General Practitioners

General practice offers a career path which has flexible training and a great variety of different working opportunities, often accommodating part-time work with flexible hours. It offers the unique opportunity of a deeply rewarding depth and breadth of relationships with patients over time. General practice is increasingly being recognised for its pivotal role in the health system. The specialty is evolving in new directions to enhance training in areas of special interest while re-examining traditional roles. These developments are intended to produce a new breed of GP capable of finding a more integrated role across the continuum of primary and secondary health care.

The earliest point at which an application can be made for a Registrar position is during Postgraduate Year 2 (PGY2) with entry for successful trainees to the General Practice Education Programme (GPEP1) in Postgraduate Year 3 (PGY3). For full details please refer to the RNZCGP website https://rnzcgp.org.nz/general-practice-education-programme

In previous years, NoRTH has offered a limited number of rotations through general practice at the PGY2 level. This is likely to become a more widely available option through 2016 as DHBs are required to place all RMOs in a community based rotation as part of their PGY1 and 2 experience.

At House Officer level (PGY2 and PGY3), the RNZCGP offers three month attachments in some rural general practices (PGGP). This experience in rural medicine is supported by a tax free bursary paid by the College, and a corresponding period of unpaid leave from NoRTH.

The standard full-time GPEP programme is 36 months and is completed in two stages (GPEP1 and GPEP2 ). You will sit the Primex Examinations at the end of GPEP1, and then undergo the Fellowship assessment on the completion of GPEP2. Further details on the RNZCGP website: http://www.rnzcgp.org.nz/

Why General Practice?

Interviews with General Practitioners(PDF, will open in a new window):

Interview with Christine McIntosh, GPEP2 Registrar

Interview with Chamira Ranatunga, GPEP 2 Registrar

Inteview with Jan Cottle, GPEP 2 Registrar

Interview with Kwan Leng Low, GPEP 1 Registrar

Contacts

Who can I talk to and where to next?

If you have any questions or want to find out more about how to become a General Practitioner, please contact