Yaser Salehi, a member of the Iranian regime’s Medical Organization, warned about the ongoing trend of migration, career changes, and suicides among healthcare workers in the country, stating that it is not unlikely that Iran will one day have to import doctors.
On Friday, January 31, in an interview with the state-affiliated news outlet Khabar Online, Salehi discussed the declining interest among doctors in entering medical residency and specialization programs. He stated that in 2024, out of 5,400 available residency positions in Iran’s medical universities, 2,069 remained vacant and had to go through a second round of admissions.
He added that in the past three years, more than 30 doctors in Iran have committed suicide due to the pressures of their work.
This member of the Medical Organization noted that talented young people today are choosing fields that allow them to quickly secure admission and migrate abroad. He warned, “In the coming years, we will have specialists who were not the most capable doctors but still became specialists, and this is an alarming sign for public health.”
The migration of doctors and other healthcare workers in recent years has heightened concerns about the future of Iran’s healthcare system.
On January 3, Mostafa Moein, the head of the Ethics in Science and Technology Association, stated that only 16% of Iranians do not consider migrating. He also revealed that 53% of university professors, 40% of students, and 45% of doctors and nurses are inclined to leave the country.
No One Wants to Specialize in Anesthesiology and Emergency Medicine
In part of his interview with Khabar Online, Salehi stated that many residency positions in anesthesiology and emergency medicine remain unfilled, as no one is willing to specialize in these fields.
This member of the Medical Organization pointed out that in Iran, some operating rooms conduct surgeries without an anesthesiology specialist present. He also revealed that many emergency departments across the country lack emergency medicine specialists.
He added that similar concerns exist regarding other core specialties such as internal medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology, as there is little interest in these fields.
Salehi warned that “it is not unlikely that one day we will have to import doctors” and stated that the only reason this has not happened yet is that the existing specialists are working at full capacity.
On November 8, 2024, Mohammad Raeeszadeh, the head of the Iranian regime’s Medical Organization, highlighted the severe shortage of medical specialists in certain fields. He stated that 40% of general practitioners in Iran are engaged in jobs unrelated to medicine and that some residency seats, including those in anesthesiology, remain vacant.
On November 1, 2024, Abolhassan Mostafavi, a member of the regime’s parliamentary Education and Research Commission, warned about the crisis of doctor migration and stated that the country is suffering from a shortage of 12,000 physicians.
High Suicide Rate Among Doctors
In another part of his interview, Salehi stated that not only are new individuals not entering medical specialties, but existing specialists are also leaving the profession.
He explained that some medical specialists have left their profession to pursue other careers and emphasized that doctors are leaving the country to places where they feel valued.
He added, “We have doctors who, under extreme work pressure and hardship, have ‘migrated from life’ and committed suicide. Unfortunately, in the past three years, more than 30 of our colleagues have taken their own lives.”
