EDN France Guide: Format, Rang A and B, ECOS and Matching

The EDN, épreuves dématérialisées nationales, are the national written exams that every French medical student sits in the sixth year of study. Together with the clinical ECOS and the valuation of the student's training record, they decide which specialty and which region a student can choose for residency, the internat. The EDN replaced the old ECN ranking exam with the reform of the second cycle of medical studies, and the first EDN were held in October 2023.

This guide explains how the EDN are organised, the question formats, the crucial rang A threshold, the second session, and how the EDN feed into the final matching. It is written for students in France, for international students at French faculties, and for anyone who wants to understand how French doctors are trained.

Key facts

Where the EDN sit in French medical training

French medical studies run in three cycles. The first cycle covers basic sciences, the second cycle (years four to six) combines clinical rotations as an externe with preparation for the national exams, and the third cycle is specialty training as an interne.

At the end of the second cycle, three elements build the student's file for the matching to residency:

1. The EDN, written knowledge exams in October of the sixth year.
2. The ECOS, examens cliniques objectifs structurés, clinical stations with standardised patients, organised by the universities later in the year.
3. The training record (parcours de formation), assessed by the university from a file the student submits.

The EDN marks for rang A and rang B knowledge together represent 60% of the overall score used for matching. The ECOS and the training record make up the remaining 40%.

Rang A and rang B knowledge

The national curriculum splits knowledge into two ranks.

• Rang A is the core knowledge every doctor must master on day one of residency, whatever their future specialty.
• Rang B is more advanced knowledge, linked to the specialty groups students may later choose.

The EDN give a separate mark for rang A questions and for rang B questions. This split has two consequences that shape preparation:

• Rang A works as a gate. You need at least 14/20 on rang A questions to be allowed to sit the ECOS. Below that, you go to the second session.
• Rang B differentiates. Your rang B marks matter for your relative position in the different specialty groups, so they influence which residency posts are realistically open to you.

Students' results show the EDN marks and their relative position in the specialty groups, which helps them understand where they stand before the ECOS and the matching.

Exam format in detail

Four three-hour slots

The EDN run over four slots of three hours each, usually Monday to Thursday of one week in October, all in Paris time. A short technical start on the first day tests the tablets and connections before the first real slot.

For the October 2025 session, the schedule looked like this:

If a slot has to be repeated, for example after a technical incident, the jury can reschedule it, typically on the Friday of the same week or the following Monday. This happened in October 2025, when one slot was cancelled in one centre after repeated disconnections and was re-run on the Friday with a back-up paper in the same conditions.

The three main units

Each of the three main units is a set of 90 to 110 questions made up of:

• isolated questions (questions isolées);
• progressive case files (dossiers progressifs) of three to eight questions, which reveal new information as you move forward and cannot be revisited;
• key feature problems, which focus on the critical decisions in a clinical situation;
• script concordance tests, which test how new information changes a clinical hypothesis.

Questions can be multidisciplinary. Each unit is marked independently.

Question types

The EDN use more varied formats than a classic MCQ exam:

• multiple-answer questions with one or more correct options out of four or five;
• single-answer questions out of four or five options;
• questions with a stated number of correct answers out of four or five;
• long-list questions with one to five correct answers among 10 to 25 options;
• image or text zones to point at, with the number of zones stated;
• short open answers of up to five words;
• script concordance tests.

Critical appraisal of articles

The fourth slot is critical reading of two scientific articles (lecture critique d'article). Each article is a separate unit of 1 hour 30 minutes with 13 to 17 questions, asked progressively. Questions in this slot carry double weight compared with questions in the three main units, which makes critical appraisal one of the highest-yield skills in the whole exam.

On the tablet

The EDN are taken on tablets in exam centres under the faculties. All marking is automated. The CNG publishes a tutorial video of the exam software, and practising on a similar interface before the exam is strongly recommended, especially for the progressive case files where you cannot go back.

The second session

Students who do not reach 14/20 on rang A in the first session sit a second session, organised by the universities in the following months on the same principles. If they reach the threshold in the second session, they can take part in the ECOS.

One rule is often misunderstood: second-session marks are not used for the matching. Only first-session marks count. Students who still fall short of the threshold after the second session cannot go on to the matching that year.

The practical lesson is simple: secure rang A in the first session. Every strong rang B answer is worth less if you have to go through the second session.

After the EDN: ECOS and matching

The ECOS are practical clinical stations with standardised patients and examiners, held in the universities. They test history taking, examination, communication, procedures and clinical reasoning in realistic situations. Only students who reached the rang A threshold can sit them.

Once all three elements are known, the national matching (appariement) assigns students to residency posts by specialty and subdivision (the regional training area), based on their overall score and their ranked wishes.

How to prepare for the EDN

A good plan follows the logic of the exam.

1. Secure rang A first. Build a complete, solid base of core knowledge across all disciplines. This is the gate to everything else.
2. Then deepen rang B selectively. Cover all of it, but put extra depth into the specialty groups you are considering.
3. Train on every question format. Long-list questions, zones and short open answers punish vague knowledge. Practise each format, not just classic MCQs.
4. Practise progressive case files under real conditions. Answer without going back, as on exam day.
5. Do critical appraisal every week. With double weighting, regular article reading and methodology review pay off more than almost anything else.
6. Simulate full slots. Three hours of 90 to 110 questions is a stamina test. Do several full mock slots before October.
7. Use French national guidelines. The EDN expect current French practice.

The MediFlow Exam Prep app offers French-language practice questions organised by discipline, with explanations, so you can keep revising rang A topics in short sessions between rotations.

A sample year of preparation

Most students prepare across the fourth, fifth and sixth years, alongside hospital rotations. A simple structure that fits the exam:

Rotations matter too. Clinical cases you see as an externe make progressive case files easier to read, and they are also the base for the ECOS. Keep a short log of the cases you meet and link them to the curriculum topics you revise.

Building an error log

After every practice set, write down why you missed each question: knowledge gap, misreading, format trap or time pressure. Over a few months the pattern shows you whether to read more, slow down, or practise a specific format such as long-list questions. Review the log before every full mock slot. Pay particular attention to repeated misreadings in progressive case files, because in the real exam you cannot go back to correct an earlier answer once new information has appeared.

Common mistakes

• Neglecting rang A for "hard" rang B topics. Missing 14/20 on rang A sends you to the second session, whose marks do not count for matching.
• Under-training critical appraisal. It carries double weight.
• Only practising single-answer MCQs. The EDN use many formats, including long lists and short open answers.
• Skipping the software tutorial. Unfamiliarity with the tablet interface costs time.
• Forgetting the ECOS. The EDN are 60% of the score; clinical performance and your training record make up the rest.

Next steps

1. Map your rang A gaps discipline by discipline.
2. Schedule weekly critical appraisal sessions.
3. Plan at least three full-length mock slots before October.
4. If you are a doctor qualified outside the EU, read the EVC guide for foreign doctors instead.
5. For the wider picture of practice in France, see Working as a doctor in France.