Half of Bulgaria's Medics Will Retire Within 10 Years

The shortage of medical professionals in Bulgaria will reach dramatic levels in the next 10 years.

According to a survey of the Bulgarian Medical Union (BMU) nearly half of the current doctors will retire, while the majority of recent graduates are planning to work abroad.

The average age of Bulgaria's medics is 53 years. “The doctors up to 30 years of age are 5%, those aged 31-45 are 25%, nearly 50% are aged 46-60 years and those over 60 years are 20%”, said the deputy chairperson of the BMU Yulian Yordanov. “In 10 years this will create a serious shortage and we have to start thinking about this now.”

The survey shows that about 80% of the recent medical graduates are planning to work abroad. More than 40% would like to go to Germany, which offers very good residencies.

The BMU Tsvetan Raichinov warned that with such small salaries and bad working conditions, there is no way to retain the young doctors in Bulgaria. “There is no way of attracting medics from abroad, either”, he said.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!