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192 results matching “is it appropriate to include childcare in travel costs”
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Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health is the agency responsible for the proposal and consultation on the regulation of physician associates under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. The Medical Council made a submission during the Ministry’s consultation on the proposal in December 2023 (as did a number of other organisations) and is awaiting the Ministry’s release of the outcome. The Medical Council cannot advise on when this information will be released by the Ministry.
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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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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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Media Release | Medical Council to regulate the Physician Associate profession
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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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Whenever you use a health or disability service in New Zealand, you are protected by the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' Rights (Code of Rights). The Code of Rights applies to both public and private facilities, and to both paid and unpaid services. It gives you as a patient, the right to be treated with respect, receive appropriate care, have proper communication, and be fully informed so you can make an informed choice.
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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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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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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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Anaesthesia is the provision of anaesthetics, peri-operative care, intensive care and pain management to patients and can include the provision of resuscitation, retrieval/transportation (inter and intra hospital) and hyperbaric medicine to patients.
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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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Our consultation regarding the strengthening of the accreditation framework for prevocational medical training is now open. We invite your feedback.
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Occupational medicine involves the study and practice of medicine related to the effects of work on health and health on work. It has clinical, preventive and population based aspects.
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If you are thinking about practising medicine in New Zealand, there are many things to consider. This page provides an introduction to medical registration, the healthcare system, getting a job and settling in the country.
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Rural hospital medicine is determined by its social context, the rural environment, the demands of which include professional and geographic isolation, limited resources and special cultural and sociological factors. It is invariable practised at a distance from comprehensive specialist medical and surgical services and investigations.
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Physician associates are trained health professionals who work under the supervision of a medical doctor to provide healthcare to patients.
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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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Neurosurgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous system including their supportive structures and blood supply. This includes the skull, brain, meninges, spinal cord, spine and pituitary gland. It also includes the management of traumatic, neoplastic, infective, congenital and degenerative conditions of these structures and surgical pain management.
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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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General surgery is a broad based specialty which includes the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of the colon and rectum, upper gastro-intestinal organs, breasts, endocrine organs, skin and subcutaneous structures, blood vessels (including varicose veins) and the head and neck region. It also includes the early and ongoing management of trauma.
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Internal medicine involves the diagnosis and management of patients with complex medical problems which may include internal medicine, cardiology, clinical immunology, clinical pharmacology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, haematology, infectious diseases, medical oncology, nephrology, neurology, nuclear medicine, palliative medicine, respiratory medicine and rheumatology.
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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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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. -
Urology is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of the urinary tracts in males and females, and male genital organs. It also includes the management of trauma to these organs and the management of male sterilisation, infertility and sexual dysfunction.
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If you have concerns about a registered doctor, you can refer the matter to the Council.
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Oral and maxillofacial surgery involves the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non-operative) of patients with diseases, injuries and defects of the mouth, jaws and associated structures. This includes oral and maxillofacial pathology, trauma, dentoalveolar surgery, orthognathic and relevant reconstructive surgery, and facial pain.
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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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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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Orthopaedic surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of the musculoskeletal system (bones, joints, ligaments, tendon and peripheral nerves). It includes the management of trauma to the musculoskeletal system and the management of congenital and acquired disorders.
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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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Pathology involves the assessment and diagnosis of patients with diseases. Includes anatomical pathology (including histopathology), chemical pathology, forensic pathology, general pathology (a mix of anatomical and clinical pathology), genetic pathology, haematology, immunopathology, and microbiology (including virology).
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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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Cardiothoracic surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative) of patients with disorders of structures within the chest including: the heart and vascular system, the lungs and trachea, the oesophagus, the diaphragm and chest wall. It includes the management of trauma and congenital and acquired disorders of these structures.
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Vascular surgery is the diagnosis and treatment (operative and non operative, including endoluminal techniques and interventional procedures) of patients with disorder of the blood vessels (arteries and veins outside the heart and brain) and the lymphatic system. It also includes the management of trauma and surgical access to the vascular system.
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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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General practice is an academic and scientific discipline with its own educational content, research, evidence base and clinical activity, and a clinical speciality orientated to primary care. It is personal, family, and community-orientated comprehensive primary care that includes diagnosis, continues over time and is anticipatory as well as responsive.
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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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Medical Council Chair Dr Rachelle Love responds to the final report from the Abuse in State Care Royal Commission Inquiry.
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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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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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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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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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Pain medicine is the biopsychosocial assessment and management of persons with complex pain, especially when an underlying condition is not directly treatable. The scope of pain medicine supplements that of other medical disciplines, and utilises interdisciplinary skills to promote improved quality-of-life through improved physical, psychological and social function.
