# Healthcare professional unemployment in Turkey > Developing situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/healthcare-professional-unemployment-in-turkey > Updated: 2026-10-22T09:21:00.000Z. Sources: 2. Developments: 2. A growing employment crisis is affecting healthcare graduates in Turkey, specifically within the dentistry and pharmacy sectors. Initial reports highlighted individual cases, such as a dental graduate seeking waitressing work due to a lack of stable professional opportunities and difficult working conditions in the private sector. This issue has since been identified as a systemic problem linked to an imbalance between education and employment planning. Parliamentary inquiries have noted that the number of pharmacy faculties has increased significantly since 2002, yet approximately 9,000 pharmacists and over 20,000 dentists are currently awaiting appointments. While some efforts are underway to integrate graduates into the pharmaceutical industry through cooperation with İŞKUR, officials have emphasized the need for updated university curricula and better management of public sector vacancies to address the shortage of professional opportunities and the resulting impact on public healthcare access. ## Timeline ### 2026-10-22: Turkey faces pharmacist and dentist employment crisis Turkey is experiencing a shortage of professional opportunities for pharmacists and dentists, with thousands awaiting appointments despite a significant increase in graduates and faculty numbers. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/turkey-faces-pharmacist-and-dentist-employment-crisis ### 2026-10-04: Dentist in Turkey seeks waitressing work amid unemployment concerns A Turkish dentist's viral video highlighting the need to seek waitressing work has sparked debate over graduate unemployment and healthcare systemic issues in the country. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/dentist-in-turkey-seeks-waitressing-work-amid-unemployment-concerns --- Cite as: Healthcare professional unemployment in Turkey. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/healthcare-professional-unemployment-in-turkey