Left behind or pushed out? Rethinking health workforce policy in Romania

Romania faces a significant challenge with the ongoing migration of its medical professionals, a trend that has intensified since the early 1990s and particularly after its integration into the European Union. Institutional data from parliamentary inquiries, official statistics, and various secondary sources clearly show the scale and increasing rate at which medical graduates are leaving the country after they finish medical school, significantly impacting the national healthcare system. Although Romania produces a high number of medical graduates each year, many either cannot secure residency positions domestically or choose to practice medicine abroad. This situation has exacerbated medical workforce shortages, especially in rural and underserved regions. Paradoxically, Romania is also attracting many international students thanks to affordable tuition and respected medical education programs, yet restrictive legislation prevents most of these foreign-trained physicians from remaining to practice locally. Consequently, Romania spends resources educating thousands of doctors annually, only to see a substantial number leave to work in other countries. Addressing this problem requires better retention strategies and aligning medical training more closely with actual healthcare system demands.