Health Worker Emigration from Poland

Abstract

The International Herald Tribune recently covered the problem of worker emigration from Poland in Judy Dempsey's piece "Poland faces shortage as workers go west." She pointed out that since joining the European Union (EU), the outflow from Poland may be nearing 8oo,ooo people more than z per cent of the population (i). Workforce shortages in construction and manufacturing were described, but in the healthcare system as well shortages are noticeable and are starting to paralyze the system in some regions. Medical workforce emigration must be considered in the context of aging populations. Lower birth rates and improved life expectancy generate greater a need for healthcare services, particularly geriatric care. "Skill importation" is a common response. In the United Kingdom, for example, two-thirds of doctors are emigrants (z). The problem is compounded by the "double aging" of providers. In the United States, an increasing fraction of nurses is over 45, as the number of younger women working in nursing is not increasing (2). For physicians and nurses from post-communist Europe, these developments in wealthier countries generate an opportunity to find new employment at much higher salaries and with better working conditions. Surveys show that as many as 40 per cent of physicians in Poland have considered emigration for work and about 3-4 per cent have already moved or have definite plans to do so. Results are similar for nurses (data provided by the Polish Chamber of Physicians and Polish Chamber of Nurses and Midwifes).