Türkiye'de Çalışan ve Türkiye'den Göç Eden Doktorların Yurt Dışına Gitme Nedenlerinin Belirlenmesi: Nitel Bir Çalışma

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 35 Sayı: 1 , 1 - 15 , 20.04.2026

Ahmet Furkan Süner , Ahmet Can Bilgin , Zeynep Sedef Varol , Hatice Şimşek

https://doi.org/10.17942/sted.1661794

https://izlik.org/JA68BM89TY

Öz

Amaç: Bu çalışma, Türkiye’den doktor göçünü etkileyen temel faktörleri araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır.
Yöntem: Çalışma, fenomenolojik yaklaşım içeren nitel bir araştırma olarak tasarlanmıştır. Tüm görüşmelerde yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formları kullanılmıştır. Görüşmeler Haziran 2022 ile Haziran 2023 tarihleri arasında gerçekleştirilmiş ve ortalama 60 dakika sürmüştür. İntörn doktorlarla yapılan odak grup görüşmeleri ve derinlemesine görüşmeler yüz yüze, yurt dışında yaşayan doktorlarla yapılan görüşmeler ise çevrim içi olarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Görüşmeler önce tanımlayıcı olarak açık kodlarla kodlanmış; ardından açık kodlar sınıflandırılmış, ilişkilendirilmiş ve temalar belirlenmiştir. Çalışmanın güvenirliği triangülasyon yöntemiyle sağlanmıştır.
Bulgular: Göç ettirici (itici) faktörler arasında en sık belirtilen tema, doktorların çalışma koşulları olmuştur. Bunu sağlık sistemi içerisindeki sorunlar, ülkenin genel durumu, saha deneyimi ve öneriler izlemiştir. Çekici (çekme) faktörler açısından en sık belirtilen tema ise çalışma koşullarının sağladığı avantajlardır. Bunu sosyal yaşam kolaylığı, ekonomik faydalar ve kişisel etkinliklere zaman ayırma imkânı takip etmiştir.
Sonuç: Bu çalışmada, doktorların yurtdışına göç etmelerine neden olan faktörler incelenmiş ve olumsuz çalışma koşullarının en belirgin neden olarak öne çıktığı görülmüştür. Daha iyi çalışma koşullarının sağladığı avantajlar en güçlü çekici faktör olmuştur. Türkiye’deki ağır iş yükü, düşük maaşlar, sağlık çalışanlarına yönelik şiddet ve iş güvencesizliği gibi unsurlar, doktorlar için göçü bir kaçış yolu haline getirmiştir. Ekonomik zorluklar, ülkenin geleceğine dair belirsizlik ve liyakat eksikliği de göç etme niyetlerini artırmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Göç , doktorlar , sağlık eğitimi

Etik Beyan

Araştırma için Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Dekanlığı ve Girişimsel Olmayan Etik Kurulu’ndan izin alındı ​​(Karar numarası: 2022/21-12, Tarih: 08.06.2022).

Teşekkür

Çalışmamıza katılmaya gönüllü olan intern hekim ve hekimlerimize teşekkür ederiz.

Determining the Reasons for Going Abroad of Physicians Working in Turkey and Immigrating from Turkey: A Qualitative Study

https://izlik.org/JA68BM89TY

Öz

Objective: This study aims to investigate the key factors influencing physician migration from Turkey.
Method: The study is designed as qualitative research with a phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interview forms were used in all interviews. The interviews were conducted between June 2022 and June 2023 and lasted an average of 60 minutes. Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with intern physicians were conducted face-to-face, while interviews with physicians living abroad were conducted online. The interviews were first coded with open codes for description. Then, open codes were classified, and associated, and themes were determined. The reliability of the study was ensured by triangulation.
Results: Among the push factors, the most frequently mentioned theme was the working conditions of physicians. This was followed by issues within the healthcare system, the country's overall situation, field experience, and suggestions. Regarding the pull factors, the most common theme was the advantages of working conditions. This was followed by the convenience of social life, economic benefits, and the availability of time for personal activities.
Conclusion: This study examined the factors driving physicians to migrate abroad, with negative working conditions emerging as the most prominent reason. The advantage of better working conditions was the most significant pull factor. Factors such as heavy workload, low salaries, violence against healthcare professionals, and job insecurity in Turkey have led migration to be seen as an escape route for physicians. Economic difficulties, uncertainty about the country’s future, and lack of meritocracy further increase migration intentions.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Physicians , Migration , Health Education

Etik Beyan

Permission was obtained from the Dean of Dokuz Eylül University Faculty of Medicine and the non-interventional ethics committee for the research (Decision number: 2022/21-12, Date: 08.06.2022).

