Rotorua Hospital is the top choice for New Zealand's graduating doctors, a new survey has found.
Every year, graduates of New Zealand medical schools rank their preferences for which hospital they wish to start work at as a qualified doctor (Resident Doctor or RMO), the New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association (NZRDA) said.
The number of graduating doctors choosing which hospital as "number one" against the number of positions available for employment gives a consistent measure of the popularity of hospitals amongst the newest of our doctors.
Using this method, Rotorua Hospital (Lakes DHB) has taken the top spot as the number one preferred employer in 2017, followed by Taranaki, with Wellington taking out the third spot overall, and also being the most preferred of the tertiary DHBs.
"Rotorua Hospital is known to be responsive to RMO needs. As one example, it was the first cab off the rank to implement Safer Rosters following the recent MECA settlement," said Dr Deborah Powell, NZRDA national secretary.
"There are a number of different factors which influence a doctor's decision about where to work, including some unrelated to the hospital itself, such as where they want to live," says Dr Powell.
"Nonetheless, factors such as employer compliance with employment terms and conditions, and support - including appropriate training and supervision - are hugely significant to our new graduates."
Lakes DHB service manager for emergency and medical management services Jenny Martelli said the DHB worked hard to provide a positive working and training experience for RMOs and was delighted that had resulted in it being ranked number one choice for first year doctors.
