A Closer Look at the Junior Doctor Crisis in the United Kingdom's National Health Services: Is Emigration Justifiable?

Abstract

This article attempts to tackle the ethically and morally troubling issue of emigration of physicians from the United Kingdom, and whether it can be justified. Unlike most research that has already been undertaken in this field, which looks at migration from developing countries to developed countries, this article takes an in-depth look at the migration of physicians between developed countries, in particular from the United Kingdom (UK) to other developed countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States (US). This examination was written in response to a current and critical crisis in the National Health Service (NHS), where impending contract changes may bring about a potential exodus of junior doctors.