Nau mai, Haere mai
New Job. New Lifestyle. New Zealand 2021.
If you’re thinking about your next career move, you won’t find a more unique location. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a General Medicine Physician subspecialising in Nephrology to be based in Gisborne in the beautiful Tairāwhiti region of the North Island.
You will have a broad skills and experience within General Medicine including acute medical in taking roster for unselected medical admissions. In addition, you will also be a physician trained in nephrology to support and develop the local renal service.
Yes, the city of Gisborne is small, but for those who love the outdoors, good clean air and a pristine natural environment, you won’t find a better location to enjoy the relaxed NZ lifestyle. Bring the kids, bring the paddleboards, bring the bikes.
- Enjoy coastal living and sun-drenched beaches
- Permanent role commencing August 2021
- FRACP or equivalent specialist qualifications in Internal Medicine and Nephrology (see below)
- Acute Medicine experience essential
- Join a team of 6 Physicians (with subspecialty interests), a Geriatrician and 2 Cardiologists
- Participate in 1:6 on call roster
- Opportunity to develop and grow the Nephrology service
- Accredited training site for registrars
- Beautiful natural surroundings and marine life – white sandy beaches, stunning sunrises, native forest & birds, dolphins and orcas
Hauora Tairāwhiti has a robust outpatient renal service including a hemodialysis centre with strong ties to our tertiary centre in Waikato (Hamilton). The local Renal Department is a Satellite Unit for Waikato Regional Renal Centre. They promote home dialysis therapies as a first line choice of renal replacement therapy. There are approximately 30 patients on Peritoneal Dialysis, 5 Home Haemodialysis patients and a nurse-led haemodialysis unit with 9 machines running 2 different shifts. Nephrology and Chronic Kidney Disease clinics are run, with a strong focus on early detection and slowing down of disease progression which is essential here in Tairāwhiti. There are plans to extend the local renal service delivery to ensure that they provide the best service for patients. This is a great environment to work within especially during these exciting times of service growth.
The medicine department at Hauora Tairāwhiti has a full roster of registrars with both basic and advanced trainees providing 24/7 on site care for medical patients as well as support in outpatient clinics.
You will participate in a weekly educational clinical meeting; fortnightly biopsy meeting, and regular nephrology morbidity and mortality meetings via video conference with Waikato Renal service.
In addition, you will attend the Waikato Renal unit for 3-4 days every 2 months, to access collegial peer support, review and education; and to support a regional team approach.
For this role, therefore, you will have broad specialist experience in General Medicine and Nephrology, and a sound understanding of contemporary models of care. In addition, you will be an innovative thinker with ideas to contribute to the further development of the service.
You will have proven leadership skills and experience working in a multidisciplinary team environment; and an interest in medical education and teaching, including the supervision of medical trainees (registrars and advanced trainees). You will also enjoy working in a multicultural workforce, and being based in a friendly coastal community.
What’s on offer?
- Total package ranges NZ$180,000 - $300,000 per annum, depending on level of experience
- This includes: Base salary from NZ$164,369 to $244,560 pa, depending on level of experience; On call calculated on top of your base; Continuing Medical Education Allowance NZ$16,000 + 10 days CME leave pa.
- Plus relocation assistance
The Organisation
Patients in Tairāwhiti are chronically underserved and this presents a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference in this community while enjoying an excellent work life balance.
Gisborne Hospital is the base hospital for the Tairāwhiti region, which extends up around the East Cape of New Zealand. It is a comprehensive, well-equipped secondary hospital with modern facilities, which also includes a small CCU/ ICU. They have established systems for tertiary support and clinical backup with their tertiary referral centre Waikato Hospital in Hamilton and with Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland. This includes clinical advice and urgent transfer, if required.
Hauora Tairāwhiti is committed to the needs of Māori who make up 65% of admissions to the hospital and form 46.2% of the region’s total population. There is an active focus on Māori Health issues and respecting Māori tikanga/culture with regards to patient care. This makes Hauora Tairāwhiti a unique environment to establish your clinical practice.
The Location
Gisborne (regional population 49,100 with 75% living in the city) features a prevalent café culture and restaurants which serve locally sourced fresh produce and award-winning wines from local boutique vineyards. Local schools are excellent and real estate is affordably priced – there is something ideal to suit your needs from apartments, townhouses, something more rural (lifestyle block) or close to Wainui Beach. Gisborne enjoys warm summers (up to low-30s, degree celsius) and mild winters and is considered one of the sunniest places in New Zealand. It is also the first place to see the sunrise every morning.
Locals enjoy easy access to a fantastic untouched natural environment, which lends itself to such outdoor pastimes as surfing, horse riding, paddle boarding, fishing, sailing, ocean swimming, mountain biking and hill walking etc. It’s also a popular holiday destination for other visiting Kiwis in the summertime, drawn to the hot summer weather; annual music, food and wine festivals; vineyard tours; and surfing competitions.
The local airport has regular daily flights to Auckland and Wellington airports (1 hr flights), making international connections easy, as well as making other regional NZ destinations such as Queenstown and the Bay of Islands easily accessible.
Additionally, you’re only a few hours drive from stunning Tauranga city and surrounding beaches in the Bay of Plenty, and the beautiful Hawke’s Bay wine region.
Find out more about Gisborne and the Tairawhiti region here.
Medical Registration
Ideally, you will hold Fellowship of the Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) and full Vocational registration with the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ).
Alternatively, if not NZ-trained, you must hold equivalent specialist qualifications in Internal Medicine and Nephrology that will enable Provisional Vocational (long term) registration or Locum Tenens (short term up to 12 months) registration with MCNZ.
This means having completed your specialist training in one of the following countries, resulting in the qualifications listed below:
- Australia (FRACP)
- Canada (Fellowship in Internal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada)
- Ireland (Membership/ Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland - via CCST/CCT only)
- the UK (Membership/ Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London/ Edinburgh or Membership/ Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow - via CCST/ CCT only)
- the USA (Certificate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, or Certificate of the American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine AND have a minimum of 2 years clinical experience in internal medicine after gaining Board certification)
Locum Tenens and Provisional Vocational registration are the two pathways to medical registration in NZ for Specialist Physicians and we can assist with your medical registration and visa, if successfully appointed.
Please note, a Doctor’s relevant qualifications must be verified by ECFMG using the EPIC system on behalf of the Medical Council of New Zealand. If you are committed to working in New Zealand, we encourage you to start this process off as soon as possible if you hold qualifications from outside NZ. You may to log on to EPIC and complete this step online. EPIC verifies your identity and your qualifications directly with you. Log on to EPIC here and read the FAQs section about how to get started.
Photo credit: tairawhitigisborne.co.nz - Wainui Sunrise, Damon Meade