Immigration of Turkish physicians increases 70-fold in 11 years

The number of doctors leaving the country has increased 70 times in the last 11 years according to the Turkish Medical Association statistics. Some 700 physicians applied to move abroad in the first three months of 2023, the TTB said.

Duvar English

The number of physicians leaving Turkey has increased 70 fold in the last 11 years, according to the The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) figures.

The TTB on April 4 announced that 700 physicians applied to move abroad in the first three months of 2023. This figure was 10 in the first three months of 2012, 27 in the first three months of 2013, and 567 in the first three months of 2022.

"The harsh, insecure and precarious working conditions that consume all our colleagues, especially those working in the earthquake zone, should be ended," the TTB said on Twitter.

Some 2,685 physicians left Turkey for posts abroad in 2022.

Overtime, long shift hours, low wages, lack of merit, cases of violence in healthcare, mobbing and harsh working conditions have led to the departure of many physicians in recent years.

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Topics ttb Turkish Medical Association doctors physicians Brain drain