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Occurs when people trained or skilled in one profession move to another profession. The degree of occupational mobility depends on factors such as the individual’s learning abilities, labour market conditions and any overlap in their skills and experiences between the two occupations. For example, some health economists have initially worked in the healthcare sector as nurses, researchers, statisticians, sales executives or managers. Nurses are increasingly involved in prescribing medicines, doctors go into management, some pharmaceutical company sales executives are moving into running disease management programmes. See Barrier to entry; Human capital; Labour turnover rate; Regulation.