NZMSA said yesterday it was concerned New Zealand’s already stretched health system could not accommodate the increase in medical students if the Waikato District Health Board and University of Waikato’s joint bid for a medical school was approved.
President Kieran Bunn said increasing student numbers at both the University of Otago and University of Auckland medical schools had already stretched the system, with nine students initially unable to find first-year jobs after graduating last year.
It had also made it "essentially impossible" for international students who studied in New Zealand to stay in the country and serve the community which trained them.
"Without supervised employment straight out of medical school, these graduates are legally unable to progress their training.
"An increase in medical students from the Waikato Medical School will put further strain on this bottleneck and therefore prevent it achieving its goals for rural communities," Mr Bunn said.
The medical students’ association was also concerned the extra students in Waikato would displace Auckland medical students completing their training in the region.
He acknowledged there was a shortage of rural GPs in hard-to-staff areas, but NZMSA was not convinced a third medical school was the most appropriate solution.
"This proposal has clearly identified a significant problem in the distribution of medical services in New Zealand.
"However, without considerable investment throughout the health sector, this proposal may simply worsen another problem: the waste of investment in medical graduates who cannot find a job."
Waikato University did not respond to questions about NZMSA’s concerns yesterday.
A spokeswoman said vice-chancellor Prof Neil Quigley was travelling overseas.
