Reasons for Choosing Medical Education Abroad in the Context of Youth Educational Migration

Background. The growth of international educational migration is accompanied by the development of a global medical education market, in which countries and universities compete to attract international appli­cants.

Objective. To identify the reasons for choosing medical education abroad and systematize the factors determining the choice of a destination country and medical school by young people.

Materials and methods. The methodological framework combines the “push-pull” model of international student mobility, human capital theory, and a trajectory-based approach to educational migration. The research uses the methods of comparative analysis, systematization, classification and interpretation of materials published by UNESCO, the World Health Organization, the OECD, the World Federation for Medical Education, and peer-reviewed empirical studies of medical students studying abroad.

Results. It was revealed that the reasons for choosing medical education is defined as an integrated assessment of expected educational, professional, migration-re­lated, and social benefits adjusted for costs and risks. Academic, clinical and infrastructural, economic, regu­latory and institutional, professional and migration-related, social and cultural determinants were identified. Easier admission, clinical education quality, reputation of an educational institution, qualification recogni­tion, tuition costs, personal safety, and post-graduation career opportunities seem to be particularly signifi­cant. The paper argues that the reasons for choosing medical education should be evaluated across the entire education-to-employment trajectory rather than solely at the point of university admission.

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