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113 results matching “AP’s expanded rules, Jul 2026”
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In order to practise in New Zealand you must be both registered and hold a current practising certificate. This policy outlines Council's rules around practising certificates.
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This policy gives an overview of the rules we apply in deciding whether to register as a doctor or physician associate in New Zealand. There will also be a specific policy that applies to the pathway you are registering under and the two policies should be read together.
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Our policies set out the rules and criteria we use to make decisions on applications for registration. These policies will also be referenced on the pages that provide detail on how to apply for registration.
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How you apply for a practising certificate will depend on whether or not you are already registered in New Zealand, if you have worked in New Zealand before, and how long it has been since you last practised. If you already hold a practising certificate, please see our page on renewing your practising certificate instead.
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If a doctor or physician associate has an issue with their own health, wherever possible we try to help them to remain in practice while it is being resolved. That said, our primary objective is to protect the health and safety of the public - which may mean that the doctor or physician associate will be unable to practise safely, or will be limited in what they can do, until they are well enough to fully resume practice.
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In this edition | We're calling for members for performance assessments and vocational practice assessments, and continue our ongoing focus on the workforce.
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If you trained and qualified as a specialist outside of New Zealand and Australia and wish to work in New Zealand as a specialist you can apply based on overseas training and qualifications and we will assess your case on its merits.
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This policy outlines the process we follow when requiring that a doctor has an approved chaperone present during their consultations.
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This information sheet provides guidance to chaperones approved by the Medical Council of New Zealand (Approved Chaperone) about their role and responsibilities when acting as a chaperone.
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This document outlines Council's decision around the Practising Certificate Fee and Disciplinary Levy for 2020/2021 and the reasons for this decision.
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Update on Waitemata DHB's accreditation status as at 1 July 2022
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Currently, there is no requirement for applicants for this examination to have had any clinical practice experience. This consultation seeks views on the merits of introducing a requirement that individuals applying to sit the NZREX must have had clinical practice experience and if so, then what that should be.
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You can apply via this pathway if you have passed Part 1 and Part 2 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test administered by the General Medical Council (GMC), United Kingdom (UK); completed 12-months of satisfactory practice in the UK; and hold full general registration with the GMC.
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Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.
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Report on our progress with strategic directions and initiatives for the 12 month period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017
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This gazette notice lists the fees payable from 1 July 2026.
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These standards will come into effect on 1 July 2022. The standards outline the standards vocational training providers need to meet in order to be accredited to provide vocational medical training and recertification programmes. We have made revisions to update recertification, cultural safety, health equity and specialist assessment of IMG content.
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Read about our past performance. Our annual reports include detailed information and statistics about our activities for the twelve months from 1 July of a year to 30 June of the following year.
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Council's strategic plan sets out our key strategic goals, the outcomes that flow down from our goals, and how we can achieve these outcomes.
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It is the Council’s role to ensure that the quality of training programmes offered by providers of prevocational medical training is of a high standard. Information on accredited prevocational training providers and the Council’s accreditation standards can be found here.
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List of our fees effective from 1 July 2026
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This page contains the latest Medical Council notices published in the Gazette for Scopes of Practice, prescribed qualifications and Fees.
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The Council and the Australian Medical Council (AMC) work together on accrediting the vocational medical training programmes offered by Australasian (joint Australian and New Zealand) vocational providers. If the applicant provider is seeking recognition in Australia (as an Australasian training provider), or if the scope is already recognised in Australia, stage 3 will be led by the AMC, with Council making a decision based on the AMC’s assessment.
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If you, as an international medical graduate (IMG), apply for vocational registration and your application is successful, you will have to complete a provisional vocational registration period. You'll work under supervision for this period, during which we make sure you're competent to practise independently in your chosen field of medicine.
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This page contains a full list of our forms including application, report and referee forms, as well as checklists and the current fees payable.
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It is Council’s role to accredit and monitor specialist training providers and to promote medical education training in Aotearoa New Zealand. Council assesses Aotearoa New Zealand-based vocational medical training and recertification providers against these standards.
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You can apply for registration via this pathway if, within the last five years, you have passed either the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical); or Part 1 and Part 2 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test.
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand (Council) invites feedback on proposed practising certificate (PC) fees, disciplinary levies, and other fees to take effect from 1 July 2026.
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Every doctor in New Zealand must be registered to practise medicine. If you are not eligible for registration under any other pathway, you must sit and pass the NZREX Clinical, our registration examination.
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021
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If you're not working away from New Zealand but are just taking a break from medical practice, this page outlines what you need to do.
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This section of our website contains expired versions of our standards.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have recent experience in a comparable health system.
