Quality of medical training and emigration of physicians from India
2008

Quality of Medical Training and Physician Emigration from India

Sample size: 575000 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Kaushik Manas, Roy Ananya, Bang Anand A, Mahal Ajay

Primary Institution: Harvard School of Public Health

Hypothesis

The quality of medical training in India is related to the rate of physician emigration to the United States and the United Kingdom.

Conclusion

Graduates of institutions with better quality medical training have a greater likelihood of emigrating.

Supporting Evidence

  • Physicians from top-ranked medical colleges are 2 to 4 times more likely to emigrate.
  • The study analyzed data from 1955 to 2002.
  • 80% of medical graduates were from publicly funded colleges.
  • The overall physician emigration fraction was 12.6%.

Takeaway

Doctors who go to better medical schools are more likely to move to other countries for work.

Methodology

The study calculated emigration fractions based on medical college rankings and indicators of medical education quality.

Potential Biases

Assumptions made about missing data may bias results towards the null.

Limitations

The study could not account for individual-specific factors influencing migration.

Participant Demographics

Physicians who graduated from Indian medical colleges between 1955 and 2002.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.0001

Confidence Interval

(2.80, 3.06)

Statistical Significance

p<0.0001

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1472-6963-8-279

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