Mitigating Physician Emigration in Nigeria by Improving the Internship Experience

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2023.2255

Keywords:

Physician emigration, Nigeria healthcare system, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Doctor-to-patient ratio, Internship experience, Brain drain, Emigration trends, Career preferences, Medical education, National Youth Service Scheme, Migration policies, Adverse internship experiences, Push factors for emigration, Mistreatment of doctors, Healthcare workforce challenges, COVID-19 pandemic impact, Physician migration intentions, Retention strategies, Healthcare policymaking, Fair compensation, Professional growth opportunities, Research institutions, Medical curricula, Anti-bullying policies, Healthcare financing, Sustainable healthcare, Specialist providers, Clinical researchers, Brain drain mitigation, Ministry of Health stakeholders

Abstract

Nigeria faces a critical shortage of health workers, exacerbated by a growing of physician emigration. This study explored the negative internship experiences that drive Nigerian interns to migrate abroad, with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact. Interns cite excessive workload and burnout, lack of professional development opportunities, challenging work environment, and mistreatment as key reasons for considering emigration. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these challenges, leading to shortages of personal protective equipment, limited screening services, and poor hazard allowances. The paper emphasizes the importance of adopting policies that make destination countries attractive to emigrating interns. These includes creating a supportive work environment with fair compensation, professional development opportunities, and adequate resources to retain interns in the country. It also highlights the significance of addressing mistreatment and bullying in the workplace. Collaboration between healthcare organizations, policy reforms, and increased healthcare financing are suggested as potential strategies to mitigate the brain drain and ensure a sustainable healthcare system in Nigeria. Improving internship conditions and addressing the shortcomings of managing the COVID-19 pandemic are essential to retaining Nigerian doctors and combatting physician emigration. This requires a coordinated effort from healthcare systems, policymakers, and stakeholders.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Ikhide E. Addressing the Brain Drain of Health Professionals in Nigeria. 2021. Available from: https://ir.nilds.gov.ng/handle/123456789/401?show=full. Last updated Aug 03, 2023; cited Aug 03, 2023.

Ezeike AC, Ebong AO. Postgraduate career and emigration intentions: A cross-sectional study of house officers in a North Central, Nigerian Tertiary Hospital. Niger J Med. 2021;30(5):561–6. . Available from: https://journals.lww.com/njom/Fulltext/2021/30050/Postgraduate_Career_and_Emigration_Intentions__A.15.aspx. Last updated Aug 03, 2023; cited Aug 03, 2023.

Cronin F, Clarke N, Hendrick L, Conroy R, Brugha R. The impacts of training pathways and experiences during intern year on doctor emigration from Ireland. Hum Resour Health. 2019;17:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0407-z. Available from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12960-019-0407-z#citeas. Last updated Aug 03, 2023; cited Aug 03, 2023.

Okonta KE, Akpayak IC, Amusan EO, Ekpe EE, Adamu YB, Ocheli EO. Multi-center survey of House officers’ choice of Medical specialties in Nigeria: preferences and determining factors. Pan Afr Med J. 2015;20. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4491464/. Last updated Aug 03, 2023; cited Aug 03, 2023.

Akinwumi AF, Solomon OO, Ajayi PO, Ogunleye TS, Ilesanmi OA, Ajayi AO. Prevalence and pattern of migration intention of doctors undergoing training programmes in public tertiary hospitals in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Hum Resour Health. 2022;20(1):76.

Ayetoto-Oladehinde T. Businessday NG. 2023. Medical Students condemn bill to curb migration. Available from: https://businessday.ng/news/article/medical-students-condemn-bill-to-curb-migration/. Cited Oct 27, 2023.

Kumari A, Kaur T, Ranjan P, Chopra S, Sarkar S, Baitha U. Workplace violence against doctors: characteristics, risk factors, and mitigation strategies. J Postgrad Med. 2020;66(3):149.

Martin Roland D. Linking physicians’ pay to the quality of care—a major experiment in the United Kingdom. N Engl J Med. 2004;351:1448–54.

Pay and conditions circulars for medical and dental staff | NHS Employer. Available from: https://www.nhsemployers.org/articles/pay-and-conditions-circulars-medical-and-dental-staff. Cited Oct 27, 2023.

Adebowale-Tambe N. Brain Drain: Over 5,000 Nigerian doctors move to UK in eight years. Premium Times Nigeria. 2022. Available from: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/560511-brain-drain-over-5000-nigerian-doctors-move-to-uk-in-eight-years.html. Cited Oct 27, 2023.

Anadolu Agency. 20 Nigerian doctors die in one week from COVID-19. Africa, latest on Coronavirus outbreak. 2020;2021. Available from: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/20-nigerian-doctors-die-in-one-week-from-covid-19/2089037.

Oyadiran OT, Agaga LA, Adebisi YA, Lucero-Prisno III DE. Nigeria, COVID-19 and the dearth of health workers. J Glob Health. 2020;10(2):020379.

Some Push Factors Influencing Physician Emigration and Recommendations from Selected Studies.

Downloads

Published

2023-11-21

How to Cite

Daniel, F. M., Essien, E. A., Gbuchie, M. A., Ukoaka, B. M., & Emeruwa, V. E. (2023). Mitigating Physician Emigration in Nigeria by Improving the Internship Experience. International Journal of Medical Students, 11(4), 343–346. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2023.2255

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 4 (2023)

Section

Experience

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Faithful Miebaka Daniel, Emmanuel Aniekan Essien, Monica Anurika Gbuchie, Bonaventure, Victoria

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site; with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    2. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
    4. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
    5. The Author represents and warrants that:
      1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
      2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
      3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
      4. the Work has not previously been published;
      5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
      6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
    6. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from the Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Enforcement of copyright

The IJMS takes the protection of copyright very seriously.

If the IJMS discovers that you have used its copyright materials in contravention of the license above, the IJMS may bring legal proceedings against you seeking reparation and an injunction to stop you using those materials. You could also be ordered to pay legal costs.

If you become aware of any use of the IJMS' copyright materials that contravenes or may contravene the license above, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org

 

Infringing material

If you become aware of any material on the website that you believe infringes your or any other person's copyright, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org