Anglo physicians tend to make aliyah after retirement age, or on the downswing of their professional careers. As in other fields, professional drive and contributions peak at a far earlier stage. The phenomenon of aliyah during the golden years is not unique to Anglo physicians, but is more pronounced than other professions. Why? I believe that sweat equity and financial uncertainty are primary drivers. 

Anglo physicians spend a lot of time and effort earning the two magic letters appended to their name. The medical school track often begins in high school and progresses through specialty training, a 12 to 15-year track. We have finally earned the privilege of entry to the doctors’ lounge in the hospital with high-end coffee and free pastries. Of a pressed white coat and a carpeted office. Of a receptionist who greets with a smile, and medical assistants who screen our phone calls. These hard-earned professional perks are rarely present in Israel. In a highly competitive medical environment, Anglo physicians may even be viewed by their colleagues as a professional threat. We must start from scratch and earn our stripes again.

In our countries of birth, Anglo physicians generally contract an annual compensation package. There may be some productivity incentive and minimal benchmarks. But one knows in advance and consistently what they are earning. Not so in Israel. Physician salaries are composed of moving and variable components. Base salary, on-call pay, ‘after-hours’ pay, private pay. Compensation is highly dependent on location, competition, physician reputation, negotiating acumen, marketability, and seniority. Moreover, it is opaque from the outside and requires years of immersion to grasp even partially. Finally, take-home income is almost invariably and significantly less than in the US. 

I mention the above not to downplay the desire for professional recognition and financial security. Rather to recognize the major impact they have on Anglo physician aliyah. Professional recognition and financial security are real human needs; they have a major impact on our psyches and emotional health. Especially with physicians who have invested so much time, energy, and financial resources into their discipline. 

Life gets more complex as we get older. Family obligations, financial burdens, social and professional entanglement. Anglo physicians stand to take a financial and professional hit. They board an emotional roller coaster, especially when their professional status has already been earned and concretized.  This is profoundly inhibiting on a practical and psychological level. 

So Anglo physicians, make the leap early.  It takes superhuman efforts for us to give up on already established norms. Come for your specialty training. Or have a firm and binding plan to come immediately afterward. It is much easier to pass on fruits never tasted. It is less traumatic to give up a partner’s pay check never seen. It is more acceptable to be treated like the low person on the totem pole if you have not yet climbed higher. 

Come while professionally hungry and burning with desire to leave your mark on Israel’s medical landscape. A blank page is much more amenable to creative prose than one already marked up. 

You will struggle and the path is not linear. Professional life will be challenging, but rewarding and profoundly contributory. And you can count on a warm professional welcome, at least from other Anglo physicians!

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)