EPA-1466 – Migration and Brain Drain

Abstract

Changes taking place nowadays, such as globalisation, increased mobility, population ageing, financial crisis and social networking force us to test the old views and adapt to the new realities. This consequently leads to interrogations that reflect current differences of perception created by the great velocity and intensity, followed by an unprecedented degree of interconnectivity and lowering of international barriers.

Therefore, it is worthwhile to look for actual and future migration onto the new global context by recognizing the push factors that pressure people to leave the donor country, the pull factors that make the recipient country seem attractive, while confirming patterns and duration of migration. Despite the concern for migration has moved to the forefront agendas raising questions, nevertheless, there is lack of data of migration flows, as significant highly skilled migration has been within the European Union, and additionally, there is scarcity of data in psychiatry.

For that reason, as an attempt to explore migration among psychiatry trainees, the European Federation of Psychiatry Trainees (EFPT) has been doing a survey to assess opinions and experiences of international migration. This data analysis and discussion will permit further comparisons with other groups, such as physicians in general and psychiatry consultants.

The results provided by this study bring an overview of migration among psychiatric trainees and the different challenges faced in this pathway to a psychiatry career. Migration within psychiatry will probably continue, being therefore essential to enhance support to those who migrate, and actually influence the mental health care provided internationally.