Working Towards New Medical Training Board

In response to Government release of report from medical workforce taskforce

The College of GPs welcomes the positive recommendations in the Workforce Taskforce report and looks forward to working with the Ministers as they establish the new Medical Training Board.

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners provides vocational training for GPs and President Dr Jonathan Fox said he was very pleased with the concept of doctor training moving more into the community.

“We have been advocating strongly for an increase in training numbers, and the signaling of a likely tripling of registrar numbers vindicates our submissions.”

An earlier increase for this year from the Minister of Health means 69 CTA- funded GP registrars will go through the College’s “gold standard” programme this year, compared to 54 in 2006, and the College anticipates more than 200 will sit the general practice vocational entrance exam, Primex, later this year – a 30 percent increase.

“The emphasis on vocational registration, on the DHB involvement in education and training is also pleasing,” Dr Fox said. Equally important is the commitment to ongoing self-sufficiency for the medical workforce.

“We like the call to action, and we’re ready to help.”

Minister's Pete Hodgson (Health) and Michael Cullen (Tertiary Education) earlier announced:

Medical education and training: looking to the future

Educating and training a medical workforce to provide the best health care for New Zealanders now and into the future is the subject of a report released by the Ministers of Health and Tertiary education today.

The Workforce Taskforce Report: "Reshaping medical education and training to meet the challenges of the 21st Century" is the result of six months' work by the Taskforce, which makes five major recommendations.

Minister of Tertiary Education Dr Michael Cullen and Health Minister Pete Hodgson welcomed the Taskforce's recommendation to establish a Training Board for the implementation of future changes to ensure a sustainable medical education and training programme.

Dr Cullen said the Taskforce report complemented the wider tertiary reforms currently underway, which aim to achieve tertiary education and training that meets the needs of students, businesses and communities.

"Having enough well-trained doctors in our workforce is crucial if we want to ensure that New Zealanders have the best possible medical care," Dr Cullen says.

Health Minister Pete Hodgson welcomed the Taskforce's call to action.

"The emphasis of the Taskforce's recommendations is for action and I welcome the recommendation to set up a Training Board to provide the leadership and direction in this area that has been lacking," Pete Hodgson says.

"This will have a major impact on the deliver of health and disability services and the workforce that provides those services and I am seeking Cabinet approval to establish a Training Board."

The report is available at:

http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/reshaping-medical-education-workforce-taskforce

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