Study finds more than 50% of Israeli medical residents plan to move abroad

A new study published by Ben Gurion University of the Negev this week found that more than half of all medical residents in Israel plan to move to work abroad in the next few years.

The results of the study, conducted by Dr. Ofer Edelstein and Prof. Yaacov Bachner, are a continuation of a worrying trend identified by Tel Aviv University in research published on Sunday, which found that some 1,370 doctors left Israel for at least 12 months between 2023 and 2025.

The study found that 53 percent of all medical residents are planning to leave Israel in the next five years, and that 28.6% had started taking concrete steps toward this goal.

Only 6.6 percent of Israeli medical residents said they had absolutely no plans to move abroad, and an additional 7.4% said they were unlikely to.

The study noted that this figure did not include anyone planning to move in order to specialize in a specific field, but rather those who were planning to move specifically for work following the completion of their studies and residency.

Surgery and anesthesiology residents showed a higher interest in leaving Israel for work compared to those specializing in family and internal medicine and in psychiatry.

The study also found that a higher number of male medical residents were planning to leave Israel than their female counterparts. Non-Jewish medical residents also reported plans to leave at a higher rate than their Jewish counterparts, and the same was found among secular Jews in comparison to religious participants in the study.

The research was based on an online questionnaire filled out by anonymous medical residents and interns. In total, 634 people responded to the survey, with an average age of 33.7. Around 68% of respondents were Jewish.

When examining the issues driving medical residents to consider moving abroad, the study found that poor working conditions were a driving factor.

Residents who had experienced poor working conditions — meaning low pay, a high workload and poor work-life balance — were more likely to be planning a move. The study noted that, in general, many respondents reported satisfaction in other areas of their work, including their interpersonal relationships with colleagues and the quality of training they have received.

Additionally, the study found that for some of those weighing a move abroad, personal security beyond the workplace is also playing a role. Specifically, it noted that the political situation in Israel was a key contributor to the decision, followed by the security situation and the economic landscape.

Summarizing the findings to Ynet, the study’s lead authors, Edelstein and Bachner, said it indicated that the solution to the brain drain of medical staff from Israel lay not just in improved pay or hours, but in a deeper sense of personal security.

They warned that unless the situation improves, “the healthcare system will fall into an even more serious crisis that will be realized in harming public health.”