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248 results matching “heather ann thomson nz”
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NZCSRH accreditation update status as of 15 August 2024
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Australasian colleges are required to meet the Aotearoa New Zealand specific standards. The Aotearoa NZ specific standards relate to recertification / continuing professional development.
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NZCMM accreditation update status as of 14 December 2023
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NZCMM accreditation update status as of 29 November 2023
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NZCSRH accreditation update status as of February 2026
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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.
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NZAMM accreditation report relating to the visit on 18-19 November 2020
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NZDSI accreditation report relating to the visit on 3 and 4 August 2022
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RNZCGP accreditation report relating to the visit from 18 to 21 March 2024
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RNZCUC accreditation report relating to the visit on 15 and 16 June 2021
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RNZCUC accreditation update status as of 17 December 2024
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RNZCUC accreditation update status as of 22 March 2024
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Under sections 11 and 13 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand (“Council”) gives notice of an amendment to the notice titled “Scopes of Practice and Prescribed Qualifications for the Practice of Medicine in New Zealand Notice 2024.
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NZCPHM accreditation report relating to the visit on 4, 5 and 6 May 2022
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NZCSRH accreditation report 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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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
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This form further outlines the additional information that will be required by the ACEM so it can provide us with advice on your application for vocational registration in emergency medicine.
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The Chair of Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | The Medical Council of New Zealand, Dr Curtis Walker, reinforced today the technical and complex process required when thoroughly reviewing a doctor’s overseas qualifications, training and experience.
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Find out more about organisations that represent doctors
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Media Release | Medical Council to regulate the Physician Associate profession
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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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You are eligible for a 50 percent refund of your practising certificate fee if your medical income (including any tax) in New Zealand or overseas is NZ$20,000 or less.
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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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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 Rachelle Love. Joan Simeon is our Manukura (Chief Executive) Officer.
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If you are registered and practising in the provisional general scope as either a New Zealand or Australian medical graduate, or a doctor who has passed the NZ Registration Examination, you are required to complete prevocational medical training.
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List of our fees effective from 1 July 2025
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Tell us who you are so we can better direct your enquiry
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Musculoskeletal medicine involves the diagnosis and treatment (or referral) of patients with neuro-musculoskeletal dysfunction, disorders and diseases, most of whom present with acute or chronic pain problems.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand |Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa today released the results of its 2025 Workforce Survey, showing continued growth, more diversity, and important shifts in the medical workforce.
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Public health medicine is the epidemiological analysis of medicine concerned with the health and care of populations and population groups. It involves the assessment of health and health care needs, the development of policy and strategy, the promotion of health, the control and prevention of disease, and the organisation of services.
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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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NZREX Clinical - Application for new candidates
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NZREX Clinical - Checklist of documentation that must be provided with application
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NZREX Clinical - Application for repeat candidates.
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NZREX Clinical - Checklist of documentation that must be provided with application.
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NZREX Clinical - Application to withdraw from an examination
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NZREX Clinical - Application for recount of result
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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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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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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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You must agree to these rules before you can take the examination. If you break these rules you will fail the examination and there may be consequences for any future application for registration.
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1982 to 30 June 1983
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1983 to 30 June 1984
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1986 to 30 June 1987
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1987 to 30 June 1988
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1989 to 30 June 1990
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1992 to 30 June 1993
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1994 to 30 June 1995
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1997 to 30 June 1998
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003
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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 2012 to 30 June 2013
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014
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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 2017 to 30 June 2018
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021
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We are pleased to announce that we are increasing capacity to sit the NZREX Clinical across 2025, and plan to be able to examine up to 180 candidates over the course of 2025.
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See all the policies relating to the NZREX Clinical here.
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NZREX Clinical - Application to change to a later examination
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The Minister of Health has announced two new initiatives targeted at overseas doctors who have passed their New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX) examination in the last five years, allowing them to apply for roles in New Zealand that will lead to full registration as a doctor.
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Handbook for candidates undertaking the NZREX Clinical.
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List of texts we recommend candidates read before they undertake the NZREX Clinical.
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Memorandum of understanding between Medical Council of New Zealand and New Zealand Private Surgical Hospitals Association
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Diagram showing the basic layout of the stations candidates will rotate around during the NZREX Clinical.
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1984 to 30 June 1985
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1985 to 30 June 1986
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1988 to 30 June 1989
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1990 to 30 June 1991
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1991 to 30 June 1992
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1993 to 30 June 1994
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1995 to 30 June 1996
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2000
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005
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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 2007 to 30 June 2008
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2009 to 30 June 2010
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015
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Council's annual report for the year from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017
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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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Over coming weeks, we will be scheduling additional NZREX clinical examinations, to facilitate IMGs, who do not meet requirements for other pathways, an opportunity to gain eligibility for registration. To inform decisions on the number and timing of examinations, we are collecting information to understand the potential number of eligible doctors waiting to sit the NZREX clinical exam.
