title: 'Emigration is a matter of self-preservation. The working conditions . . . are killing us slowly': qualitative insights into health professional emigration from Ireland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Achieving a sustainable health workforce involves training and retaining sufficient staff to deliver health services. The Irish health workforce is characterised by a high level of emigration of Irish-trained staff and a heavy reliance on internationally trained staff. This paper presents qualitative findings from a mixed-method study of doctors, nurses and midwives who have recently emigrated from Ireland.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using Facebook, this study elicited 556 (388 completed) responses to an exploratory mixed-method online survey in July 2014. Respondents provided rich responses to two free-text questions, one on health worker return (N = 343) and another on health professional emigration (N = 209) from the source country (Ireland).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Respondents emigrated because of difficult working conditions in the Irish health system (long working hours, uncertain career progression), which compared poorly with conditions in the destination country. Respondents' experiences in the destination country vindicated the decision to emigrate and complicated the decision to return. Their return to Ireland was contingent upon significant reform of the Irish health system and an improvement in working conditions, expressed, for example, as: 'It's not about the money, it's about respect . . . we love working in medicine, but we love our families and health more' (RD283).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This paper highlights that doctors, nurses and midwives are emigrating from Ireland in search of better working conditions, clear career progression pathways and a better practice environment. The question for the source country is whether it can retain and attract back emigrant doctors, nurses and midwives by matching their expectations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, 123 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, Ireland. nhumphries@rcsi.ie.
authors.forename: Niamh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Humphries
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, 123 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, Ireland. saramcaleese@rcsi.ie.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McAleese
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Human Sciences, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland. anne.matthews@dcu.ie.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matthews
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, 123 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Dublin, Ireland. rbrugha@rcsi.ie.
authors.forename: Ruairi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brugha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008297:Male; D008880:Midwifery; D009721:Nurse Midwives; D009726:Nurses; D010563:Personnel Turnover; D010820:Physicians; D011247:Pregnancy; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D061108:Social Media; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014937:Work