Emigration-related attitudes of the final year medical students in Croatia: a cross-sectional study at the dawn of the EU accession

Abstract

AimTo investigate the emigration-related attitudes of final year medical students in Croatia at the dawn of the EU accession in 2013.MethodsAll final-year medical students at four Croatian medical schools (Zagreb, Rijeka, Split, and Osijek) were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey on emigration attitudes.ResultsAmong 260 respondents (response rate 61%), 90 students (35%) reported readiness for permanent emigration, expecting better quality of life (N = 22, 31%), better health care organization (N = 17, 24%), more professional challenges (N = 10, 14%), or simply to get a job (N = 8, 11%), while the least common expectation were greater earnings (N = 7, 10%). The most common target countries were Germany (N = 36, 40%), USA and Canada (N = 15, 17%), and UK (N = 10, 11%). In a multivariate analysis, readiness for permanent emigration was associated with an interest in undertaking a temporary training abroad (odds ratio [OR] 6.87; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.83-16.72), while the belief that the preferred specialty could be obtained in Croatia appeared protective against emigration (OR 0.26; 95% CI 0.12-0.59).ConclusionDespite shortages of health care workers in Croatia, the percentage of students with emigration propensity was rather high. Prevalent negative perception of the Croatian health care and recent Croatian accession to the EU pose a threat of losing newly graduated physicians to EU countries.

Physician migration at its roots: a study on the emigration preferences and plans among medical students in Romania

“…60% of medical residents from Lithuania stated that they intended to emigrate, 15% of them permanently [27], and only 45% of the Czech physicians are contemplating emigration [28]. One third of the final year medical students from Croatia reported their willingness to permanently leave the country in search of employment elsewhere [10]. In 2004, surveys conducted in Central and Eastern Europe found that 10.4% of Polish, 15.6% of Czech, and as many as 24.7% of Hungarian physicians contemplated migration [12].…”

Factors affecting intent to immigration among Iranian health workers in 2016

“…Structural factors included problems caused by misdirected policies and regulations of the Ministry of Health, lack of optimal utilization of graduates, problems with the education system and problems in some areas of research. Kolčić et al, introduced the structure of Croatia’s healthcare organization as a main reason for inclination of medical students to migrate ( 27 ). A study conducted in Pakistan also showed that working in a better healthcare organization provided motivation for migration ( 28 ).…”

Ključne odrednice iseljavanja visokokvalificiranog stanovništva

“…31 Pozitivan učinak priljeva vrhunskih stručnjaka u odnosu na zemlje odredišta očigledan je, s obzirom na to da oni svojim znanjem i radom pridonose povećanju stupnja razvoja zemlje, njene proizvodnje, te standarda stanovništva. 32 Imajući na umu prethodno navedene posljedice iseljavanja u odnosu na matičnu zemlju, evidentno je kako je odljev mozgova pojava koja ima dva posve suprotna učinka: ona istovremeno uzrokuje usporavanje ili čak nazadovanje gospodarstva matične zemlje i napredak gospodarstva zemlje odredišta. 33 Aktualan rastući trend odlaska visokoobrazovanih iz Srednje i Istočne Europe u Zapadnu Europu najbolje prikazuje ambivalentnost učinka pojave odljeva mozgova.…”

“…29, str..73-85. 32 Kostanjevečki Tatjana, Psihološki aspekti nezaposlenosti: Odljev mozgova, Zbornik radova XII. ljetne psihologijske škole, Silba, 2002.…”