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Sample questions from the NZREX Clinical to help candidates prepare.
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This form outlines the additional information that will be required by the NZCPHM so it can provide us with advice on your application for vocational registration in public health medicine.
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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.
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At its first meeting for 2024, Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | The Medical Council of New Zealand elected Dr Rachelle Love as its new Chair and re-elected Mr Simon Watt as Deputy Chair.
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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 request to withdraw from a particular sitting of the NZREX Clinical, or request to transfer to another sitting. This policy sets out the process for applicants to transfer or withdraw from the NZREX Clinical and the associated fee or refund for each process.
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If you are registered and practising in a vocational scope only, you must participate in the recertification programme offered by the medical college or other approved recertification provider responsible for your vocational scope of practice.
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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.
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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. -
Medical Council Chair Dr Rachelle Love responds to the final report from the Abuse in State Care Royal Commission Inquiry.
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This document covers a number of NZREX-related policies including pass criteria, serious concerns and critical incidents, request for resits, feedback, and recount of results.
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You can download copies of your current and expired practising certificates by logging into your myMCNZ account.
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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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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.
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If you are planning on leaving New Zealand to practise in another country, its medical regulator may ask you for a certificate of professional status (COPS) from us. Your registration is not affected by your decision to practise overseas but you must ensure that we hold current contact details for you.
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Find out how to keep us up to date with changes to your information including your name, employment, and addresses.
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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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Council is responsible for setting standards of clinical competence, cultural competence (including competencies to enable respectful and effective interaction with Māori), and ethical conduct (Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003).
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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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This pathway is for New Zealand and Australian medical graduates wanting to register within the Provisional General scope of practice to complete their internship.
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You can apply to access the full medical register, but before you apply make sure you know what information the register holds. Whether your application is approved or not depends on what you want to do with the information.
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We're pleased to announce the launch of our new data dashboard, now available on our website. This dashboard provides a comprehensive and dynamic overview of registered and practising doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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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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Certificates of professional status (COPS) are documents used by medical professional regulators to share information about whether a doctor is in good standing. Doctors applying for registration, restoration or returning from practising outside New Zealand need to provide us with certificates of professional status.
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Council is responsible for setting standards of clinical competence, cultural competence (including competencies to enable respectful and effective interaction with Māori), and ethical conduct (Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003). Council is consulting on two draft statements.
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Doctors get sick too, and when they do it's important that their illness doesn't interfere with their ability to practise medicine safely. A doctor must always be able to practise medicine without putting patients or the public at risk.
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Family planning and reproductive health is the treatment of and provision of health services for patients in relation to contraception, reproductive health and associated primary sexual health issues.
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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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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 contains information around Māori and Pacific Peoples doctors in the medical workforce including breakdowns by age, gender, and work role.
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This page contains support information that relates to neither patients or doctors.
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This dashboard page contains information around how long doctors remain in New Zealand after their initial registration.
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Torohia – Medical Training Survey for New Zealand – is here! Doctors in training voices matter. Let's make sure they're heard. Visit the Torohia website to find out more and download the promo kit to help spread the word! https://www.torohia.org.nz/
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This dashboard page contains information around doctors undertaking vocational training in New Zealand.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand is inviting feedback on proposals for how PAs should be regulated in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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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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The Medical Council has today launched Torohia – Medical Training Survey for New Zealand, a new survey designed with the profession, for the profession, to better understand doctors’ experience of postgraduate training.
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Faster, easier registration for overseas-trained doctors to enter Aotearoa New Zealand’s medical workforce
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The Council offers two clinical supervision courses for clinical supervisors and prevocational educational supervisors. The courses supplement training that supervisors receive from training providers and medical colleges. Courses are available to all supervisors through the ePort platform.
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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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Council requires all doctors in PGY2, to satisfy the requirements of a programme ordered by Council under section 40 of the HPCAA.
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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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This area of our site contains detailed information about the medical workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Any doctor applying for registration in New Zealand must be fit for registration and fit to practise medicine. It's a legal requirement on us to ensure they are. We determine this as part of our assessment of your application for registration.
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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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We serve Aotearoa New Zealand by protecting public health and safety. We do this by setting and promoting standards for the medical profession.
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In August 2021, Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa |Medical Council of New Zealand, underwent a full performance review that showed compliance to our obligations under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (HPCAA).
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Request for confirmation of internship, NZREX pass, or general registration.
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Applicants for registration as well as candidates applying for the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical) must satisfy Council that they are able to comprehend and communicate effectively in English in the medical workplace, as one of the prerequisites for registration. This policy sets out the specific requirements that must be met.
