Turkish doctor Mesut started his career wanting to help patients and be of service to his country, but now the threat of patient violence and rising inflation have forced him to plan a move abroad.
Mesut says he will quit his job at a private hospital in Istanbul and leave for Germany next year with his wife and two children.
He is among a growing number of highly qualified professionals leaving or planning to leave Turkey – a trend experts say has accelerated in recent years as families struggle to keep up with the rising cost of living.
“We have lost all hope for the future,” the 38-year-old anesthetist told AFP.
“When I speak to my colleagues and close friends, they are distressed. Everyone is thinking about alternatives,” said Mesut, who did not want to give his full name.
Turkish doctors in particular say their working conditions have deteriorated, with long hours, an increase in physical and verbal abuse by patients or their families, and bullying by supervisors.
In one of the most recent attacks, a gunman shot cardiologist Ekrem Karakaya 15 times in July, killing him, allegedly because he blamed the doctor for his mother’s death.
Turkey’s economic crisis has made emigration even more attractive: inflation is over 83 percent and the Turkish lira has lost around 30 percent of its value against the dollar since the beginning of the year.
Some say even next year’s elections – in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will fight to extend his two-decade rule – offer no hope of change.
– ‘Lost all motivation’ –
A specialist doctor in a Turkish public hospital earns an average of more than $1,000 a month – more than three times the minimum wage of almost $300, but still much less than what a doctor earns in Europe.
Mesut says he makes $2,000 a month, but even that’s not enough, life is so much more expensive now.
“We work hard, but the money we get has no value,” he said.
“We are subjected to violence, beatings and attacks from patients and have lost all motivation.”
The government says it is trying to solve these problems and increased the wages of public sector doctors by 42 percent in July.
In August, she introduced reforms to further improve her economic conditions and protect her from violence.
The regulations aim to limit the number of doctors leaving Turkey and stem the growing trend of medics moving from public to private hospitals for better pay.
– demonization of doctors –
Erdogan vented his anger at Turks leaving the country last month.
“We pity those who come to other countries with superficial aspirations just because they want to drive a better car or go to more concerts,” he said.
Mesut said the government’s demonization of doctors was the “last straw”.
“We make a lot of sacrifices in this profession,” he said.
“I thought about it for a while, but our President’s words, ‘Let them go,’ played a big part in my decision to go abroad.”
Mesut was already learning German before he moved with his wife, a nurse in the intensive care unit, and their children.
– brain drain –
Professor Nergis Erdogan, head of the Istanbul Medical Association, said applications for certificates of good reputation – documents that allow doctors to work abroad – have surged this year.
In 2012, only 59 Turkish doctors applied for the certificates.
But in the first nine months of this year alone, 1,938 doctors – 1,014 specialists and 924 general practitioners – submitted applications.
“We ask first-year students about their forecasts. A significant proportion of them start by saying, ‘I’m going to take a German course,'” she told AFP.
Mehmet Cihan Dulluc, a first-year medical student in Ankara, said he decided to study in English to increase his chances of getting a job abroad.
“We all dream of going abroad,” the 19-year-old told AFP, citing violence against doctors and too many patients per doctor in Turkey as some of the reasons.
Erdogan, the head of the Istanbul Medical Association, said Turkish doctors see a new patient every three to five minutes.
“I’ve seen 80 to 100 patients a day at times in my career. Even 25 patients a day is a lot,” she said.
Like most of his classmates, Dulluc plans to travel abroad once he graduates from medical school.
“Even before graduation, I would love to go to Europe if I have the opportunity,” he said.
