SANP Swiss Archives of Neurology, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy 2297-7007 2297-6981 EMH Schweizerischer Ärzteverlag AG Farnsburgerstrasse 8 CH-4132 Muttenz 03198 Original article Prevention and public mental health Motivations, trends and experiences of migration among psychiatric trainees in Switzerland Bischof Evelyne ewelinabiskup@yahoo.de Division of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Basel, University of Basel, Switzerland Baessler Franziska Sophie franziska.baessler@med.uni-heidelberg.de Riese Florian florianriese@gmail.com Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland Zafar Ali SyedAliZafar.Rizvi@med.uni-heidelberg.de Academic Researcher | Department of General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany | Thibautstraße 2 | Heidelberg | 69115 | GERMANY Ciprianidis Anja anja.ciprianidis@freenet.de Department of General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany Wagner Fabienne Louise fabienne.wagner95@web.de Department of General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany Rauen Katrin katrin.rauen@uzh.ch University Hospital of Zurich, Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Zurich, Switzerland Schultz Jobst-Hendrik Jobst-Hendrik.Schultz@med.uni-heidelberg.de Department of General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany da Costa Mariana Pinto mariana.pintodacosta@gmail.com Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry (WHO Collaborating Centre for Mental Health Services Development), Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom 21 06 2021 172 03 0 0 Copyright: EMH Schweizerischer Ärzteverlag AG 2021 EMH Schweizerischer Ärzteverlag AG "Swiss Archives of Neurology, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy" is an open access publication of EMH published in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons licence attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives 4.0 International. You are free to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes. NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material. "Non-commercial" means not primarily intended for or directed towards commercial advantage or monetary compensation. The incorporation of publications in commercial products, the use of publications to advertise for commercial products or services and any other usage that directly or indirectly pursues commercial interests is subject to the express previous consent of the publishing house as part of a written agreement. Please send us your request in writing. Exact indication of the publication from which you would like to reproduce material and detailed information about its intended use help to facilitate and expedite request processing.

Background : Migration of medical professionals within Europe has been linked with unequal distribution of mental healthcare personnel, with Switzerland emerging as a major brain gain country. This study aims to explore migration tendencies among psychiatric trainees in Switzerland for determining the push and pull factors of European transnational migration trends. Methods : 175 psychiatric trainees enrolled for postgraduate training in Switzerland took part in a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed descriptively and risk ratios and correlations were used to explore potential patterns in attitudes, experiences and tendencies towards migration. Results : A majority of psychiatric trainees (82.9%, n=145) were immigrants, mostly from Germany (40.6%, n=71) and Austria (12.6%, n=22). Top reasons for immigration to Switzerland were academic (16.8%), cultural (14.7%) and work related (13.5%). Major reasons of emigration from their home country were academic (16.3%), work related (16.3%) and financial (15.2%). Over 60% (n=107) of the trainees had at least one earlier short-term mobility experience and a majority (n=82) stated that it positively influenced their long-term emigration. Trainees with previous long-term migratory experience (n=88) moved to Switzerland mainly after medical studies and before starting psychiatry training (n=54). Only 9.7% (n=15) of the immigrant trainees wanted to return to their home countries. Conclusions : Academic reasons are major drivers of immigration to Switzerland, which is home to the highest proportion of immigrant psychiatric trainees in Europe. Swiss psychiatry training and working conditions might be a role model for European countries.