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Special purpose postgraduate training registration is available for doctors looking to come to New Zealand on a temporary basis, to gain experience and skills to take back to their home or sponsor country.
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This page contains a full list of our forms including application, report and referee forms, as well as checklists and the current fees payable, for physician associates.
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Special purpose research scope of practice is for doctors who come to New Zealand temporarily to undertake research. This special purpose scope is available for a maximum of two years and practise is restricted to research approved by a formally-constituted ethics committee in New Zealand.
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It is the Council’s role to ensure that the quality of training and education programmes offered by medical colleges is of a high standard. Information on accredited medical colleges and the Council’s accreditation standards can be found here.
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This pathway is for New Zealand and Australian medical graduates who have successfully completed their internship in Australia and want to register within the General scope of practice.
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To ensure that you are continuing to maintain your competence to practise medicine, you must meet recertification programme requirements set by Council, including any minimum continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.
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To ensure that you are continuing to maintain your competence to practise medicine, you must meet recertification programme requirements set by Council, including any minimum continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.
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Special purpose registration is a temporary form of registration, for specific purposes. It is not a pathway to permanent general or vocational registration. Entry on the Register is cancelled after a fixed time period.
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The special purpose teleradiology scope of practice enables doctors without the recognised New Zealand or Australasian qualification to provide teleradiology services for patients in New Zealand.
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VOC1 (specialist) registration is for doctors who hold an approved New Zealand / Australasian postgraduate qualification and already hold registration in the General scope of practice.
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If you want to work as a specialist in New Zealand, hold the approved New Zealand/Australasian postgraduate qualification, but do not already hold general registration, you can apply down the VOC2 pathway.
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In some circumstances you can be restored to the medical register if your registration has been cancelled. This page outlines how to apply to be restored to the register.
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We are seeking your feedback on the draft Professional standards for PAs. These draft standards propose the principles and values of good PA practice and the professional standards expected of PAs working in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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This page outlines how the process of renewing your practising certificate works and what to do if your certificate is about to expire and you haven't heard from us.
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We have approximately 95 staff, including our Chief Executive and senior managers whose activities are overseen by a Council of 12 people who are a mix of doctors and laypeople. Our Chair is Dr Kenneth (Ken) Clark. Joan Simeon is our Manukura (Chief Executive) Officer.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have a primary medical degree from the UK or Ireland and have completed your internship within the UK or Ireland.
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The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA) requires us to specify the scopes of practice within which doctors are permitted to practice, and to describe and define the boundaries of each.
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This dashboard page breaks down new doctors by entry pathway (how they qualified for registration in New Zealand) by ethnicity, gender, age group, and the country of their primary medical qualification.
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This area of our site contains detailed information about the medical workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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You can apply for this pathway if you have passed the Australian Medical Council examinations and are registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
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This gazette notice lists the fees payable from 1 July 2025.
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2006 to 30 June 2007
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017
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Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2006
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020
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Our strategic plan for the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016
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This dashboard page contains information around doctors with a vocational scope of practice including breakdowns by age, gender, and ethnicity.
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Working relationships with our key stakeholders are at the heart of everything we do to protect public health and safety. This page describes Council's relationships with Aotearoa New Zealand medical schools, Medical Colleges, Te Aka Whai Ora | Māori Health Authority, Te Whatu Ora | Health New Zealand, the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC), and other organisations where we have established a memoranda of understanding (MoU).
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Report on our progress with our strategic directions covering the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016
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Our registration application forms include a range of 'fitness for registration' questions. This page will help guide you should you need to make a declaration about any issues that might affect your fitness for registration.
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If you are registered and practising in both the General and a vocational scope of practice, you need to meet recertification requirements in both scopes of practice.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand is committed to meeting Aotearoa New Zealand's healthcare demands by enabling highly qualified international and locally trained doctors to join the workforce through flexible and efficient registration pathways.
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This dashboard page contains information around new registrations - registrations granted where the doctor was not already on the medical register.
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This dashboard page contains information around changes over time in the number and demographics of registered doctors - doctors on the register with a current practising certificate.
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Prevocational medical training accreditation report for Taranaki District Health Board following site visit on 27 and 28 July 2021
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Recertification programme providers are expected to work towards these strengthened recertification requirements for vocationally-registered doctors, with implementation completed by 1 July 2022.
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These standards only apply until 1 July 2020. This document outlines the standards New Zealand Colleges must meet in order to be reaccredited.
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The special purpose visiting expert scope of practice enables doctors to come to New Zealand to proctor, demonstrate, assist or teach a new or existing procedure to New Zealand practitioners for a maximum of one week.
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The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (The Tribunal) has asked us to publish a summary of its recent decisions. You can access the full decision on their website at the links provided.
