Northland prepares for arrival of medical students

Northland DHB is looking forward to the arrival of 20 senior medical students from The University of Auckland, who will spend an academic year training and working in the district under a new partnership programme beginning in February.

The fifth-year medical students from the University's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences will be living and working in Northland under the first intake of the new programme. They will be based primarily at Whangarei Hospital but will also spend seven weeks each on attachment at Kaitaia, Rawene and Dargaville hospitals, and with general practitioners in those areas.

The initiative, called Pūkawakawa - Northland Regional-Rural Medical Programme - has been developed to provide the students with a range of experiences in rural settings. It is hoped that the experience will help address future workforce issues by encouraging some students to return to work in Northland and similar regional-rural settings in New Zealand after completing their training.

The fifth year for medical students is their clinical practice year, and under this initiative the group will experience 35 weeks of clinical practice in context, working in the community.

The first student group comprises twelve females and eight males, all with a strong interest in working in a rural setting. The students, who were the subject of a tough selection process by the university, are very enthusiastic about the prospect of studying in Northland.

The students will study the following areas: General Practice, Geriatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Speciality Medicine, Speciality Surgery, Public Health, and a selected area chosen by each individual student.  

The group will be formally welcomed to Northland on Monday, 11 February 2008, at a special ceremony involving DHB and University staff.

Karen Roach, Chief Executive of Northland DHB said: "We are very much looking forward to the students arriving in Whangarei and we welcome the first intake under the Northland Regional-Rural Medical Programme.

"We hope the programme will assist with long-term medical staffing in Northland, and especially in the peripheral areas of the district, by allowing students to develop their own links with these areas and experiencing the type of work they would carry out here. The programme will also strengthen our links with The University of Auckland."

Professor Iain Martin, Dean of the University's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, believes the Pūkawakawa programme is a logical and timely extension of the University's medical programme which will deliver benefits to all parties involved.

"Training of doctors in the environment in which many will later practice makes great sense, as does the linking of our training directly with health care delivery in our region. We are very appreciative of the opportunity the Northland DHB in particular has provided with the Pukawakawa programme."    


The Pūkawakawa programme is an expansion of the University of Auckland's presence in Northland. The Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences runs a postgraduate nursing programme for Northland-based nurses. The university's Business School has a satellite campus in Kawakawa for Northland students taking the Graduate Programme in Business (Maori Development), and the Faculty of Education runs the Te Tai Tokerau Education Campus in Alexander Street, Whangarei.



 

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For further information, please contact:

Clare Blackburn, Communications Manager

Northland District Health Board 

Phone (09) 430 4101 ext 3315