International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Expanding Medical Education and Task Shifting; Comment on “Doctor Retention: A Cross-sectional Study of How Ireland Has Been Losing the Battle”

Document Type : Commentary

Author
Daniel R. Arnold
Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
10.34172/ijhpm.2020.218
Abstract
Brugha et al provide convincing evidence that Ireland stills need to overcome many hurdles, including poor training and working experiences in Irish hospitals, before it can significantly improve its record on doctor retention. The findings reported by Brugha et al are particularly disappointing in light of the fact that Ireland implemented a doctor retention strategy in early 2015. Ultimately, doctor retention is important because it can help alleviate the health workforce shortages that many countries face currently and that are projected to worsen over the next decade. The purpose of this commentary is to highlight two additional strategies for alleviating health workforce shortages – expanding medical education and task shifting.
Keywords
Doctor Retention
Medical Education
Task Shifting
Ireland
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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 10, Issue 10
October 2021
Pages 664-666

  • Received Date 29 August 2020
  • Revised Date 22 October 2020
  • Accepted Date 22 October 2020
  • First Published Date 09 November 2020
  • Published Date 01 October 2021