India, renowned for its talented healthcare professionals, is facing a significant challenge in retaining these skilled individuals within its own healthcare system. The phenomenon of brain drain, where professionals migrate to developed countries for better career prospects, higher wages, and improved work-life balance, has adversely affected India’s healthcare sector.
As a significant source, India supplies healthcare professionals to various countries, such as the GCC countries, the US, UK, among others.Tasked with skilling the workforce, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), in an announcement, said that it would provide 300,000 healthcare professionals, like doctors, nurses, and allied health personnel, to countries like the US, the UK, Japan, Germany, Sweden, Australia, and Singapore by 2022.
According to the data of the Union health ministry, India currently has an estimated 1.7 nurses per 1,000 population, which should be three nurses per 1,000 population, as per WHO. The doctor-patient ratio also stands at 1:1,404, well below the WHO norm of 1:1,100. As per a study published in the Indian Journal of Public Health, India needs an estimated 2.07 million doctors by 2030.
On the other hand, according to the nursing and midwifery professional organisations, India would need around 4.3 million nurses by 2024 to meet the WHO norms.India’s extreme shortage of professionals speaks volumes of the dire healthcare crisis the country is in right now.
Why Do Healthcare Professionals Migrate?
The demand for healthcare workers is growing and isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon. Medical professionals often migrate to developed countries for a better life, compensation and work-life balance.
As the healthcare industry continues to deal with the shortage of staff, professionals are overburdened and demotivated, which affects their physical and mental health. The healthcare sector is a high-pressure working environment due to which professionals choose to migrate, which eventually widens the gap further. Let’s delve deeper and understand why healthcare professionals migrate to other countries.
Employment Opportunities
Primarily, healthcare professionals migrate due to workforce shortages in other countries. In addition, the active demand for healthcare professionals and the availability of employment in institutions abroad are major reasons behind migration.
Better Life
Skilled healthcare professionals are needed across the globe. However, in search of a better future, healthcare professionals choose to work in a developed country to improve their standard of living.
Higher wages
A good compensation/salary is a well-known motivation factor in continuing a job. Since healthcare institutions in developing countries pay a lucrative salary to source candidates from other countries, it often becomes a deciding factor for professionals.
Work-Life Balance
The healthcare sector is a stressful job where patient care is the top priority. However, due to this, healthcare professionals’ mental and physical well-being is constantly neglected. As a result, due to poor work-life balance, professionals either leave their job, switch their careers, or start looking out for better opportunities.
According to OECD data, an estimated 69,000 qualified Indian doctors and 56,000 trained nurses were working in the UK, US, Australia and Canada in 2017. The nation invests resources to train young medical professionals; therefore, India loses out on skilled workers when they decide to migrate, leading to further crisis.
The lack of investment, shortage of skilled workforce has been a catalyst which led to the brain drain of healthcare professionals. From losing a resource to developed countries to compromising the healthcare delivery system and patient outcomes, the downsides of migration are many.
Steps To Minimise Brain Drain Of Healthcare Professionals
Healthcare professionals migrate due to the lack of career opportunities, poor wages, and work-life balance, and despite several government measures, the brain drain of professionals continues unabated. However, adequate measures can positively impact and minimise the brain drain of Indian healthcare professionals.
Government Policies
The Indian government can frame policies such as prioritising skill development through its National Skill Development Mission, which will give more exposure to healthcare professionals. The National Skill Development Mission aims to train an estimated 400 million people across India by 2022.
Availability Of Locum Jobs
Having an option to work as locums offers professionals to choose where they work and when they work. The availability of locum jobs will allow professionals to work with freedom, maintain a healthy work-life balance while enabling institutions to overcome staffing shortages.
Recognising Talent
Employee recognition is paramount as it creates a friendly environment motivating the professionals and increasing their productivity. In addition, recognising the efforts of healthcare professionals creates a positive work culture. Institutions can appreciate the hard-working staff by rewarding them for their performance.
Addressing Workforce Shortages
Workforce shortages are one of the biggest concerns of the healthcare industry, which often leads to burnout among healthcare professionals due to too much work pressure. Further, healthcare professionals quit jobs due to physical and mental exhaustion and look for better opportunities overseas.
Conclusion
In conclusion, addressing the brain drain of healthcare professionals requires timely measures and innovative solutions. One such solution is Jobizo, India’s first digitized flexible healthcare recruitment platform. Jobizo aims to make a long-lasting impact by empowering healthcare professionals to decide when and where they want to offer their services on a locum basis.
With Jobizo, healthcare professionals gain access to numerous locum job opportunities, ensuring transparency in pay and flexibility in their work schedule. By providing a platform that connects healthcare institutions with qualified professionals, Jobizo strives to build a robust foundation for the healthcare industry to thrive in the long run.
If you’re an organization looking to hire verified and experienced healthcare professionals for temporary or permanent jobs, sign up on the Jobizo platform.
If you’re a healthcare professional searching for locum or permanent job opportunities, you can download the app from the App Store/Play Store now to begin your journey toward unlocking exciting career prospects.