Migration of Medical Staff; Has the Alarm Sounded? Letter to Editor

Among the types of migration, the migration of expert human resources is one of the most challenging for the immigrant sender countries. With the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, the importance of medical staff and the need for providing sufficient human resources in the healthcare section appeared more prominent. COVID-19 along with the existing economic challenges has intensified the process of medical staff migration in Iran, one of the immigrant sender countries. Investment in the development of expert human resources requires the allocation of large material resources, and wasting the mentioned resources also means giving these experts to the destination countries for free. Identification of different dimensions and the root causes of the migration of expert human resources helps policymakers in making effective decisions. In this study, economic-occupational factors, socio-cultural factors, and obstacles to continuing education were identified as the main factors of medical staff migration.