A month at the Hôtel-Dieu: a reversal of perspectives.

International medical graduates (IMGs) account for more than 30% of the first-year positions filled in US psychiatric residencies (Nation Residency Match Program, 2007). At the time of writing, the first author was 4 months away from finishing his residency at the University of Connecticut (UCONN) when the opportunity arose to turn the tables and use his fluency in French to complete a month-long elective in France. During this period, he spent time as an observer in the psychiatric service of a Parisian hospital, l'Hôtel-Dieu.