Nair Satish Chandrasekhar, Satish Karthyayani Priya, Ibrahim Halah
Department of Academic Affairs, Tawam Hospital, and College of Medicine, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates.
Medicine Program, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, 575001, India.
Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2021 Sep 7;14:3721-3727. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S328939. eCollection 2021.
Physician retention is essential to creating a strong and stable healthcare system worldwide. The density of physicians and nurses significantly impacts important population health outcomes. Globalization has enabled the mobility of physicians, but the recruitment and retention of quality physicians have not been without challenges. The purpose of this study was to identify the outward migration factors affecting expatriate physicians who have resided and worked in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for at least 5 years, as compared with newly emigrated physicians. This physician population has likely adapted to the local environment and actively contributed to the advancement of medical care in the country; their attrition is a significant loss to the UAE healthcare system.
A 23-point validated survey questionnaire, consisting of four domains, was electronically administered to the participants (n = 374), and responses were statistically analyzed, using descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test.
Our results indicate that all physicians considered a ten-year visa to be factor contributing to retention, more so for the recent physician migrants to the UAE. Professional development opportunities, career-specific plans and income promoted only short-term retention of physicians in the UAE. Non-financial factors related to living and working conditions prevented migration of physicians who lived in the country for more than five years.
Lifestyle-related factors are an important consideration in long-term retention of physicians in the UAE. Initiatives to promote career advancement and improve job satisfaction for mid- and late-career clinicians are necessary to set the foundation for a robust physician retention policy and to enhance the quality of the healthcare system. Long-term visas provide an additional factor for retention.
医生留用对于在全球建立强大且稳定的医疗体系至关重要。医生和护士的密度对重要的人群健康结果有显著影响。全球化使医生能够流动，但招聘和留住高素质医生并非没有挑战。本研究的目的是确定影响在阿拉伯联合酋长国（阿联酋）居住和工作至少5年的外籍医生的向外迁移因素，并与新移民的医生进行比较。这一医生群体可能已经适应了当地环境，并为该国医疗保健的进步做出了积极贡献；他们的流失对阿联酋医疗体系来说是重大损失。
一份经过验证的包含23个问题的调查问卷，由四个领域组成，以电子方式发放给参与者（n = 374），并使用描述性统计和卡方检验对回答进行统计分析。
我们的结果表明，所有医生都认为十年签证是有助于留用的一个因素，对于最近移民到阿联酋的医生来说更是如此。专业发展机会、特定职业规划和收入仅促进了医生在阿联酋的短期留用。与生活和工作条件相关的非财务因素阻止了在该国居住超过五年的医生外流。
与生活方式相关的因素是阿联酋长期留住医生的一个重要考虑因素。为职业中期和后期临床医生促进职业发展并提高工作满意度的举措，对于建立强有力的医生留用政策基础和提高医疗体系质量是必要的。长期签证提供了另一个留用因素。
