Stay Or Go?

From the DW:

“Healthcare workers in Albania - Stay or leave?”

(Kastriot Qehaja – Nurse in Rural Albania)

Germany has too few healthcare workers and is trying to plug the gaps with recruitment drives in poorer countries like Albania. As a result, many young and well-trained people are packing up and leaving the country. Word has got around in Albania that the German health and care sector has a skills shortage. Many qualified healthcare workers have decided to leave for Germany. In Tirana, twenty-two-year-old Alketa Kaja is doing a special German language course for healthcare and nursing to prepare for her new life. A German clinic has offered her a job and is paying the course fees. Only 50% of healthcare workers trained in Albania remain in the country. One of them is Kastriot Qehaja. Even though his job is strenuous and poorly paid, he doesn’t want to leave his country. Someone needs to look after the elderly people whose children have gone to work in western Europe.

^ This DW Documentary shows the plight of the Registered Nurse in Albania (one of Europe’s poorest Countries.)

It follows Albanian Nurse, Alketa Kaja, (22 years old) who is getting ready to move to Germany to make more money, but she has to learn German and leave her Husband back in Albania for at least 6 months.

It also follows another Albanian Nurse, Kastriot Qehaja (who is 36 years old) who wants to stay in Albania with his Wife (who is Pregnant with their 2^nd Child.) He lives in a remote mountain region and has to walk hours to visit each Patient.

An Albanian Nurse working in Albania makes an average of $8,371 US Dollars a year or $697 US Dollars a month.

A Nurse working in Germany makes an average of $38,982 US Dollars a year or $3,248 US Dollars a month.

That means a Nurse in Germany makes $30,611 US Dollars MORE a year than a Nurse in Albania.

Because of that 50% of Albanian Nurses (Male and Female) leave Albania and go to Germany (which has a Massive Shortage of Nurses.)

That leaves a Huge Shortage of Nurses inside Albania (especially outside of the Capital of Tirana.)

 

Note 1: A Nurse working in Canada makes an average of $64,635 US Dollars a year or $5,386 US Dollars a month.

A Nurse working in the United Kingdom makes an average of $37,132 US Dollars a year or $3,094 US Dollars a month

A Nurse working in the United States makes and average of $81,220 US Dollars a year or $6,768 US Dollars a month.

 

Note 2: This is just about Nurses, but 800,000 Albanians have left Albania since Communism ended in 1991 to live and work in Germany and other parts of Europe.  

You can watch the Documentary in English for free here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFXZ21UE_8Q

^