New funding from Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) means more than 35 trainee doctors will be able to spend next year working in rural practices, with the aim of tackling the shortage of rural doctors.
University of Otago rural health associate dean Prof Garry Nixon said the funding would pay for 10 extra students from the Otago Medical School, on top of the 25 it already puts through its rural medical immersion programme.
The Otago Medical School would add two new sites in Wairoa and Alexandra to its present offering in Queenstown, Ashburton and the West Coast, he said.
"The university’s figures suggest that rural medical immersion programme graduates are about five times more likely to become rural doctors than the rest of their medical class."
With the rural health workforce reporting "burnout", coupled with a large percentage of the workforce retiring in the next decade, many in the sector believed the need for training for rural placements was urgent.
University of Auckland medical and health sciences dean Prof John Fraser said the university was planning to establish training sites in the central and upper North Island.
The programme would be on top of a range of initiatives to encourage medical students to work in country areas, such as the regional rural admissions scheme, he said.
"We are delighted that Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora have prioritised rural healthcare education to meet the rural healthcare workforce shortage, which will ultimately provide better health outcomes for those who live rurally in Aotearoa."
Rural medical immersion programme students will split their time between rural general practices and hospitals, and be mentored by community health providers and visiting specialists.
They will live together in the rural town they are assigned to, and will be encouraged to become part of the community.
HNZ workforce development and planning director John Snook said scaling up training initiatives to expand the workforce — particularly in rural areas — was one of the many key actions being taken as part of the health workforce plan.
"These extra placements are a welcome and important step to achieving better health access for our rural communities."
