Pay, Conditions and Violence Fuel Exodus of Turkish Doctors

For Cihat Burgucu, four years was enough. That's how long the Turkish doctor spent working in his native country before he and his wife, also a doctor, left for Germany in 2019. And they haven't looked back.

"The working conditions are very bad in Turkey. The working hours are inhuman, there's constant stress and high rates of violence against medical workers," 30-year-old Burgucu told BIRN from his adoptive home of Hessen in central Germany. In return, he said, "the salaries are very low and government policies fail to protect or support medical doctors."

In Germany, "I have more holidays and the salary is satisfactory. Plus, there's almost no violence against medical workers."

Burgucu was one of 2,576 doctors who left Turkey for work elsewhere, particularly Germany, between 2016 and 2019, according to figures shared with BIRN by the Turkish Medical Association, TTB, which represents Turkish medical workers.

In late October, fearing an exodus amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Turkish government banned medical workers from quitting their jobs. Some 835 doctors had already applied in the first 10 months of this year for the TTB's good-standing document that is obligatory for those wishing to find work abroad.

"Germany's popularity is increasing every day and every doctor who has a B2 language certificate can easily find a job in the country since there is a great shortage of medical workers," said Gulan Berivan Gok, Turkey representative of GOBIN Personal, which helps Turkish doctors find work in Germany.

"Turkish doctors are leaving because they believe there are no more options for them and their families in Turkey," she told BIRN, citing poor working conditions, an unstable economy and growing rates of violence against...