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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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Ophthalmology involves the diagnosis and management of patients with abnormal conditions affecting the eye and its appendages, including prevention of blindness, promotion of eye health and rehabilitation of patients with visual disability.
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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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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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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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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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The professional services a doctor can perform in New Zealand are defined by the scope of practice for which they are registered.
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This draft statement sets out legal and ethical considerations as a doctor when responding to a medical emergency. It also discusses a number of factors you should consider when you attend to a medical emergency, whether that emergency is within a healthcare facility, or in a non-clinical setting, such as in the community.
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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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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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This document is a guide for interns and includes information on what MSF is about and step-by-step instructions to complete the process.
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This fact sheet is intended to provide information to those people who meet with a Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) as part of its investigation.
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Council is seeking feedback on a proposed change to its processes. Specifically, in relation to advice obtained from medical colleges regarding an international medical graduate’s (IMG) application for registration in a provisional vocational scope of practice.
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Intensive care medicine involves the diagnosis and treatment of patients with acute, severe and life-threatening disorders of vital systems that are medical, surgical or obstetric in origin, and whether adult or paediatric.
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It is important that we understand the composition and changes in our medical workforce, so that good planning decisions can be made. This pack brings together the key data that matters most.
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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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Most international medical graduates (IMGs) registered within a provisional general, provisional vocational, or special purpose scope of practice will need to submit a supervision plan with their application. The Council will consider the proposed supervision plan as part of the application process.
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Prevocational medical training for interns incorporates aspects of the apprenticeship model of 'learning on the job’ as part of a team. Senior doctors supervise and assess the interns’ performance, providing them with ongoing feedback and gradually increasing their responsibilities.
Prevocational medical training for interns in PGY1 and PGY2 is overseen by prevocational educational supervisors and clinical supervisors.
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This guidance explains what doctors should consider when using artificial intelligence (AI) in patient care. Because AI is increasingly being used in medical practice, it is essential that doctors do so ethically and responsibly, to ensure patient safety and the privacy of health information.
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Diagnostic and interventional radiology is the diagnosis and treatment of patients utilising imaging modalities, including general radiography, angiography, fluoroscopy, mammography, ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine and bone densitometry.
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This guidance explains what doctors should consider when using artificial intelligence (AI) in patient care. Because AI is increasingly being used in medical practice, it is essential that doctors do so ethically and responsibly, to ensure patient safety and the privacy of health information.
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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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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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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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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. -
Council is proposing to change the current requirement that international medical graduates registered in the special purpose teleradiology scope of practice must be supervised by doctors based in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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Council is reviewing the core ethical standards it sets for the profession, ensuring the standards reflect both patient expectations and the realities of clinical practice. As part of this work, we have sought feedback from patients and doctors and have now released two reports that reflect their views.
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In this issue of MC News, Dr Rachelle Love, the recently elected Chair, shares her insights, and we remind all registered doctors to participate in the upcoming 2024 Council elections. Other key features include our recruitment for a Medical Adviser and the HPDT shares its latest disciplinary outcome.
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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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A notification around concerns about your health is different from one about conduct, and our approach to dealing with it it is non-judgmental and focuses on your rehabilitation and the safety of patients and people you come into contact with.
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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 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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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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In this issue of MC News, we discuss the health of doctors, regulation in the era of Artificial Intelligence and medical clinic advertising and use of Google Reviews. Other key items include: A recent Coroner report on prescribing practices, a workforce data update and a Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal outcome.
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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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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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Sexual health medicine is concerned with sexual relations, including freedom from sexually transmissible infections (STIs), unplanned pregnancy, coercion and physical and psychological sexual discomfort. Its practice encompasses a wide range of factors that contribute to STIs, sexual assault, sexual dysfunction and fertility.
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Palliative medicine is the medical care that improves the quality of life of patients and their families and whanau facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness. The focus of palliative medicine is the anticipation and relief of suffering of patients by means of early identification, assessment and management of their pain and other physical, psychosocial and spiritual concerns. In particular, it affirms life, regards dying as a normal process and intends to neither hasten nor postpone death.
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Whether you're Māori or non-Māori, you are welcome to visit a Māori health provider. What makes their care different from a non-Māori health provider is the kaupapa (principle) and delivery framework, which is distinctively Māori.
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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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The main purpose of the collegial relationship is to ensure that a doctor's PDP and CPD are appropriate for the work they are doing. This guide is intended to outline what you need to do as part of this relationship including prompts for guiding discussion in collegial relationship meetings.