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Between accreditation cycles, the Council monitors prevocational medical training and Aotearoa New Zealand vocational medical training and recertification providers through progress and annual reporting. For medical schools and Australasian vocational training and recertification providers (medical colleges) monitoring is led by the Australian Medical Council, in partnership with the Council.
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There are two special purpose scopes of practice which enable us to react to emergencies and unpredictable situations or disasters and pandemics. The specific requirements and length of registration depend on the event, and are determined by the Council when required.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | The Medical Council of New Zealand (Council) recently held an election to select four medical practitioner nominees and can now announce the results of this election.
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The New Zealand Curriculum Framework for Prevocational Medical Training (NZCF) outlines the learning outcomes to be substantively completed in PGY1 and by the end of PGY2
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If you are in a collegial relationship, you should use this form to record the details of any audits of your medical practice.
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If you are in a collegial relationship, you should use this form to keep a record of any peer review you do.
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If you are in a collegial relationship, you should use this form to record any optional activities you complete - that is, activities that are not specifically required.
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Collegial relationships are a component of recertification for general registrants, doctors working outside of their vocational scope of practice, and in select cases doctors limited to non-clinical practice.
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In April 2025, the Minister of Health announced that PAs would be regulated in Aotearoa New Zealand, and that the Council would be the regulator of PAs. This responsibility is now set in legislation. Council is inviting feedback on proposals for how PAs should be regulated in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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If you hold an approved postgraduate medical qualification from the UK, Ireland or Australia and intend to work as a specialist in Aotearoa New Zealand in an approved area of medicine, you can apply via the VOC4 fast-track pathway.
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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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Graduates of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian accredited medical schools and doctors who have sat and passed an approved medical registration examination, including the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical) complete prevocational medical training.
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To apply for registration as a medical practitioner in New Zealand, or to sit the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical), you must have a recognised primary medical qualification from a university medical school listed on the World Directory of Medical Schools.
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Graduates of Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian accredited medical schools and doctors who have sat and passed an approved medical registration examination, including the New Zealand Registration Examination (NZREX Clinical) complete prevocational medical training.
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The Performance Assessment Committee (PAC) is made up of two medical members and a lay member. The PAC can assess a doctor’s performance at any time.
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We are now accepting applications via the new United Kingdom General Registrants pathway and the amended Examinations pathway.
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Psychiatry involves the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients with psychological, emotional, or cognitive problems resulting from psychiatric disorders, physical disorders or any other cause.
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This dashboard page contains information around the distribution of doctors within New Zealand.
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Our principal function is to protect you by ensuring that doctors are competent and fit to practise. We do this by setting standards of clinical and cultural competence and ethical conduct for doctors.
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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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In this section you will find all of Council's published documents including annual reports, newsletters, strategic plans, workforce reports, statements and guidelines, and policies.
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Council is pleased to announce that from 1 November 2024, international medical graduates (IMGs) with an approved postgraduate medical qualification, intending to practise in Aotearoa New Zealand in an approved area of medicine, can apply for specialist registration via a new fast-track registration pathway.
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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. -
Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | the Medical Council of New Zealand (the Council) considers it important that all interns have the knowledge and skills to manage and supervise resuscitation events and therefore we have a longstanding requirement that interns hold New Zealand Resuscitation Council (NZRC) CORE Advanced certification.
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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 dashboard page contains further information around the distribution of doctors within New Zealand.
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In this issue we discuss the Medical Councils response to the Report of the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care, we welcome two new members to Council, and provide feedback on Council's recent annual meeting with medical colleges and key stakeholders.
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Under the HPCAA, doctors can have their competence or performance reviewed at any time, or in response to concerns about their practice. This guide outlines what you can expect if you are undergoing a performance assessment
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Our Audit and Risk Committee assists Council in a number of ways including overseeing our risk management programme and ensuring the integrity of our financial processes and reporting.
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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.
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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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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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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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We may sometimes use terms you won't be familiar with. Find out here what they mean.
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Your recertification programme requirements will generally depend on what scope(s) of practice you are registered and practising in. However, there are exceptions and special cases. This section outlines the recertification requirements for each scope of practice, as well as any exceptions that may apply.
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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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Prevocational training requirements for doctors in their PGY1 year
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Section 16 (b) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 requires the Medical Council of New Zealand (Council) to be satisfied that any doctor seeking registration in New Zealand is able to communicate in and comprehend English sufficiently to protect the health and safety of the public.
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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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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand has today released the results of the first Torohia — Medical Training Survey for New Zealand , giving new insights into the experiences of doctors in training across the motu.
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Supervision is a registration requirement for all doctors registered in a provisional general, provisional vocational or special purpose scope of practice. Supervision supports a doctor’s practice and enables their performance to be assessed while they become familiar with the New Zealand health system and the expected standard of medical practice.
