Greener Pastures

Like people everywhere, Zambians are always looking out for a better life. Well, those who have the means anyway. Zambian doctors are no exception. From talking to nurses and the doctors at the hospital, I get the impression that many Zambian doctors are looking to leave the country. Popular places for them to go are their southern neighbors Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa, or even the UK. Reason: better working conditions and pay. The exodus of doctors from Zambia

is partly addressed by recruiting doctors from neighboring D.R. Congo, where even worse working conditions, pay, and the seemingly nonstop internal conflict have sent many of their professionals fleeing.

Last year, at Hervey Bay Hospital in Australia, I met quite a few doctors from South Africa. The South African doctors decided to go to Australia basically for the same reasons: working conditions and pay. Also, another reason they cited for leaving South Africa was the increasing violence and crime rate in the country, which Zambian doctors are willing to live with.

The next rung of the ladder is the U.S. I have met a few doctors in Australia who are looking to go to the US, especially specialists who want to practice state-of-the-art medicine. Instead of waiting for the Australian government to approve the latest and the sexiest procedures, they can just go to the US, learn them, and start using them. Of course, the better pay in the States, even with the US dollar in the gutters nowadays, doesn’t hurt.

It seems that the U.S. is where everyone wants to go; it’s at the top rung of the ladder. Well, not EVERYONE, but it’s the general trend anyway. Yet, my plan is to slide down a rung and stay in Australia? Maybe the grass really is that much greener on the other side of the fence.

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A view of serene Lake Chifunabuli from the hospital early in the morning

The ever radiant Doris is our theater nurse

Through the magic of the white coat, I look quite doctorly in this picture with Dan the nurse, if I do say so myself.

Jonas, Louis, and Alice having lunch