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Recent figures from the Czech Medical Chamber suggest at least 300 doctors every month are looking to leave their home country to work abroad.
A variety of a reasons are behind this, from the opportunity to earn more and work less, to the boost in professional growth prospects to be gained from working in another country.
And countries like the UK and Germany are hungry for the expertise that Czech doctors have.
“We see many of our doctors who split their time between their home clinics and hospitals and offices in the UK or other countries,” says Pavel Hilbert, manager of www.cosmetic-plastic-surgery.info, a web portal providing information on medical treatments abroad. “Other countries value our doctor’s medical knowledge and language skills.”
In the UK, a doctor can earn about 250,000 Czech crowns (£7,100) a month, while in Germany they earn about 150,000 crowns (£4,300) Compare that to local doctors, who are just as skilled and experienced, and earn about 40,000 crowns (£1,100) a month.
Factor into their salaries the limit on working hours that countries like the UK have, and it is no mystery why Czech doctors are looking a bit farther a field for their next position.
One area this trend has not affected is the cosmetic and plastic surgery field. Czech plastic surgeons have an excellent reputation, and as most of their work is considered aesthetic, aren’t confined by the local Health Ministry’s rules and regulations.
These policies keep doctor’s wages low and discourage the opening of private clinics. Since such treatments aren’t
covered by insurance anyway, plastic surgeons continue to enjoy practicing here and see clients from abroad coming to them, instead of vice versa.