Teşekkür

We thank the intern physicians and physicians who volunteered to participate in our study.

Kaynakça

• Suciu ŞM, Popescu CA, Ciumageanu MD, Buzoianu AD. Physician migration at its roots: A study on the emigration preferences and plans among medical students in Romania. Hum Resour Health. 2017;15(1):6.
• WHO. WHO report on global health worker mobility [Internet]. World Health Organization; 2023. Available at: https://books.google.com/books?hl=tr&lr=&id=w7rLEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR4&dq=WHO+report+on+global+health+worker+mobility.+Geneva:+World+Health+Organization%3B+2023+(https://+apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/370938,+accessed+19+July+2023).&ots=cY2xizMkt0&sig=HaqiOHgW5ZWeXBeFZ2w-e1JU-aI. Accessed May 14, 2024
• Akafa TA, Okeke A, Oreh A. Push and pull factors of emigration among physicians in Nigeria. International Journal of Emerging Multidisciplinaries: Biomedical and Clinical Research. 2023;40(12 Suppl 1):S44.
• Apostu, SA, Vasile V, Marin E. Bunduchi, E. Factors influencing physicians migration-A case study from Romania. Mathematics 2022;10(3):505.
• Vasile V, Bunduchi E, Stefan D, Comes CA, Vasile R, Stefan AB. Are we facing a radical change in the migration behavior of medical graduates from less developed countries? Demographic profile vs. social push factors. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;10;20(6).
• OECD. Health at a Glance 2025. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/health-at-a-glance-2025_8f9e3f98-en.html. Accessed February 1, 2026
• WHO. Europe’s dependence on foreign-trained doctors and nurses has cross-border ripple effects, finds new WHO/Europe report. 2025. Available at: https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/16-09-2025-europe-s-dependence-on-foreign-trained-doctors-and-nurses-has-cross-border-ripple-effects--finds-new-who-europe-report. Accessed January 31, 2026
• Lauren A, Ramalho J, Dumont JC, Lafortune G, Mahat A, Nair T. International Migration Outlook 2025. Paris; 2025. International migration of health professionals to OECD countries. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/ae26c893-en. Accessed February 1, 2026
• Azzopardi-Muscat N, Zapata T, Kluge H. Moving from health workforce crisis to health workforce success: The time to act is now. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2023 Oct 26;35:100765. doi:10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100765.
• World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. Health and care workforce in Europe: Time to act. 2022. Available at: https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/362379. Accessed January 31, 2026
• WHO. Global strategy on human resources for health: Workforce 2030. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016. Available at: https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Global%20strategy%20on%20human%20resources%20for%20health:%20workforce%202030&publication_year=2016&. Accessed January 31, 2026
• WHO. Global Atlas of the Health Workforce. 2020. Available at: https://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/node/2182.html. Accessed May 24, 2024
• WHO. WHO guideline on health workforce development, attraction, recruitment and retention in rural and remote areas. World Health Organization; 2021.
• Eaton J, Baingana F, Abdulaziz M, Obindo T, Skuse D, Jenkins R. The negative impact of global health worker migration, and how it can be addressed. Public Health. 2023;225:254–7.
• Bes JM, Flinterman LE, Gonzalez AI, Batenburg RS. Recruitment and retention of general practitioners in European medical deserts: A systematic review. Rural Remote Health. 2023;23(1):1–11.
• Lee ES. A theory of migration. Demography. 1966;3(1):47–57.
• Ravenstein EG. The laws of migration. J R Stat Soc. 1889;52(2):241–305.
• Muğla Tabip Odası. TTB’ye “İyi Hal Belgesi” başvuru sayısı Kasım ayında 244, 2023’ün ilk 11 ayında 2785 oldu. 2023. Available at: https://www.muglatabip.org.tr/ttbye-iyi-hal-belgesi-basvuru-sayisi-kasim-ayinda-244-2023un-ilk-11-ayinda-2785-oldu/. Accessed January 31, 2026
• Türkiye S. Sputnik Türkiye. 2025. Hekim göçü sürüyor: 2024’te 2 bin 692 doktor yurt dışına gitti. Available at: https://anlatilaninotesi.com.tr/20250123/hekim-gocu-suruyor-2024te-2-bin-692-doktor-yurt-disina-gitti-1092967892.html. Accessed February 1, 2026
• OECD. Contribution of migrant doctors and nurses to tackling COVID-19 crisis in OECD countries | VOCED plus, the international tertiary education and research database. 2020. Available at: https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A86923. Accessed August 27, 2024
