Workforce data shows higher retention rates among Irish-born medical interns In order to make sure doctors trained in Ireland stay here to work the number of Irish graduates needs to increase, the head of the HSE unit tasked with analysing the medical workforce has said. Prof Brian Kinirons, medical director of HSE National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP), was referring to figures from the group which showed that the proportion of Irish medical interns who stayed working in the country’s health system was significantly higher when compared to interns who originally came from Europe or further afield. “If we want to grow retention, then we need to grow the CAO graduate numbers within our medical schools in Ireland,” he said.
“Graduates from the CAO, the Irish graduates, have a higher retention rate, and that’s important.” Earlier this week the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health heard how up to 700 young doctors are leaving the country each year after their intern year, representing around 80 per cent of all interns. However, the HSE NDTP’s Medical Retention Report 2023 shows that the majority return to Ireland within a few years.
It found that 87 per cent of Irish junior doctors who completed their intern year between 2015 and 2018 were working in the Irish health system by 2023. This percentage compares to 63 per cent of interns here who come from other EU countries and the UK, and just 59 per cent of those who come from outside this region. In a webinar .
