Many young doctors in Ireland are leaving the country in search of better lifestyles. Skewed work-life balance, housing and cost of living crises are some of the issues young doctors face in Ireland.
"A 40-hour week compared to an 80-hour week is hugely significant for having a life outside work," said Niamh Humphries, a lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland who researches doctor emigration trends and motivations.
"A 40-hour week compared to an 80-hour week is hugely significant for having a life outside work," said Niamh Humphries, a lecturer at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland who researches doctor emigration trends and motivations.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00So there's hundreds of junior doctors also applying to go to Australia this year, so
00:20it helps when there's a number of people doing the application process. The hours are better
00:24over there, the lifestyle is better over there. All of my friends are going, so I'd have maybe
00:2915, 20 close friends going. For my graduating class, there's maybe 40 or 50, maybe more going.
00:38So I suppose from an emigrating point of view, you're not leaving behind, like you are obviously
00:44leaving behind some friends, but you're going with so many friends that it makes it a little
00:47bit easier. We'll be living together over there at the Irish doctor community in
00:56Perth is where I'm going. It's quite strong that it'll help with the homesickness I find, hopefully.
01:03So this year, 535 Irish doctors emigrated to Australia or got visas to work in Australia,
01:09and that's quite a significant number relative to the number that Ireland trains. Ireland trains
01:13about 750 doctors each year. So in Ireland, perhaps they were working an 80-hour week,
01:18but when they moved to Australia, that would have reduced quite significantly to a 40-hour week,
01:22and a 40-hour week compared to an 80-hour week is hugely significant for people's
01:26work-life balance and their well-being. So they had a lot more time for themselves,
01:30a lot more time to have a life outside work. It wasn't just about work.