Many graduates who finish their studies in Poland end up working abroad. According to the health ministry the total number of medical students in Poland amounted to 27,000, 20,000 of those were Polish citizens whose education is paid for by the taxpayer. The average annual cost of a medical education in Poland is nearly 40,000 PLN.
According to OECD figures Poland has a low ratio of doctors per head of the population but a much higher ration per head in relation to numbers of doctors being trained. As a result there is a considerable gap between the number of doctors being trained and the number actually working in Poland.
There is a considerable gap between the number of doctors being trained and the number actually working in Poland
The offers on the labor market for those being trained are not satisfactory in terms of pay and conditions, therefore Polish doctors often end up going abroad.
Poland also has a very low number of doctors educated abroad working in the country. It is 2 percent of the total number of doctors, and come mainly from Ukraine and Belarus. In the UK that number is 28 percent and in Norway 40 percent. This is another reason for the shortage of doctors in the Polish healthcare system.
