More medical students are set to train at Whakatane and Tauranga hospitals next year as part of a programme to attract and retain health professionals in rural areas.
Currently the Bay of Plenty District Health Board Clinical School based at both hospitals manages placements for 4th year and 6th year
students.
In a media statement released today the health board said from January 2017 this would be expanded to include a group of 5th year medical students in a new regional/rural programme.
The new programme will see 18 University of Auckland 5th year medical students spend 31 weeks in the Bay of Plenty working alongside doctors in Tauranga and Whakatane hospitals as well as in the community.
This will include time in the Rural Health Inter-professional Programme based at Whakatane Hospital and with GPs in the area.
"What sets this programme apart from others in big cities is that by working alongside clinicians in Tauranga and Whakatane hospitals the med students are exposed to a broader range of patients and conditions," said Head of the Clinical School Professor Peter Gilling.
As part of the placement the medical students will spend time with GPs in Whakatane as well as a day with the nurse-led Eastern Bay of Plenty Hospice. They also have the option of visiting one of the Eastern Bay's large industrial employers, spending time with the on-site occupational nurse.
"Potentially they can follow the patient's journey from the GP to the hospital and back," said Professor Gilling.
"It's a valuable learning opportunity that's not offered in the big cities. The experience also provides exposure to working in rural communities which has resulted in an increase of the number of students applying for positions in the Bay of Plenty."
The Clinical School is fast becoming a sought after posting for medical students.
Since 2012 the DHB has been accommodating mainly University of Auckland medical students. Initially ten 6th year medical students were based here for the academic year. This year fifteen 6th year medical students have been training at Tauranga Hospital and seven of those have been offered Junior Doctor positions.
Tanushk Martyn is one of those taking up a Junior Doctor position.
He's a self-confessed Aucklander through and through. Born and raised in New Zealand's largest city, he'd never lived anywhere else until this year.
"Tauranga's got a good reputation as a teaching hospital. I've compared notes with my friends who are training in other hospitals in the North Island. They haven't had anywhere near the level of exposure to medicine and support as I've had here."
"The hospital is big enough to provide a variety of teaching opportunities, but small enough to make me as a med student feel part of the team."
The Clinical School is expected to offer 20 placements for 6th year medical students in 2018.