The retention of training doctors in the Irish health system

BACKGROUND: There is limited quantitative evidence on the migration patterns of training doctors in Ireland. The aim of this study is to estimate the number of trainee doctors leaving the Irish health system and the numbers returning. METHODS: This study uses administrative data to track the migration patterns of Irish trained doctors at various career stages. RESULTS: Eighty-four percent of interns who commenced intern training in 2015 subsequently commenced a basic specialist training (BST) or general practice (GP) training programme in subsequent years (2016–2021). Of those who completed BST training in 2017, 75% went on to higher specialist training (HST) in Ireland. In 2021, of the 2016 cohort of doctors awarded Certificates of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training (CSCST), 68% are employed in Ireland and 32% are abroad or unknown. Of the 2016 group that are abroad, the UK is the main country of practice. There are variations in the retention rate across disciplines; from the 2016 cohort, 52% of anaesthesiology CSCSTs were working in Ireland in 2021 compared to 88% of psychiatry CSCSTs. CONCLUSION: Previous research has highlighted Irish doctor’s intentions to migrate and intentions to return to Ireland. This study documents for the first time the extent to which Irish doctors are leaving and returning to the Irish health system from 2015 to 2021. The paper also gives a picture of variations across medical disciplines and the location of emigration of qualified specialists.