Mai i te Tumuaki

Tēnā koutou i runga i ngā ahuatanga o te wā.

In 2022, the Council surveyed its three key audiences to measure public trust in the profession, seek feedback about the level of understanding of our standards, find out how well we are meeting our responsibilities, and identify areas where we can improve.

Public trust in the profession 

Public trust in the medical profession remains high, with 76% of health consumers expressing positive levels of trust. This is consistent with the 2015 survey findings, which showed public trust in their doctor being 78%.

The reasons behind this trust include positive past experiences with doctors, recognition of the extensive training and qualifications of medical professionals, and the regulations and ongoing training requirements that doctors must adhere to. There was a general understanding of the Council’s role in protecting public safety, but we have also identified this as an area where we need to do more work.

Medical profession’s response to Council standards 

Our statements outline the standards expected of doctors. They set out the principles and values that define good medical practice. Doctors who responded to the survey considered the Council’s statements relevant to their practice and provided workplace examples that demonstrated the practical significance of these guidelines. 

The standard on Sexual Boundaries was identified as the most relevant (92%), and the standard on Providing Care to Oneself or Family received a 72% rating for relevance in the survey. However, only 58% of doctors surveyed responded that they had a good understanding of Good Prescribing Practice and 53% had a good understanding of our statement on Cultural Safety.

Stakeholder satisfaction with the Council’s level of engagement 

Stakeholders were confident that the Council makes decisions that are robust and can stand up to scrutiny (81%), develops standards for the medical professional that are relevant (100%), is open and transparent in our decision-making (75%), makes decisions based on the principles of fairness and consistency (75%), and makes decisions that are proportionate to the level of public risk (75%).

Registration of international medical graduates (IMGs)

Feedback from the profession indicated an understanding of the balance in the Council’s role in the workforce i.e. ensuring the competence of doctors gaining registration, and recognising the valuable contribution made to the workforce by IMGs. By getting IMGs registered and practising quickly, we can support the workforce to help meet the needs of healthcare in New Zealand. 

Council processed 99% of provisional and general scope registration applications received in the last year within 20 working days. Applications for a vocational scope take a bit longer to process and we continue working with colleges, implementing better procedures, and using new solutions to speed up the registration process for specialist IMGs.

Overall, trust in the medical profession and in Council remains high. We all need to work hard to ensure this trust continues to be well placed.

You will see that we have amended our MC News format. It allows us to showcase our new cultural narrative, update content quickly, and is more device friendly. We would love to hear your feedback. 

Nō reira, kia haere haumaru tonu koutou i ō koutou mahi, i ō koutou kāinga.

Kia manawanui 

Dr Curtis Walker

Tumuaki | Chair