To work in New Zealand, you first have to confirm eligibility for registration as a doctor. All matters to do with registration and examination are administered by the Medical Council of New Zealand.
First visit the Medical Council's website www.mcnz.org.nz to assess yourself against the standard of a New Zealand trained doctor.
Contact the Medical Council directly to make application for registration before you make any applications for employment.
Contact the Ukrainian Medical Council for consultation on application process and for other help with translation and certification of the documents it requires.
UMC also issues certificates of registration and certificates of good standing.
PO Box 11-649
Wellington
Phone +64 4 384 7635
Fax +64 4 385 8902
Email mcnz@mcnz.org.nz.
All matters to do with your eligibility to immigrate to this country should be discussed with the nearest New Zealand consular office. These are usually located in the New Zealand Embassy or High Commission in most overseas countries.
NZ Locums holds the New Zealand Rural GP Locum Scheme, and arranges locum and temporary and permanent placements throughout the country.
Locum agencies:
NZLocums
PO Box 547
Wellington, 6140
Phone +64 4 472 3901
Email: enquiries@nzlocums.com
Auckland Medical Bureau*
PO Box 37-753
Parnell
Phone +64 9 377 5903
New Zealand Medical Staffing Ltd*
PO Box 74-385
Phone +64 9 623 8004 or +64 9 630 1769
There are two medical schools in New Zealand, one is based in Auckland (Auckland University Faculty of Medical Health and Sciences) and the other in Dunedin (Otago School of Medical Sciences). The former has a branch in Waikato and the latter also has branches in Christchurch and Wellington.
Scopes of Practice
In New Zealand there are no registration categories (eg full registration, specialist registration). Instead, doctors are registered in a 'scopes of practice'. Your scope of practice will depend on your qualifications, experience and the purpose and duration of your employment in New Zealand.
Consequently doctors in New Zealand are registered within one or more scopes of practice rather than needing a particular type of registration.
There are three categories of scopes of practice:
The two additional scopes, provisional general scope and provisional vocational scope, require doctors to work under supervision for at least 12 months.
All new registrants (except New Zealand and Australian graduates who have completed an internship in NZ or Australia), regardless of seniority, must work under supervision for a period of time in New Zealand to become familiar with the New Zealand Health System. During this time they are registered within a provisional general scope of practice and their performance will be assessed by senior consultants. They will be required to complete certain requirements to be registered within a general scope.
Registration self assessment tool
Use registration self assessment tool to determine which pathway to registration (as a medical practitioner in New Zealand) you might be eligible for (doesn’t cover student electives).
https://www.mcnz.org.nz/get-registered/registration-self-assessment-tool/
https://www.mcnz.org.nz/maintain-registration/practising-certificate/
Every doctor must hold a current practising certificate to practise medicine in
New Zealand.
With a practicing certificate you are authorised, and considered competent and fit to practise medicine within the scope of practice and conditions given on your certificate.
Your employer is responsible for ensuring all doctors they employ are properly registered and certified to practise.
Practising certificates:
If you’ve not been issued a practising certificate before, you need to apply for registration to practise medicine in New Zealand instead. Your application for a practising certificate will be considered as part of the registration process.
Get registered to practise medicine
If your practising certificate has expired and you intend to practise in New Zealand, you need to request a practising certificate application form, after you receive a job offer.
Policy: returning to practice after 3 years
If you have worked outside New Zealand since the last time your practising certificate practising certificate had been issued to you, you must request a certificate of good standing for each country or board you were registered (or licensed) with during this time.
Your certificate of good standing must be sent direct to Medical Council of New Zealand from that country or board and must be less than 3 months old from your new New Zealand employment start date.
Practising certificate application forms
Detailed information:
Guide to completing a Practising Certificate application
Practising certificate application form
Practising certificates disclosure
Supervision
Supervision is a requirement for registration for all new doctors registered in a provisional general, provisional vocational and special purpose scope of practice. It ensures a doctor is competent and fit to practice medicine.
https://www.mcnz.org.nz/maintain-registration/supervision/
Supervision is the provision of guidance and feedback on matters of personal, professional and educational development in the context of a doctor’s experience of providing safe and appropriate patient care.
Purpose of Supervision
Supervision enables a doctor’s performance to be assessed over time, while they become familiar with:
The following doctors must be supervised:
All international medical graduates (IMGs) registered on a provisional general, provisional vocational and special purpose scope of practice - all doctors registered within these scopes of practice must work under supervision for an initial period specified by Council.
Orientation is an introduction and overview to medical practice in New Zealand.
Induction is the familiarization of systems and processes of the worksite and the individual service of departments
Orientation, Induction and Supervision booklet
Education and Supervision for Interns
Fees, forms and checklists
https://www.mcnz.org.nz/maintain-registration/fees-forms-and-checklists/
If doctors do not satisfy the requirements for registration within a provisional general scope of practice, another option may be to sit the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX).
To be eligible to apply to sit, candidates must:
In addition they may also:
Detailed information about NZREX:
https://www.mcnz.org.nz/get-registered/registration-exam-nzrex-clinical/
Doctors who satisfy the requirements for admission to a branch or sub-branch of medicine (specialties) can apply for provisional vocational registration. The doctor's qualifications training and experience will be assessed by both MCNZ and the relevant New Zealand or Australasian College and a period of supervision or assessment may be required before the doctor is granted registration in a vocational scope. In New Zealand, general practice is considered a branch of medicine, therefore GPs can apply for vocational registration.
In New Zealand all applications for registration (except vocational) are processed only when a doctor has a confirmed job offer under supervision in an approved hospital, practice or educational institution. The registration application should be submitted to the prospective employer, who will check it and send to the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) with a supporting application.
Ensuring doctors are fit to practise medicine is a fundamental purpose of the Medical Council. It protects the public and ensures the doctor is fit to practise within these 3 categories:
Standards for doctors
The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, the Council's Professional Conduct Committees and the Health and Disability Commissioner may use the "Good medical practice" publication as a standard by which to measure professional conduct.
Definition of Medicine & Clinical Practice
Definition of fitness to practise
Definition of the ‘practice of medicine’
Definitions of risk of harm and risk of serious harm
More information:
https://www.mcnz.org.nz/fitness-to-practise/
There are many opportunities for short-term (locum) or permanent vacancies
List of District Health Boards
https://www.mcnz.org.nz/support-for-doctors/links/district-health-boards/
Settlement Services New Zealand
The Immigration New Zealand website
Detailed information on work permits, residency requirements, and the qualifications you will need to work in New Zealand.
The New Zealand Rural GP Locum Scheme
Vacancies for doctors in New Zealand are advertised in a number of medical publications, including:
Further information
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Email: ranzcog@ranzcog.org.nz
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmology
Mrs Alison Robertson
Email: nz.br.ranzco@nzma.org.nz