Research showing almost nine out of 10 medical students currently attending Irish univerities are considering leaving the Republic after qualification is worrying. With over a third definitely planning to migrate and over a half of those surveyed actively contemplating a move, the manpower implications for the health system here are significant.
Medical Council data suggest recently-qualified junior doctors do not see a future in Ireland; the exit rate of 25-29-year-old Irish -trained doctors grew from 6.4 per cent in 2012 to 7.9 per cent in 2013. Your Training Counts, a recent study of the views of some 1,600 doctors registered under the regulatory body's trainee specialist division uncovered a number of areas of concern. These included trainee perceptions of safety at the clinical coalface and worries about their preparedness for transitions from one stage of training to the next.
The NUIGalway-led study of some 2,000 medical students from all medical schools here cited career opportunities, working conditions and lifestyle as the top three factors driving a widespread culture of intention to migrate. Of particular concern is the finding that pre-med and first -year students are thinking about leaving so early in their studies.
The inescapable conclusion from the collective research is that the taxpayer is funding the education of doctors for the benefit of other countries. While there has always been an element of migration among young doctors seeking top-class training abroad, many did so with the intention of returning to consultant posts here. However this significant level of intention to migrate after qualification is unprecedented.
The publication earlier this month of the first progress report on the implementation of recommendations made by the Strategic Review of Medical Training and Career Structure will be referenced by the Department of Health as evidence the problem is being taken seriously.But an unwelcome sense of inertia prevails, with the original report completed in April 2014 and the first meeting of an implementation group not occurring until January of this year.
This is an urgent issue whose real solution lies in tackling the dysfunctional ethos at the core of our health system.