title: Physician migration at its roots: a study on the emigration preferences and plans among medical students in Romania.
abstract: Migration of healthcare workers is receiving increased attention worldwide. In Europe, the creation of a border-free labor market and its expansion with the EU enlargements of 2004, 2007, and 2013 endowed health professionals with the right to provide services and to relocate to another EU Member State. For the Romanian doctors, the EU-wide recognition of the medical degree obtained in Romania has created new opportunities, while inadequate working conditions and relatively low salaries pushed many of them to search for employment abroad. As there is considerable uncertainty about the magnitude of the Romanian physicians' exodus, we performed a survey to assess the emigration intention of future Romanian doctors.
  
  
  
  The study was conducted over three consecutive years: 2013, 2014, and 2015 at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Iuliu Hatieganu" Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The self-administrated questionnaire included 19 questions regarding students' emigration intentions.
  
  
  
  All the 957 license-degree students participated in the study. In this study, 84.7% of subjects planned on seeking employment abroad after graduation. A large number of the students who have participated in the study have already started preparing for emigration, 21.7% of those who wished to migrate had already performed at least one Erasmus mobility in their country of choice, 44.5% have been enrolled in a language course, and 42.7% have searched for jobs on the Internet.
  
  
  
  The majority of Romanian medical students considering migration see it as a serious alternative to the continuation of their professional training started in Romania. The findings of this study are upsetting and can impact both policy crafting and future research. Structural reforms in the healthcare provisions are needed in order to facilitate the retention of medical personnel. Romanian policy makers need to devise a comprehensive national health workforce plan to deal with physician migration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Victor Babes Nr 8 Street, 400012, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Şoimita Mihaela
authors.initials: ŞM
authors.lastname: Suciu
authors.affiliation: Department of Abilities-Human Sciences, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Victor Babes Nr 8 Street, 400012, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. cpopescu@umfcluj.ro.
authors.forename: Codruta Alina
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3691-8871
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Popescu
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology and Sociology, West University, Vasile Parvan Nr 8 Street, 00223, Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Mugur Daniel
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Ciumageanu
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Clinical Pharmacology, "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Victor Babes Nr 8 Street, 400012, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
authors.forename: Anca Dana
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Buzoianu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D002321:Career Choice; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004651:Employment; D005062:European Union; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D007393:International Educational Exchange; D020407:Internet; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D012383:Romania; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult