Announcement of Northland Clinical Initiative

A Northland DHB partnership with the University of Auckland will enable senior medical students to spend a year living, working and studying in Northland.

The Northland Clinical Initiative is a joint programme between the DHB and the University’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. It was announced today by the Hon. Pete Hodgson, Minister of Health, during his visit to Whangarei.
This partnership involving fifth year medical students will enhance the practical training of doctors and address future workforce issues.

The initiative will enable 20 student doctors to undergo a year of medical training in Northland, which presents special training opportunities, especially in the area of Maori health.

It also increases the likelihood that students will establish links with the area, making them more likely to return to practise in Northland or other rural districts once qualified.

Students will be mainly based at Whangarei Hospital but will also spend time at the district’s smaller hospitals and with rural GPs, and will interact with the district’s Maori health providers. This will give them an excellent understanding of the health needs of New Zealand’s rural communities.

Northland DHB’s Chief Executive, Karen Roach, said: “We are very excited about this programme. While there are other immersion programmes for trainee health practitioners, we believe this is the first programme in New Zealand that offers medical students the opportunity to spend a full study year in a rural setting.

“Evidence has shown that when students spend an extended period in a community, they are more likely to return to that area and to have a positive attitude towards a career in that setting. Students will have ward time, tutorials and clinics in Northland, working with Northland patients, as well as learning time in Northland and Auckland.”

Professor Iain Martin, Dean of the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, said: “The partnership is part of a move to enable our medical and other health professional students to increasingly study away from traditional large hospitals, and more in the communities where they may practise once qualified.

“These trainee doctors will have exposure to a range of conditions and illnesses they simply don’t see in large city hospitals. Introducing educational components into a healthcare environment has been shown around the world to not only benefit students and clinicians, but most importantly provides a wide range of benefits to patients.”

The programme (for a 35-week study year) consists of:

• Four campus learning weeks in Auckland
• One campus learning week in Northland
• Four weeks selective study
• Four weeks with rural GPs
• Twenty-two weeks in Northland hospitals.

The programme is scheduled to begin in February 2008.

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For further information, please contact:
Clare Blackburn, Communications Manager
Northland District Health Board
Phone (09) 430 4101 ext 3315

Tim Greene, Manager, External Relations, Marketing and Communications
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
University of Auckland
Phone (09) 373 7599 ext 86103