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The future of a career in General Practice is beginning
to look more attractive following the Minister of Health’s
announcement today of dedicated funding towards GP
training.
Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network
welcomes the government’s response to our calls for action
in addressing the dire shortage of General Practitioners
across New Zealand, which is most pronounced in rural
areas.
The three funded initiatives announced today
will add a much-needed boost to attracting medical graduates
to train as specialist GPs.
The three initiatives
developed by The Royal New Zealand College of General
Practitioners, to be launched in 2023,
include:
- Increased salaries for first year GP
registrars to align them with other specialist
registrars. - Specialist GPs undertaking on-the-job
training of registrars will receive more funded teaching
time to dedicate to first year registrars. - General
practices hosting post graduate doctors undertaking
community-based attachments will receive a weekly hosting
fee, whereas currently practices receive no financial
recognition for the time spent training junior
doctors.
This funding will acknowledge the
commitment that General Practice specialists and practices
make to the training of junior doctors, which they have had
little financial recognition for in the past.
This
will encourage rural general practices to host junior
doctors in their rural communities and share with them the
fulfilling art of rural practice.
Hauora Taiwhenua
Chief Executive Dr Grant Davidson welcomes the funding for
these initiatives as they will help to achieve parity with
registrars in other health professions.
“We are glad
that general practice is now being recognised as an equal
pathway at registrar level,” Dr Davidson
says.
“This is a good first step, but we need much
wider system-based changes if we are to see greater numbers
of GPs choose to work in rural communities.
“There
needs to be more positions available in medical schools,
with a good proportion of these targeted at students
interested in rural general practice.
“At the same
time there should be an immediate review of rural primary
care funding so that rural primary and community care
workers can enjoy pay, work conditions, and lifestyles that
will make rural health a highly regarded and sought-after
career, which it once
was.
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