• career development
• Consultant
• engagement
• Senior medical leader
• organisational effectiveness

It is with great interest that I read this article by Dokko and Gorli summarising the applicability of research on job mobility from the non-healthcare sector to the healthcare sector. I am a consultant anaesthetist in the UK and I am coming to the end of a sabbatical in Austria where I have been working in an equivalent role for a year. My perspective is given as a UK-based senior doctor moving within Europe.

There is no doubt that leaving one organisation and joining another comes with positive and negative impacts at the level of the individuals and the organisations. The same holds for moving across countries. The notion that performance is portable with the individual is interesting in healthcare. I certainly underestimated how cultural and social differences could affect my performance: I moved from a system where patient-tailored management, effective teamwork and quality improvement are core. I entered a system where hospital efficiency and productivity rule and where service provision is king. Not only this, but also there were cultural differences in patient expectations which I found fascinating. This threw me initially and I experienced moments of both helplessness and bewilderment. However, I ultimately made a few profound positive realisations. Changing organisations is a powerful tool for …