Gamze Zengin İSPİR, Mustafa DANIŞMAN, Kübra Sezer KATAR, Mustafa Batuhan KURTOĞLU
Psychiatry and Clinical Psychopharmacology - 2026;36(2):176-184
Background: The migration of educated professionals, particularly physicians, from developing to developed countries is a significant issue. This "brain drain" diminishes essential human resources in the healthcare sector of countries like Türkiye. Factors such as low income, poor working conditions, limited living conditions, and violence against healthcare workers drive this migration. This study compares the job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being of physicians who migrate abroad with those who remain in Türkiye.Methods: This cross-sectional comparative study utilized a snowball sampling method to recruit 217 physicians who completed medical school in Türkiye, with 108 practicing in Türkiye and 109 abroad. Participants completed a sociodemographic data form and 5 scales: Job Satisfaction Index, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Psychological Well-Being Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and Beck Depression Inventory. Data were analyzed by using t-tests for independent samples, and results were presented as mean +/- SD. Results: Physicians practicing abroad reported significantly higher job satisfaction (18.52 +/- 4.95) and life satisfaction (24.44 +/- 6.41) compared to those in Türkiye (16.40 +/- 4.58; 17.89 +/- 7.32, respectively). Similarly, psychological well-being scores were higher among physicians abroad (32.61 +/- 4.70) than in Türkiye (28.00 +/- 5.96). Conversely, physicians in Türkiye exhibited higher levels of depression (12.39 +/- 8.68) and anxiety (13.46 +/- 11.38) compared to their counterparts abroad (6.43 +/- 6.14; 8.81 +/- 8.46, respectively).Conclusion: The findings are consistent with the view that working conditions and workplace violence play an important role in physicians' migration intentions. Addressing factors such as violence against healthcare workers and poor working conditions is crucial to retaining healthcare professionals and improving their well-being in Türkiye. Self-selection bias and self-reported data are the limitations of the study.
