Migration of Greek Physicians to Germany
which also involves significant time unemployed . One physician 5 explained her motivations to leave Greece : “ If I would have stayed in Greece , I would have been able to start with my medical specialization training in cardiology in 2013 , although I took my degree in 2008 . [. . .] I preferred to come to Germany and perform my specialist training here , instead of waiting for 6 years in Greece . The reason for my migration was mainly the long period of waiting .” Consequently , in reference to the approach of Pissarides and Wadsworth , the unemployment situation for medical school graduates , due to the long waiting period for the specialization training in the Greek health sector , appears to be the main factor that led the interviewees to emigration from Greece .
Another decisive factor leading Greek physicians to emigration can be traced back to the unattractive working conditions in the Greek public hospitals . Although this factor is not relevant to economic motivations , it is nonetheless related to the current professional career of the interviewees , who are expecting wellstructured working conditions in order to undergo qualitative specialization training . It can be argued that the dysfunctions in the Greek public hospitals have an impact on their decision to leave , especially as long as these dysfunctions are affecting the working environment . These factors were mentioned mostly by physicians who had their first work experiences during the financial crisis years in Greek public hospitals . Another female physician 6 explained her main motivations for leaving Greece as such : “ The working conditions forced me not to stay in Greece , and of course also the issue of the specialist training . I am talking mainly about the shortages in technology and in medical material . For example , at my hospital , there was no computed tomography .” Besides that , another relevant factor mentioned during the interviews affected the shortages of medical personnel . Regarding this , one physician 7 emphasized the following : “ Currently in Greece , I would not be able to learn something during a possible specialization training there , because , as I have experienced it , there is a huge trend in the migration of specialist physicians and big shortages of medical staff .” These shortages contribute also to the worsening of training quality and they are causing overtime hours , making the working conditions in the Greek health sector for new physicians even more unattractive .
However , the low-income earnings of physicians in Greece in comparison to the high-income opportunities in the German health sector 8 obviously played a secondary role as a factor driving young physicians away from Greece . Just one physician 9 out of the six interviewees mentioned this aspect of motivation : “ Certainly the income opportunities in Greece played a secondary role . The most important thing was the waiting period and the waiting list before the admission into
4
However , the waiting time for specialization training nowadays has been strongly reduced and in some cases eliminated . It is assumed that the one factor for this development was the massive emigration of the medical graduates from Greece in order to undergo their specialization training . The waiting lists for specialist training remain mostly in some central hospitals in Athens and in some specific medical specializations , such as dermatology . The interviews conducted with the physicians in Germany for the purpose of the present article took place in 2014 and 2015 . The most persons came to Germany in the period between 2010 and 2013 and they could not comment on these new developments in the Greek health sector , which I was able to confirm in the interviews conducted with medical graduates in Greece in 2015 and 2016 .
5
Interview W1 .
6
Interview W2 .
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