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At the Medical Council of New Zealand, our role is to protect the public and promote good medical practice. Our current vacancies are listed below. If you would like to join a sector-leading organisation that continually strives for excellence, apply today! Please direct any enquiries about a vacancy to the contact person specified in the advertisement.
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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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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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Doctors who hold overseas qualifications and who want to apply for registration in Aotearoa New Zealand must have key documents verified from their primary source. Since November 2017, Council has required primary source verification using the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates’ Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (ECFMG’s EPIC) service, which is now accessed via the MyIntealth portal.
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In this issue of MC News, Dr Rachelle Love, the recently elected Chair, shares her insights, and we celebrate a new era in consumer advocacy – Whakawaha. Other key features include the announcement of the top four polling candidates in the Council election, we bring attention to a scam alert that directly impacts registered doctors in New Zealand, a data dashboard quarterly update and an HPDT disciplinary outcome.
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Recertification helps maintain high standards of medical competence and care. Doctors required to participate in recertification must do so, and must respond, at our request, to any questions we have about their participation.
We work with recertification providers to ensure doctors’ compliance. At its most serious, non-compliance may, ultimately, lead to the suspension of an individual’s registration. -
Medical administration is administration or management utilising the medical and clinical knowledge, skill and judgement of a registered medical practitioner, and capable of affecting the health and safety of the public or any person.
This may include administering or managing a hospital or other health service, developing health operational policy, or planning or purchasing health services. Medical administration does not involve diagnosing or treating patients. -
Paediatric surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of children (usually up to 15 years of age) who may require surgery. It includes non-cardiac thoracic surgery, general paediatric surgery, oncological surgery, urology in children and the management of congenital abnormalities both ante-natally and in the neonatal period. Also included is the management of major trauma in children.
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Plastic and reconstructive surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients requiring the restoration, correction or improvement in the shape and appearance of the body structures that are defective or damaged at birth or by injury, disease, growth or development. It includes all aspects of cosmetic surgery.
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As a patient, your health and safety are your doctor's primary concern, and the relationship you have with your doctor should be based on mutual trust, clear communication, honesty and respect. You should feel comfortable and be well-informed at all times, safe in the knowledge that your doctor is fit to practise medicine. If you feel that has been compromised, we will take any notifications seriously.
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This page sets out the recertification programme requirements for doctors registered and practising in the General scope of practice only. This is typically either participation in a medical college vocational training programme, or in the Inpractice recertification programme.
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Te Kōwhiringa o Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa 2024 | The Medical Council of New Zealand election 2024
Council elections are about building a strong Council that the public, government and medical profession can have confidence in. The opportunity to cast your vote for the election of four medical members to join the governance of the Medical Council is available starting Tuesday, 20 February 2024. -
An audit of medical practice is a systematic, critical analysis of the quality of a doctor’s own practice, the results of which are used to improve clinical care and/or health outcomes, or to confirm that current management is consistent with the current available evidence or accepted consensus guidelines.
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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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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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A Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) is an investigatory body appointed by the Council. Its purpose is to investigate matters and concerns referred to it by the Council about a registered doctor. Although a PCC is appointed by the Council, it is separate from the Council, and regulates its own procedures.
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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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Once a doctor successfully completes prevocational medical training and has received registration within a general scope of practice, a doctor is then eligible to enrol in a vocational medical training programme. Doctors undertaking this training are referred to as trainee doctors, and are usually employed as registrars.
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Dermatology is the study, research and diagnosis of disorders, diseases, cancers, cosmetic, ageing and physiological conditions of the skin, fat, hair, nails and oral and genital membranes.
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When you're applying for registration, we may ask you to provide a Statutory Declaration, or a copy of a document that you’re relying upon as part of your application.
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Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of the ears, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. This includes cancer of the head and neck (excluding the eye and the brain), disorders of the salivary glands and thyroid gland, disorders of hearing, balance, swallowing, speech, snoring/sleep apnoea and aspects of facial plastic surgery.
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have an overseas specialist qualification on our approved list, and have a job offer to work in New Zealand for 12 months or less.
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This page contains important information on approved qualifications, the information to include with your application, and other things that may affect your application for registration in a vocational scope.
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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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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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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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A recent change to the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 sets a new requirement on all health profession regulators, including the Medical Council. We are now required to publish a policy setting out on when we might make public in some way, information about an order or direction made by us about a doctor.
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If a doctor 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 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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Council is pleased to publish its revised statement on Treating yourself and those close to you (previously Providing care to yourself and those close to you), in effect from 14 October 2024.
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Physician associates are trained health professionals who work under the supervision of a medical doctor to provide healthcare to patients.