The Mobility of Medical Specialists: a Socio-historical Case Study of Neurosurgery in Benin

Abstract

Research on mobility tends to overlook privileged categories such as general practitioners engaged in specialization.
However, their role in the local establishment of a new discipline appears to be linked to their training trajectory. This is often the case in the context of this kind of privileged mobility, at the confluence of student and professional mobility. This article is based on a qualitative and biographical survey and explores how the circulation of general practitioners contributed to the advent of neurosurgery in Benin. It examines the motivations behind this type of skills mobility and highlights the diversity of experiences. This is due both to the pre-existence or otherwise of inter-knowledge networks and to the disjunction between professional and social experience during the migratory journey.
Keywords: Diaspora, medical doctors, Benin