Policy Statement

The Medical Council of New Zealand has set requirements for doctors to meet before they may be registered to work in New Zealand within a general scope of practice.

Initially registration within a provisional general scope of practice will be granted to doctors who have the prescribed qualifications, and who are considered fit for registration and competent to practise. The doctor will work on a provisional general scope for up to two years, subject to conditions to satisfy the Council that all requirements for registration in a general scope are met.

The exception to this is for graduates from New Zealand or Australian university medical schools who have completed their internships in New Zealand or Australia , who will be granted registration in a general, and a vocational scope if appropriate.

If a doctor fails to satisfy the conditions on his or her practice as required by Council to ensure competence within a general scope of practice within two years, the Registrar will refer the doctor’s application for an Annual Practising Certificate (APC) to the Council under section 27(1)(b) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (HPCAA).

This policy must be read with reference to Council’s Policy on registration in New Zealand .

Qualifications

To qualify for registration within a general scope of practice a doctor must pass (or be exempt from) the IELTS English test in accordance with Council’s English testing policy, and satisfy one of the following:

Hold a primary medical degree from a New Zealand or Australian university medical school

For the purpose of assessing and confirming his or her competence to practise medicine within a general scope of practice, a new graduate will be registered within a provisional general scope of practice for up to two years, with the following conditions:

• work in a New Zealand hospital or general practice accredited by the Council
• workunder supervision of a registered doctor approved by the Council
• complete at least four three-month runs (and work for no less than 10 weeks per run) of which at least two are category A runs (one surgical and one medical) and two may be either category A or B runs (medical or surgical), and
• certifiy as competent in basic and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS).
• work while successfully completing requirements in the Council’s publication ‘Education, training and supervision for new doctors’.

Council may authorise a change of scope from a provisional general scope to a general scope once the doctor has satisfied the conditions in the provisional general scope and has:

• been recommended for registration within a general scope of practice by his or her supervisor.

Note 1 : Although registration is available for up to two years, the optimum time frame in which to complete an internship in New Zealand is 12 months, and Council encourages new graduates to do this where possible.

Note 2: Unregistered New Zealand and Australian graduates who have previously completed their internships in New Zealand or Australia will be immediately registered within a general scope, rather than a provisional general scope.

Hold a primary medical degree from a university medical school accredited by a competent authority and have one year of general medical experience in New Zealand or overseas

For the purpose of assessing and confirming his or her competence to practise within a general scope of practice, a doctor will be registered within a provision general scope for up to two years, with the following conditions, to work:

• in a New Zealand hospital, general practice, educational institution or other organisation approved by the Council,
• under supervision of a registered doctor approved by the Council, and
• for at least one year full time or equivalent.

Council may authorise a change of scope from a provisional general scope to a general scope once the doctor has satisfied the conditions in the provisional general scope and has:

• completed one year working within a provisional general scope, and
• received satisfactory reports for the three runs completed (or nine months worked) immediately prior to applying for registration within a general scope, and
• been recommended for registration within a general scope of practice by his or her supervisor. 

Hold a primary medical degree from a university medical school listed in the WHO Directory of Medical Schools or the ECFMG FAIMER Directory, and

• passed within the last five years; USMLE Steps 1 and 2, and NZREX Clinical, or
• an international registration examination or assessment approved by Council as of a comparable standard to NZREX Clinical

For the purpose of assessing and confirming the doctor’s competence to practise within a general scope of practice, the doctor will be registered within a provisional general scope of practice for up to two years, with the following conditions, to work:

• in a New Zealand hospital or general practice (if the doctor has previous general practice or family medicine experience) accredited by the Council, and
• under supervision of a registered doctor approved by the Council, and
• for at least one year, during which he or she satisfactorily completes four A, B or C runs, of which one must be a category A medical and one a category A surgical run.

The doctor may work in category A or B relieving or rotating runs during the first six months, but may not work in category C rotating or relieving runs until the second six months.

The doctor must not work alone at night time (as defined in Education, supervision and training for new doctors) with responsibility for a group of patients in the first six months.

The doctor must:

• satisfactorily complete three consecutive runs immediately prior to registration in the general scope, at least two of which must be in different disciplines, and
• must have been certified in New Zealand as competent in basic and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) within three years of applying for registration within a general scope.

Council may authorise a change of scope from a provisional general scope to a general scope once the doctor has satisfied the conditions in the provisional general scope and has:

• successfully completed requirements of practice within a provisional general scope, and
• received satisfactory reports for the three runs completed (or nine months worked) immediately prior to applying for registration within a general scope, and
• been recommended for registration within a general scope of practice by his or her supervisor.

Hold a primary medical degree from a university medical school listed inthe WHO Directory of Medical Schools or the ECFMG Faimer Directory, and have worked for 36 months continuously (for at least 30 hours per week) during the 48 months prior to application, in a health system comparable to New Zealand as prescribed by Council, and hold full or general registration in the comparable health system in which they met Council's active clinical practice requirement at the time of application. 

For the purpose of assessing and confirming his or her competence to practise within a general scope of practice, a doctor will be registered within a provisional general scope of practice for up to two years, with the following conditions, to work:

• in a New Zealand hospital or general practice approved by the Council, and
• under supervision of a registered doctor approved by the Council, (see Council’s book Guidance for doctors working in supervised practice and their supervisors) and
• for at least two years full time or equivalent, and
• in a position for which the doctor has appropriate experience.

Council may authorise a change of scope from a provisional general scope to a general scope once the doctor has satisfied the conditions in the provisional general scope and has:

• successfully completed requirements during practice within a provisional general scope of practice, and
• received satisfactory reports for the three runs completed (or nine months worked) immediately prior to applying for registration within a general scope, and
• been recommended for registration within a general scope of practice by his or her supervisor.

Council may propose to put conditions on a doctor’s general scope of practice if this is considered necessary in the interests of public health and safety.

Note

Failure to meet conditions on practice while registered within a provisional general scope of practice

If a doctor fails to satisfy the conditions on his or her practice as required by Council to ensure competent practice within a general scope of practice within two years, the Registrar will refer the doctor’s application for an APC to the Council under section 27(1)(b) of the (HPCAA).

The Council may:

• extend registration within a provisional general scope for a further period, or
• propose to either place restrictions on, or decline to issue the doctor’s APC under section 28, and give the doctor an opportunity to make written submissions and be heard by Council, and
• then make a decision whether to issue the APC.

Recertification requirements

Once registered to practise within a general scope of practice the doctor is no longer required to work under supervision, but instead must establish a collegial relationship and meet requirements for recertification in order for an annual practising certificate to be issued. Full details of these requirements are available on the Council’s website, or from the Council office.