Health policy
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This review study explores the "brain drain" currently evident amongst physicians in Greece, which is closely linked to the country's severe financial woes. In particular, it shows that the Greek healthcare labour market offers few opportunities and thus physicians are forsaking their homeland to seek jobs abroad. The main causes generating or greatly inflating the brain drain of Greek physicians are unemployment, job insecurity, income reduction, over-taxation, together with limited budgets for research institutes. It is argued that, to stop the evolving mass exodus of skilled medical staff, policy-makers should implement fiscal and human-centred approaches, thoroughly safeguarding both the right of skilled Greek physicians to work in their homeland with motivation and dignity, but also of Greek citizens to continue receiving high-quality healthcare by skilled physicians at times when this is mostly needed.
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There is growing need for continuing professional development (CPD) among doctors, especially following the recent introduction of compulsory revalidation for all doctors in the United Kingdom (UK). We use unique datasets from two national surveys of non-training grade doctors working in the National Health Service in Scotland to evaluate doctors' perceptions of need and barriers to CPD. We test for differences over time and also examine differences between doctor grades and for other characteristics such as gender, age, contract type and specialty. ⋯ In terms of perceived barriers to CPD, lack of time was expressed as a barrier by the largest proportion of doctors, as was insufficient clinical cover, lack of funding, and remoteness from main education centres. The strength of perceived need for particular CPD activities and the perceived barriers to CPD varied significantly by doctors' job and personal characteristics. An understanding of the perceived needs and barriers to CPD among doctors is an important precursor to developing effective educational and training programmes that cover their professional practice and also in supporting doctors towards successful revalidation.