adult sport.
Would anyone object if this lad wanted to study history, mathematics or languages at University level? I very much doubt it.
I see no reason why he should not be allowed to study medicine – if that is what he wants to do and has not been pushed into that career choice by his parents.
He may be too emotionally immature to deal with real-live-patients, none of us here know that for sure, but I would expect that those who will be teaching him will be able to work that out.
Age limits are just another way of reducing people to the lowest common denominator rather than allowing them to work at their own level of ability. Good Luck to the lad!
Hi Boadicea. Serendipitous timing. You raise an interesting point. How do you think that applies to the young runaway discussed in my post, ‘To Sir, with love’?
Just answered you!
While Mozart almost certainly suffered at a personal level, as a result of precocious talent, I doubt that he and certainly the rest of the world would have regretted the fact that his father encouraged him to the lengths that he did. If this young medical student is deemed too immature by his patients and colleagues to work in isolation with them, I don’t imagine it would be beyond the realms of practicality for him to work as a protege alongside somebody more experienced.
Intellectual and emotional development do not always go hand in hand.
Boadicea, I’m thinking of the patients here. I would not want a teenager at my hospital bedside. If the lad wanted to study maths or history or languages, that would be fine. But to expect him to deal with adults who are ill and probably emotionally fragile as a result seems to be putting a great strain on patient and student alike. Even medical students who start their studies at age 18 or 19 can find dealing with patients very stressful. In this country, and I expect in France, patients can refuse to have students at their bedside and I suspect this may happen very frequently in this case.
Sipu, hospitals are busy and it is not always possible to find “somebody more experienced” who will have the time or inclination to look after one student. And who will pay for that? When I see my doctor daughter at the weekend, I will ask her opinion.