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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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We have three main types of registration (what we call scopes) - vocational, general and special purpose. 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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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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Clinical genetics is the investigation, diagnosis of and provision of medical advice, assessment and management of patients in relation to inherited genetic and chromosomal disorders and predispositions.
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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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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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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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Regardless of your scope of practice, the basic process for registration as a medical practitioner in New Zealand is as outlined here.
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It is recommended that in every Collegial Relationship meeting time is set aside to review and develop the doctor’s PDP. The goal of the PDP is to encourage reflective practice and to provide a means of addressing identified learning needs.
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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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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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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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All international medical graduates coming to New Zealand to practise medicine for the first time must attend a registration meeting and be able to produce the information we have asked for.
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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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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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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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In 2019, Council released strengthened Recertification requirements for vocationally-registered doctors practising in New Zealand. Council is now reviewing its accreditation standards for providers of vocational recertification programmes to ensure these align with the new recertification requirements.
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Sport and exercise medicine is the medical care of the exercising individual, including the assessment and management of patients with musculoskeletal injuries and medical problems arising from sporting activity. Sport and exercise physicians possess expertise in general medicine, orthopaedics and rehabilitation, plus allied sport sciences including nutrition, biomechanics, exercise physiology and sports psychology.
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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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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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Council is delighted to report that in October 2024 we received Toitū carbonreduce programme certification in line with ISO 14064-1:2018 and Toitū requirements.
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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.
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Paediatrics involves the assessment, diagnosis and management of infants, children and young people with disturbances of health, growth, behaviour and/or development. It also addresses the health status of this group through population assessments, intervention, education and research.
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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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Rehabilitation medicine is the medical care of patients in relation to the prevention and reduction of disability and handicap arising from impairments, and the management of patients with disabilities from a physical, psychosocial and vocational viewpoint.
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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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Our Education Committee advises and makes recommendations to Council around ways to promote medical education and training in New Zealand. This includes the accreditation of medical schools and both prevocational and vocational medical training providers.
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Obstetrics and gynaecology involves the diagnosis and management of patients in the area of reproductive health and diseases, including but not limited to women’s health issues, maternal foetal medicine, gynaecological oncology, reproductive endocrinology and infertility, and urogynaecology, male sexual disorders, post and perinatal issues.
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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 International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA) signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with the World Health Organization in a ceremony in Geneva.
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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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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.
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This report presents the results of our 2025 workforce survey. Key findings include 20,530 practising doctors, a 2.6% rise from last year. Nearly half are women (49.6%), and representation of Māori (5.5%) and Pacific (2.7%) doctors is growing among younger doctors. International medical graduates continue to play a vital role, especially outside the main centres.
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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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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 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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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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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 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. -
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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Did you know over 70% of doctors registered in the past year were trained overseas — bringing skills from 63 countries to Aotearoa. But to truly strengthen our health system, it’s not just about recruitment — it’s about supporting doctors to stay.
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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand’s latest quarterly workforce data shows that women now make up slightly more than half of practising doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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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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Emergency medicine is a field of practice based on knowledge and skills required for the prevention, diagnosis and management of acute and urgent aspects of illness and injury affecting patients of all age groups with a full spectrum of undifferentiated physical and behavioural disorders.
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Radiation oncology is the medical care and management of patients with cancer and other medical conditions through the conduct and supervision of radiation treatment, advice and provision of palliative and other supportive care, and advice and provision of other non-surgical cancer; advice and provision of other non-surgical cancer treatment including cytotoxic, hormonal and other drug therapies; participation in clinical trials and research related to cancer management.
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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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Medical Council News is our official newsletter. Published and distributed to the profession regularly, the newsletter contains a summary of the most important recent news as well as articles on topics likely to be of interest to doctors.
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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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Faster, easier registration for overseas-trained doctors to enter Aotearoa New Zealand’s medical workforce
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List of our fees effective from 1 July 2025
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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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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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Urgent care medicine (formerly known as accident and medical practice) is the primary care of patients on an after-hours or non-appointment basis, where continuing medical care is not provided.
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Disclosure of harm refers to instances where a patient has been adversely affected as a direct result of medical care. Open disclosure in this situation promotes transparency, can strengthen the doctor-patient relationship and is important for the health and safety of the public in general. This statement is intended to help doctors understand the purpose of open disclosure and why it matters to patients and their family/whānau. It also guides doctors on factors to consider when a situation requires that the harm is disclosed.