The smaller hospital environment, friendly staff and Rotorua's outdoor lifestyle have lured Kelly Nunn and Turuki Tahuri back to Rotorua.
The pair, who are two of 12 junior doctors recently employed by the Lakes District Health Board, said their experience as trainee interns at the hospital was a key part of their decision to return.
Half of the new junior doctors had been through the trainee internship programme at the hospital, showing it was a worthwhile tool in attracting staff, according to the health board.
Miss Nunn said the benefits of being at a smaller hospital were huge and it was a real bonus that at Rotorua, junior doctors were well supported by senior clinicians.
She said smaller hospitals like Rotorua were fantastic for teaching as there were more learning opportunities than in bigger hospitals and they got to see a wider range of specialties.
Working as junior doctors, the pair change specialties every three months to give them a broad base.
Mr Tahuri said that outside of the hospital, the community was "quite homely" and the mountain biking and lakes were a big attraction.
Lakes District Health Board Medical Management Unit manager Jenny Martelli said the hospital took on two extra first-year house officers this year to help with the oversupply of graduating medical students.
She said the trainee intern programme had been very successful for the health board as it exposed 12 trainee interns a year to a very high standard of teaching and support from the senior medical staff at Rotorua.
"The trainee interns get to work in an environment where not only does everyone know their name but where they are considered an important part of the clinical team. This is unfortunately not always the case in a larger [health board]. Lakes has been successful in retaining 50 per cent or more of its trainee interns each year, which assists greatly with workforce development and continuity."