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179 results matching “lost scholar's timely hat”
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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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Faster, easier registration for overseas-trained doctors to enter Aotearoa New Zealand’s medical workforce
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We have approximately 95 staff, including our Chief Executive and senior managers whose activities are overseen by a Council of 12 people who are a mix of doctors and laypeople. Our Chair is Dr Kenneth (Ken) Clark. Joan Simeon is our Manukura (Chief Executive) Officer.
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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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This dashboard page contains information around changes over time in the number and demographics of registered doctors - doctors on the register with a current practising certificate.
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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 international medical graduates, doctors who obtained their primary medical qualification outside of New Zealand.
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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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This dashboard page contains information around doctors with a vocational scope of practice including breakdowns by age, gender, and ethnicity.
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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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This dashboard page contains information around registered doctors, those who are on the register and hold a current practising certificate. You can also view the same data for past quarters.
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This dashboard page contains information around new registrations - registrations granted where the doctor was not already on the medical register.
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This area of our site contains detailed information about the medical workforce in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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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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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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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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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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This policy outlines the process we follow when requiring that a doctor has an approved chaperone present during their consultations.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Special purpose registration is a temporary form of registration, for specific purposes. It is not a pathway to permanent general or vocational registration. Entry on the Register is cancelled after a fixed time period.
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The 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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This guide outlines why doctors may have conditions on their practice, how to find out if a doctor has conditions, and what some of the different types of conditions mean for you as a patient.
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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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In some circumstances you can be restored to the medical register if your registration has been cancelled. See this page to check whether you are eligible for restoration to the register, and how to apply.
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In this edition I A key focus for Council has been supporting doctors to start work faster by improving the timeframes for processing registration applications, particularly for specialist international medical graduates.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand, in partnership with Te Ohu Rata O Aotearoa (Te ORA), has released an independent research report outlining findings on the current state of cultural safety and health equity delivered by doctors in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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We sometimes require that a doctor has a chaperone present to observe their consultations with patients. We do this to mitigate risk to the patient where there are concerns that the doctor poses a risk of harm or serious risk of harm to the public. This is different from when a chaperone is present as a matter of good medical practice.
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We've drafted these standards to align with new recertification requirements. They will be effective from 1 July 2022. Before this time, providers will need to show evidence they are progressing towards implementing these requirements.
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All international medical graduates and physician associates coming to New Zealand to practise for the first time must attend a registration meeting and be able to produce the information we have asked for.
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Physician associates (PAs) must only practise in a setting where onsite supervision is available whether registered in the PA Provisional or PA General scope of practice. This means that they must not be rostered to practise solo in any healthcare setting.
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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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The special purpose visiting expert scope of practice enables doctors to come to New Zealand to proctor, demonstrate, assist or teach a new or existing procedure to New Zealand practitioners for a maximum of one week.
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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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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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In this edition I Consultation on the regulation of Physician Associates (PAs) closes 16 February 2026, our data dashborad has been updated and we share the results from the recent Torohia – Medical Training Survey.
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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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New Zealand’s medical workforce has grown to 21,097 practising doctors, with the latest Medical Council workforce report also showing changes in who makes up the profession, where doctors are working and how long they stay in New Zealand.
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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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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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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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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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Where a doctor wishes to resume practice in New Zealand, but has not held a New Zealand practising certificate within the last 3 years, the doctor does not have an automatic entitlement to a practising certificate. Council must consider such applications on a case by case basis.
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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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This dashboard page contains further information around the distribution of doctors within New Zealand.
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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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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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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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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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Earlier this year we sought feedback on the draft statement on Treating yourself and those close to you. A wide range of submissions was received from key stakeholders across the profession and some common themes emerged. Council has revised this statement taking into account your feedback.
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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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To practise medicine in Aotearoa New Zealand you must be registered and have a practising certificate. There are various registration pathways, depending on your qualifications, training, experience, and whether you intend to work in Aotearoa New Zealand permanently or just for a short time for a specific purpose.
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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. -
When a physician associate first applies for registration in New Zealand, they will be registered in the Physician Associate Provisional scope of practice. There are multiple pathways to registration in the Physician Associate Provisional scope. Each of these has specific requirements you will need to satisfy to be eligible for registration. This section outlines the different pathways for each scope.
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Tell us who you are so we can better direct your enquiry
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You can apply for registration through this pathway if you have recent experience in a comparable health system.
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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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Council has not issued standards specific to practice within the purpose of the End of Life Choice Act 2019 (EOLCA). Council considers that the provision of health services under the EOLCA falls within the wider practice of medicine, to which Council’s statements are directed. This document sets out existing Council statements alongside the relevant sections of the EOLCA.
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The Medical Council of New Zealand has two new members. The Hon Matt Doocey, Associate Minister of Health, made the appointments, which are effective from 1 July 2024 for a three-year term. The Minister also reappointed two current members for further terms. These four appointments follow the election by the profession, earlier this year.
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This dashboard page contains information around doctors undertaking vocational training in New Zealand.
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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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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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Prevocational training requirements for doctors in their PGY1 year
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You can apply via this pathway if you have passed Part 1 and Part 2 of the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) test administered by the General Medical Council (GMC), United Kingdom (UK); completed 12-months of satisfactory practice in the UK; and hold full general registration with the GMC.
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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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This dashboard page contains information around how long doctors remain in New Zealand after their initial registration.
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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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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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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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This dashboard page contains information around the distribution of doctors within New Zealand.
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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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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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All physician associates (PAs) applying for registration in the PA provisional scope of practice (except those applying via the NZ experiential pathway) must complete a Council-approved induction programme, within the 12 months immediately prior to applying for registration.
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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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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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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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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.
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There are two key scopes of practice for PAs:
Physician Associate Provisional Scope of Practice (for first period of registration).
Physician Associate General Scope of Practice (for PAs who have completed the provisional period) . -
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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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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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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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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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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We may sometimes use terms you won't be familiar with. Find out here what they mean.
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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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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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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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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 have concerns about a registered doctor, you can refer the matter to the Council.
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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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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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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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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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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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Te Kaunihera Rata o Aotearoa | Medical Council of New Zealand is committed to meeting Aotearoa New Zealand's healthcare demands by enabling highly qualified international and locally trained doctors to join the workforce through flexible and efficient registration pathways.
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This 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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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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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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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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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. -
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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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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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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Our consultation regarding the strengthening of the accreditation framework for prevocational medical training is now open. We invite your feedback.
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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. -
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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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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Council is proud to have been one of the seven responsible authorities (RAs) that worked together to develop the Principles for Quality and Safe Prescribing Practice. Development of the Principles was a result of collaboration and partnership among RAs.