Mr Hunter, who is both a general surgeon and an intensivist, said specialties involving acute care were becoming less popular.
Reluctance to work beyond 6pm was also evident among many general practitioners in urban areas.
There seemed to be a new generation of doctors who felt their lifestyle was "more important than anything else" and they "shouldn't have to be up at night".
"They want jobs where people are only sick in the day time. It's very sad."
Asked what motivated him, Mr Hunter said it was providing a service to the sickest people in the greatest need of care.
It was fascinating and challenging to "deal with things under considerable time pressure" often acting rapidly to try to make people much better in a short time.
It also involved having the ability to recognise when subjecting the patient to continued interventions to prolong life was not appropriate and that the only humanity which could be offered to them was caring for them as they died.
Intensive care work could give an immense sense of satisfaction when the job was done well.
It could involve interrupted sleep sometimes, but if he worked three or four hours in a night he could usually catch it up the next day.
Often, he could even arrange to have lunch with his wife, he said.
There was a " pretty reasonable system" to cover night shifts.
Mr Hunter, who has previously also expressed concern about the registration requirements for overseas specialists, particularly those who had practised in dual disciplines, said Dunedin Hospital should be up to its full complement of six consultants this month.
Most of the specialists in intensive care were also anaesthetists so they split their time between the two specialties.
Some of the specialists were on 12-month contracts, but he hoped several of them would stay.
Team members needed to be compatible and there was a "great feeling" about the team.
He was slightly more optimistic a solution would be found to the tough requirements for supervision and examinations for highly-experienced overseas specialists, although there had not been much movement on this yet.
New Zealand Medical Council chairman Prof John Campbell said he would be happy to discuss any concerns further.
The council is responsible for forwarding applications to the Australia and New Zealand Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine.
Mr Hunter, who has led the unit for two and a-half years, is hoping the staffing levels by next month will allow him to devote more time to surgery.
Plans to redevelop the cramped intensive care unit, which does not meet current standards, are yet to be approved.
This work is supposed to happen this financial year, in conjunction with several other developments, including shifting the newborn intensive care unit and the staff cafeteria, but funding for the projects has yet to be approved.
