Specialists are concentrated in large cities and shortages are a particularly pressing issue in rural areas. Shortages in emergency medical specialists, anaesthetists, intensive care specialists and ophthalmologists are reportedly particularly pressing in rural areas. Rural municipalities have tried a number of initiatives to attract specialists, including salary supplements and free accommodation. Shortages persist, however, signaling a complex problem that is likely to need additional initiatives (such as improvements to rural schooling and other services) to attract health professionals and their families. The demand for specialised nurses, such as surgical nurses and intensive care nurses, is particularly high in Europe, leading to a relatively high expatriation rate for nurses at 5.0%, as discussed earlier (OECD, 2015c). Although many returned to work in nursing following the 2008 global financial crisis (as it offered more stable employment compared with other sectors affected by the economic downturn), on average about 150 nurses choose to discontinue to work as nurses while about 200 to 350 nurses are trained every year.