TY - JOUR T1 - Tendency of intern doctors to emigrate from Türkiye AU - Kantaş, Seçil Nur AU - Kiliç, Mehmet Can AU - Bayram, Duygu Elif AU - Kılıç, Bülent PY - 2025 DA - August Y2 - 2025 DO - 10.20518/tjph.1672137 JF - Turkish Journal of Public Health JO - TJPH PB - Halk Sağlığı Uzmanları Derneği WT - DergiPark SN - 1304-1088 SP - 132 EP - 143 VL - 23 IS - 2 LA - en AB - Objective: The rising emigration of doctors from Türkiye highlights the need to understand the factors driving this trend to preserve healthcare quality. This study aims to explore the tendency of medical interns during the 2023-2024 academic year at a medical faculty to emigrate abroad and the factors influencing this tendency.Methods: The study, conducted in a cross-sectional design, had a population of 322 medical interns. A total of 222 intern doctors were reached (response rate: 68.9%). Data were collected through a survey created using Google Forms and shared in WhatsApp student groups.Results: Participants had an average age of 23.6 years, 52.7% were male, and 41% reported a tendency to work abroad, while 32% did not and 27% were undecided. Among those with a tendency to emigrate, 76.7% preferred a long-term career abroad, 15.6% a short-term one, and 7.8% were undecided. Multivariate analysis showed that remaining in Türkiye due to family or partner reasons significantly reduced the likelihood of emigration [odds raito (OR)= 5.80]. Conversely, factors such as having a relative in healthcare (OR=3.96), participation in scientific activities (OR=3.49), international connections (OR=2.57), experience abroad (OR=2.99), perception of shorter working hours abroad (OR=3.35), and dissatisfaction with Türkiye’s merit system (OR=3.87) significantly increased the tendency to migrate (p<0.05).Conclusion: Based on the findings regarding working hours, reducing physicians’ shifts and workload may help mitigate migration intentions. To address the perceived lack of meritocracy, greater transparency in recruitment and career advancement is recommended. KW - Brain drain KW - Healthcare workforce KW - Healthcare system KW - Medical education CR - 1. Perruchoud R, Redpath-Cross J, editors. Migration Glossary. International Organization for Migration. 2013;35. CR - 2. Burcu M. Türkiye’den Yüksek Nitelikli Göç: Tıp Fakültesi Öğrencileri [Master's thesis]. Bursa: Uludağ University; 2023. CR - 3. Yalçınkaya H, Dülger S. 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