Why do medical students need to emigrate to become doctors in 2017?

This article was exclusively written for the Sting by Ms. Ayesha Zahid , a MBBS student from Services Institute of Medical Sciences. She is also affiliated to the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA). However, the opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one. Almost every other student, nowadays, is preparing and taking foreign medical licensing exams. Hence, it is important to shed light on the reasons behind mass emigration of crème-de-la-crème and to analyze the pros and cons of leaving ones homeland. Better career opportunities, promising lifestyle and learning new professional skills account for the main reasons behind emigration. Medicine is one of the most difficult and demanding professions in the world but unfortunately, it is not as lucrative as it should be. The Netherlands was the highest paying country to doctors, Australia being second and the United States ranked third, according to 2016 statistics. All the doctors intending to emigrate may not have chosen the profession purely for financial benefits but considering the hard work and sacrifices made, they certainly deserve to have the best. There are numbers of them who aspire to excel in their fields and the sole purpose of emigration for them is to improve their professional skills. They embark on the journey to a foreign land only to return back to their countries with specialized credentials. They adopt new ideas, learn new skills and implement them in their homeland in the hope of bringing a change. The medical profession is considered to be a divine profession and has always been an ambition for top-notch students to join it. This accounts for the shortage of seats in the medical colleges for all the aspiring students, which causes the resilient ones to travel to other countries to fulfill their dreams and to create a place for them in the sacred profession. 2016 was a good year for emigrants; this has resulted in fresh graduates and the older ones to follow their footsteps in order to establish themselves in a new country with better facilities. Whereas, 2017 has not been a very peaceful year so far because it has resulted in a brain drain from the war-struck regions to the areas which promise better opportunities and a safer future for doctors. There are the adventurous ones, who travel to explore new waters in the quest of better opportunities and to renew their passion for medicine. A new country offers a new working ambiance for the doctors, which rejuvenates their passion for medicine. There are numerous doctors worldwide, who serve the ailing in downtrodden areas, under the umbrella of organizations like World Health Organization and Red Crescent. While most of the doctors want to flee to the USA or the UK, there are some medical students from these regions who travel to various other countries to become doctors, owing to the smaller number of years required for the completion of the MBBS degree, in countries like India, Pakistan, and China. Research has gotten very popular in the field of medicine. There are many foreign doctors who work on fruitful researches, adopt new ideas and apply them to the hospitals in their homeland. We all need to realize that the world has become a global village, which has made learning new skills and ideas easier than before. Hence, we should all strive to make this planet a better place and think beyond boundaries because a profession as humane as medicine should not be curtailed by boundaries considering the true essence of the medical profession which is humanity. The utmost motive of doctors is to alleviate the pain of the humanity regardless of caste, color, creed and nationality. The doctors have invested their youth in the profession and deserve the respect and honor wherever they travel.   About the author Ayesha Zahid is an aspiring doctor, currently a final year MBBS student from Services Institute of Medical Sciences, residing in Lahore, Pakistan. She plans to take United States Medical Licensing Exam in near future. Being member of IFMSA she loves to participate in co-curricular activities. Ayesha has worked as a freelance writer for 6 months and she likes to read books in leisure time and keep herself up-to-date with the advancements taking place in medical field.