This article presents an analysis of the migration history of graduates of the Silesian Academy of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine. Among graduates who received MD in the year 1974, a group of people who left Poland to work abroad were selected for the analysis. The study showed that they formed a significant group both in quantitative and qualitative terms (as many of the migrants were highly specialized professionals with clinical and academic experience). The present study points to the fact that the metaphor of “brain drain” of the Eastern European countries, understood as the outflow of specialist staff from the home country, has a longer history than the opening of the EU market for job opportunities after Poland's accession, and that emigration of medical staff has some tradition in our country. The study also points out that, in shaping the Polish health policy and training medical staff, special attention should be paid to ensuring appropriate working conditions for graduates of medical studies in order to maintain their interest in working in Poland.