Council, in partnership with Te Ohu Rata o Aotearoa (Te ORA), jointly hosted a highly successful symposium on cultural competence, partnership and health equity on 25 June 2019. The theme of the symposium was Mahia te mahi, hei painga mō te iwi, Getting the job done for the wellbeing of the people. The event aimed to investigate ways of working together to improve cultural safety in order to work towards eliminating health inequities. This booklet brings together the presentations and whakaaro shared at the symposium.

This policy gives an overview of the rules we apply in deciding whether to register a doctor 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.

We are proposing two key changes to the comparable health system pathway to registration in the Provisional General scope of practice. We welcome your feedback about these proposed changes before we make any decisions.

We are reviewing our statement on a doctor’s duty to help in a medical emergency and would value your feedback. This statement discusses a number of factors doctors should consider when responding to a medical emergency.

Council's submission to Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health on their consultation around the regulation of physician associates under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.

Policy for doctors registered in the special purpose postgraduate training scope in relation to working nights.

This policy covers when doctors who were previously registered in New Zealand can apply to be restored to the register rather than complete a full registration application.

Where a doctor wishes to resume practice in New Zealand, but has not held a New Zealand practising certificate within the last 3 years, the doctor does not have an automatic entitlement to a practising certificate. Council must consider such applications on a case by case basis.

In this issue of Medical Council News we look at workplace bullying. It's an issue that is everyone's responsibility and something we should all have zero tolerance for. We also look at new and revised statements on self-care, advertising and telehealth, and the use of the internet.

In this issue of Medical Council News, we look at outcomes and initiatives from the Council’s planning day, our discussion paper Better Data – the benefits to the profession and the public, Council’s revised Statement on advertising, doctors’ responsibilities around aviation safety and the need to provide more detail on medical certificates.

In the May 2016 issue of Medical Council News we looked at doctors providing care to themselves and those close to them, informed consent, and guidance from the Pharmacy Council on effective prescription writing for safe collaborative patient management.

If you wish to apply for the NZREX Clinical, you must meet the requirements outlined in this Policy. You will also need to submit a recent photo in order to apply for the NZREX Clinical, this policy also outlines the requirements for the photo we need.

Training and/or Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme providers can be required
to report on an annual or specified basis to Council as a condition of their accreditation. This guide
provides an outline of the expected structure of an annual- or progress report. This guide applies to the current standards that are in effect until 30 June 2020.

This guide outlines why doctors may have conditions on their practice, how to find out if a doctor has conditions, and what some of the different types of conditions mean for you as a patient.

In this issue of Medical Council News we acknowledge the contribution and mana of Mr Andrew Connolly, our Chair and leader over the last five years. We also highlight our two new statements on professional and sexual boundaries in the doctor-patient relationship and the Ministry shares guidance around new laws relating to medicinal cannabis.

Earlier this year we sought feedback on the draft statement on Treating yourself and those close to you. A wide range of submissions was received from key stakeholders across the profession and some common themes emerged. Council has revised this statement taking into account your feedback.

This document highlights the revisions we're making around recertification, cultural safety, and health equity to the accreditation standards for NZ training providers of vocational medical training and recertification programmes

This guide for supervisors of IMGs outlines how to access supervision reports through Council's myMCNZ portal, as well as how to complete and submit them.

The Medical Council of New Zealand (the Council) wants to ensure that recertification programmes for all doctors are robust, help assure the public that the doctor is competent and fit to practise, and improve the current high standards of practice of doctors in New Zealand.

In order to practise medicine in New Zealand you must be both registered and hold a current practising certificate. This policy outlines Council's rules around practising certificates.

We recognise Taiwanese medical schools so that graduates from these schools have the opportunity to undertake NZREX Clinical. We must ensure we only register fully qualified doctors. However, the exclusion of Taiwanese medical schools from WDOMS is due to political factors and not the standard of those schools. The ECFMG has approved graduates of these schools to undertake the prerequisite examination - USMLE Steps 1 and 2.

An amendment to our current scopes of practice and prescribed qualifications correcting the commencement date (as published in the New Zealand Gazette on 1 October 2024).

These standards only apply until 1 July 2020. This document outlines the standards New Zealand Colleges must meet in order to be reaccredited.

Half of the APC (practising fee and disciplinary levy) will be refunded to doctors earning $20,000 or less per annum from the practice of medicine in New Zealand or overseas.