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We are seeking stakeholder feedback on the Medical Council of New Zealand’s (Council) proposal to gazette changes to its existing fees and disciplinary levy, to be effective from 1 July 2021.
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We are seeking stakeholder feedback on the Medical Council of New Zealand’s (Council) proposal to gazette changes to its existing fees and disciplinary levy, to be effective from 1 July 2022.
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This document outlines the adjustments to our existing fees and disciplinary levy effective 1 July 2021, made using an activity-based costing methodology, and following an extensive review process.
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We've drafted these standards to align with new recertification requirements. They will be effective from 1 July 2022. Before this time, providers will need to show evidence they are progressing towards implementing these requirements.
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Established on 1 July 2022, Te Whatu Ora leads the day-to-day running of the health system across New Zealand, with functions delivered at local, district, regional and national levels.
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This dashboard page contains information around registered doctors, those who are on the register and hold a current practising certificate. You can also view the same data for past quarters.
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This dashboard page contains further information around the distribution of doctors within New Zealand.
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This dashboard page contains information around international medical graduates, doctors who obtained their primary medical qualification outside of New Zealand.
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In this issue of MC News, we extend our appreciation to Dr Curtis Walker, the departing Chair of the Medical Council, and congratulate the distinguished doctors who have been acknowledged in the New Year’s Honours List for their outstanding contributions to healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand. Additionally, we highlight essential content on the Medical Council of New Zealand Election 2024, providing relevant voting details, and explore the disciplinary findings of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal concerning doctors.
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You cannot work outside the requirements of your scope of practice and any requirements set by Council specific to you. These are shown on your practising certificate. If you are registered within a provisional general, provisional vocational or a special purpose scope of practice, you need our approval of any change to your employment, supervision, position or location.
Once we've received and approved your variation application we will issue you a new practising certificate. -
We sometimes require that a doctor has a chaperone present to observe their consultations with patients. We do this to mitigate risk to the patient where there are concerns that the doctor poses a risk of harm or serious risk of harm to the public. This is different from when a chaperone is present as a matter of good medical practice.
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All international medical graduates (IMGs) registered in a provisional general, provisional vocational and special purpose scope of practice must be supervised. This is to support their practice while they become familiar with the New Zealand health system and the expected standard of medical practice.
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This dashboard page contains information around the distribution of doctors within New Zealand.
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We sometimes require that a doctor has a chaperone present to observe their consultations with patients. We do this to mitigate risk to the patient where there are concerns that the doctor poses a risk of harm or serious risk of harm to the public. This is different from when a chaperone is present as a matter of good medical practice.
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Medical Council Chair Dr Rachelle Love responds to the final report from the Abuse in State Care Royal Commission Inquiry.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand has two new members. The Hon Matt Doocey, Associate Minister of Health, made the appointments, which are effective from 1 July 2024 for a three-year term. The Minister also reappointed two current members for further terms. These four appointments follow the election by the profession, earlier this year.
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This page contains information on how to use myMCNZ, our web based portal for doctors.
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This dashboard page contains information around doctors undertaking vocational training in New Zealand.
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One of the ways the Council helps doctors to stay competent is by requiring them to participate in recertification programmes. Regular practice review (RPR) is one part of this continuing professional development.
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When a physician associate first applies for registration in New Zealand, they will be registered in the Physician Associate Provisional scope of practice. There are multiple pathways to registration in the Physician Associate Provisional scope. Each of these has specific requirements you will need to satisfy to be eligible for registration. This section outlines the different pathways for each scope.
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In this issue of MC News, Dr Rachelle Love introduces a new series of feature profile articles from interviews with our Council members, and we confirm the practising fee and disciplinary levy for the year commencing 1 July 2024.
Other key features include our consultation on Treating yourself and those close to you, a recent Coroner's report and the importance of refraining from amending clinical notes after being notified of a patient's death. -
From November 2014, Council reviewed and implemented significant changes to prevocational medical training requirements for doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand. The changes aim to improve patient safety and the performance of doctors through provision of high-quality learning.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand will protect and safeguard personal information and treat it with the utmost care, respect and discretion. This includes all personal information collected online.This privacy notice applies to personal information that we collect through this website: www.mcnz.org.nz
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We have three main types of registration (what we call scopes) for doctors - vocational, general and special purpose. Physician associates will apply for registration in the Physician Associate Provisional scope of practice. . Within each scope there are multiple application pathways. Each of these has specific requirements you need to meet in order to be registered. This section outlines the different pathways for each scope.
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As part of ongoing work to ensure that registration policies are fit for purpose and enabling, Council is reviewing its orientation, induction and supervision guide. The current guide has been in place for several years. With the evolving nature of supervision, now is an appropriate time to review and revise it.
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