• Türkiye Raporu.Türkiye’de Doktorların Yaşam Kalitesi. 2022. Available at: https://turkiyeraporu.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Doktorlar-Raporu-Mayis-2022.pdf. Accessed January 31, 2026
• Gönç T. Türkiye’de erkek hemşire olmak: Avantajlar ve dezavantajlar. Ank Üniversitesi SBF Derg. 2017;72(1):35–76.
• Önal FG, Akay FE. Are Turkish doctors in deep water? The role of professional ethics and factors affecting the medical brain drain: A qualitative study from Turkey. Dev World Bioeth. 2024;24(4):284-95. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dewb.12426. Accessed November 3, 2024
• Sedeta ET, Abicho TB, Jobre BY. Perceptions of medical doctors living in Ethiopia about physician migration: a qualitative study. BMJ Open. 2022;12(6):e060830.
• Botezat A, Ramos R. Physicians’ brain drain - a gravity model of migration flows. Glob Health. 2020 Jan 14;16(1):7.
• Schumann M, Maaz A, Peters H. Doctors on the move: A qualitative study on the driving factors in a group of Egyptian physicians migrating to Germany. Glob Health. 2019;15(1):2.
• Genc K. Turkish doctors emigrate amid low pay and rising violence. The Lancet. 2022;400(10351):482–3.
• Durmuş H, Borlu A, Gün İ. The relationship between fear of violence, migration intention, and occupational anxiety among medical students. Med Res Rep. 2025;8(2):104–14.
• Yılmaz M, Tellioğlu M, Arıkan İ. Sağlıkta şiddet: Tıp Fakültesi öğrencilerinin mesleğe bakışına etkisi. Online Turk J Health Sci. 2021;6(3):404–12.
• Karan A, DeUgarte D, Barry M. Medical “brain drain” and health care worker shortages: how should international training programs respond? AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(7):665–75.
• Nwadiuko J, James K, Switzer GE, Stern J. Giving Back: A mixed methods study of the contributions of US-Based Nigerian physicians to home country health systems. Glob Health. 2016;12:33.
• Özşahin F, Çağatay A. Migration tendencies among Turkish health-care professionals: Determinants of brain drain and turnover intentions. J Workplace Behav Health. 2025:1–22.
• Hajian S, Jadidfard MP, Yazdani S, Randall G, Khoshnevisan MH. Understanding why oral health professionals migrate: A qualitative investigation of Iranian dentists who have moved to Canada (Oral health professionals’ migration). Glob Health Action. 2023;16(1):2190652.
• Kamarulzaman A, Ramnarayan K, Mocumbi AO. Plugging the medical brain drain. The Lancet. 2022;400(10362):1492–4.
• Sancak B, Selek SN, Sarı E. Depression, anxiety, stress levels and five-factor personality traits as predictors of clinical medical students’ migration intention: A cross-sectional study of brain drain. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2023;38(4):1015–31.
• Santiago-Santiago AJ, Rivera-Custodio J, Mercado-Ríos CA, González-Font Y, R. Madera S, Varas-Díaz N, et al. Puerto Rican physician’s recommendations to mitigate medical migration from Puerto Rico to the mainland United States. Health Policy OPEN. 2024;7:100124.
• Labonté R, Sanders D, Mathole T, Crush J, Chikanda A, Dambisya Y, et al. Health worker migration from South Africa: Causes, consequences and policy responses. Hum Resour Health. 2015;13(1):92.
• Hossain N, Shah N, Shah T, Lateef S. Physicians’ migration: Perceptions of Pakistani Medical Students. Journal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. 2016;26:696–701.
• Teraura H, Kotani K, Koike S. Physician retention and migration in rural clinics designated for areas without physicians in Japan: descriptive epidemiological study using the national physicians’ survey. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024;24(1):1049.
• Antonio C, Guevarra J, Medina P, Avelino M, Agbon A, Sepe D, et al. Components of compulsory service program for health professionals in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review. Perspect Public Health. 2020;140(1):54–61.
• Keleş Ş. Türkiye’de hekimlik mesleğinde mecburi hizmet yükümlülüğünün tıp tarihi, tıp hukuku ve tıp etiği açısından değerlendirilmesi. Mersin Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi Lokman Hekim Tıp Tarihi ve Folk Tıp Derg. 2021;11(1):131–50.
• Önal FG. Physician migration through the lens of patient and physician rights: A qualitative evaluation from the Turkish Parliament. Health Sci Q. 2023 Oct 13;3(4):269–82.
• Ibrahim H, Al Sharif FZ, Satish KP, Hassen L, Nair SC. Should I stay or should I go now? The impact of “pull” factors on physician decisions to remain in a destination country. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2019;34(4):e1909–20.
• Domagała A, Dubas-Jakóbczyk K. Migration intentions among physicians working in Polish hospitals – Insights from survey research. Health Policy. 2019 Aug 1;123(8):782–9.