Drs Anja Vermeulen (35) and Isabelle Chughtai-Harvey (30) have bolstered the ranks of Balclutha's GPs to six - the most Balclutha General Practitioners Ltd (BGPL) has boasted.
Although two of the staff - Drs Bob Bencze and Ken Granath - will leave later this year, the arrival of the two new faces has been welcomed by practice management.
Dr Vermeulen, originally from Belgium, has spent the past five years working in a five-doctor practice in Essex, England.
Her trip abroad is a provision of her contract which allows for a six-month overseas sabbatical.
Dr Chughtai-Harvey, from Buffalo, New York, is fresh out of her residency training and her Balclutha posting is her first official stint as a fully fledged GP.
Both women say they have been impressed with the hospitality of South Otago and also the high standard of the medical practice.
Dr Chughtai-Harvey said she was keen to travel in her work and the prospects of working in New Zealand had always appealed, especially after hearing so many positive comments about the country. Dr Vermeulen is excited about the chance to take her three young children to different parts of the South.
BGPL operates an extended GP service where staff work four days on and then have the next four days off.
It was this kind of unique arrangement both doctors said was the major reason for choosing to work in South Otago.
BGPL practice manager Colleen Fenton said the "four on and four off" roster was working effectively and offered a real incentive for doctors to work in a thriving rural practice and yet get valuable time off regularly.