A Review of Prevocational Training Requirements for Doctors in New Zealand: Stage 2 - A second consultation paper on the proposed changes to prevocational training

Some pathways to registration require doctors to have completed their internship in a particular country. If you are applying for registration and did your internship somewhere else, this policy outlines how we will assess your suitability for registration.

There is a potential for health-related commercial organisations to influence how doctors practise and the clinical decisions they make. We are reviewing our statement on doctors and health-related commercial organisations and would value your feedback.

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.

This is an updated draft version of the statement which we're consulting on. Please see the consultation section of our website for more information including how to provide feedback.

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.

Māori experience disparities in outcomes compared to the rest of the population across nearly all areas of health due to inequity in determinants of health, including access to quality health care. This document outlines Council’s position on how doctors can support the achievement of best health outcomes for Māori. It also provides guidance for healthcare organisations to support cultural safety and Māori health equity. This document should be read in conjunction with Council’s Statement on cultural safety.

This guide sets out the accreditation process for Aotearoa New Zealand-only vocational training providers that are currently accredited by MCNZ. It applies both to currently accredited providers seeking reaccreditation, as well as unaccredited providers seeking accreditation.

Doctors accompanying individuals or groups of people visiting New Zealand who will provide medical diagnosis, treatment or advice only to those individuals or groups, and who are not registered with the Medical Council will not be required to obtain registration and a practising certificate, so long as they restrict their practice to those individuals or groups for the duration of their visit.

This sheet provides information on how Professional Conduct Committees (PCCs) request information, what powers they must obtain information, what they do with information they receive, and answers some frequently asked questions.

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.

This draft statement outlines what is expected of doctors when harm to patients occurs as a direct result of medical care. See the consultation section of our website to provide feedback on this draft statement.

As a doctor, you have an obligation to be respectful and professional as your behaviour may affect how a health team functions, how care is delivered to patients, and the public’s trust and confidence in the medical profession. If you have concerns about the conduct, competence or safety of a doctor’s practice, you should notify the Medical Council.

You can use this document to provide feedback on the updated version of our statement Disclosure of harm following an adverse event

Telehealth is the use of digital technology to deliver health services where participants may be separated by distance and/or time. This statement outlines our expectation of doctors who practise telehealth in New Zealand and overseas, and includes guidance on registration, conducting physical examinations and prescribing.

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.

This quick guide for stakeholders covers how to make an online claim through myMCNZ.

Draft document for consultation. In this document we advise doctors on how they can support the achievement of best health outcomes for Māori. We also provide guidance for healthcare organisations on how to support Māori health equity.

Guide on how to use myMCNZ including how to access it, how to update your details, how to request a COPS and how to renew your practising certificate.

In late 2009 we asked the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) to undertake a full review of how we were performing. This is their report on how we did.

This document is a guide for prevocational educational supervisors on how to support their interns to complete the MSF process and provides information on how to interpret the collated report before discussing the results with their interns.

Doctors must meet the standards laid out in the Council’s statement on Good Prescribing Practice. (The Principles for Quality and Safe Prescribing Practice are already reflected in our statement on prescribing.) This document is a helpful resource, particularly for new doctors and IMGs new to New Zealand, that can be read alongside our statement. These principles were developed jointly by 7 responsible authorities.

Under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, responsible authorities such as the Medical Council undergo regular independent reviews of how they are carrying out their statutory functions. The Act requires responsible authorities to publish their review report on their website.

Maintaining clinical records is part of good medical practice. Clinical notes are an important tool for managing the patient's care, and communicating with other doctors and health professionals. This statement guides doctors on what information they should record, and for how long they should retain patients' records.

FORM SUPERSEDED - Please use the new REG12 form
Application for a practising certificate for international medical graduates registered on a provisional vocational scope returning to medical practice in New Zealand

This consultation document is seeking stakeholder feedback on the Medical Council of New Zealand’s (Council) proposal to gazette an increase to the practising certificate (PC) fee and disciplinary levy, to be effective from 1 September 2020.

Health-related commercial organisations share some common goals with doctors: they seek to prevent, control, cure and manage diseases, or physical and mental conditions, and may conduct research to improve and advance health care. However, health-related commercial organisations can also have different and potentially conflicting goals in that generating a profit is often a principal goal whereas a doctor’s primary concern must always be the care of patients. This statement outlines our expectations when doctors interact with health-related commercial organisations, and provides guidance on recognising, assessing and managing conflicts of interest (including perceived conflicts of interest) that may arise.