Record number of doctors receive certificate to seek work abroad in July

Record number of doctors receive certificate to seek work abroad in July
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In the first seven months of 2022, far more doctors received certificate of good standing than the doctors did in the six years between 2012-17.

A record number of doctors in Turkey received certificate of good standing in the month of July, a document required to apply for vacancies abroad, according to data provided by the Turkish Medical Association (TTB),

The total number of doctors who received the certificate reached 1,402 in the first seven months of 2022, Yasemin Salih of Turkish daily Dunya reported.

The extraordinary hardships caused by overwork during the COVID-19 pandemics, the increase in the violence targeting health workers and the diminishing living standards because of underpaid work have been further exacerbated as office rents have recently become unaffordable for many doctors as inflation continues to rise in Turkey.

The number of doctors who received certificate of good standing in the seven months of 2022 has already reached the total figure of 2021.

While 1,405 doctors received the certificate in 2021, the figure was 931 in 2020, 1,407 in 2019, 802 in 2018.

The total figure was 1,144 in the six years between 2012-2017, before the transition to a new administrative system, the "presidential government system."

Brushing off concerns about more and more doctors quitting, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in March 2022:

"They say the doctors have been quitting because of low salaries (...) We are the ones who built these hospitals. Isn't it the state who trained these doctors? Health education has the highest cost among all fields of education. Now, some say, 'The state is not paying enough.' Let me be clear. Let them go if they will. We will recruit the new graduates."